A divided Allegheny County Council on Tuesday approved creating an independent police review board.

The board won’t be created until 2022 and it will only have jurisdiction over Allegheny County Police Department.

Other municipalities with police departments in the county can opt-in to the board’s oversight, but that move would need to be approved by their local governments.

The vote to create the board was 9-5. In a statement released after the vote, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said he would sign the bill into law.

“I look forward to working with our municipal partners so that we can include as many police departments as possible in this effort,” Fitzgerald said. “This bill, and the resulting board, will provide an additional avenue for public accountability from law enforcement in our region. This is a great opportunity for the region moving forward.”

Council previously advertised a public hearing on the board that was set for 5 p.m. Wednesday.

But the hearing was scheduled before the legislation cleared the council public safety committee last week with a recommendation that it be considered for adoption Tuesday.

Council members Olivia Bennett, Patrick Catena, Tom Duerr, Bethany Hallam, Paul Klein, Robert Palmosina, Anita Prizio, DeWitt Walton and Paul Zavarella voted in favor of creating the board.

The move was opposed by Sam DeMarco, Nick Futules, Cindy Kirk, Robert Macey and John Palmiere.

Councilman Tom Baker didn’t participate in the meeting.

“We’ve got work to do, and we have to appeal to the best of us,” Walton said.

He was among those who supported the bill since it was initially crafted more than three years ago. The move was voted down in 2019, but it was revised and re-introduced this year.

It was initially proposed after the 2018 death of Antwon Rose by police in East Pittsburgh. Rose’s death was one of many across the nation that have spurred calls for police reforms.

Rose’s mother, Michelle Kenney, was among those who spoke in favor of creating the board.

It creates an unpaid, nine-member board that will be responsible for reviewing complaints of alleged misconduct by Allegheny County law enforcement.

Catena, who serves as county council president, said he voted against the initial legislation. But he changed his mind after hearing from constituents, including some in law enforcement who supported the oversight board.

He called the measure “a starting point.” And although council members spent nearly two hours debating it Tuesday after more extensive debates at other meetings, it was obvious to Catena that “either you’re for it, or you’re against it.”

Those against it included DeMarco, who said the bill creates due process, civil rights, and union issues.

He’s in favor of mandating body cameras by police to prevent issues, he said.

“I don’t believe this bill would deliver,” he said.

Futules and Kirk agreed with DeMarco. They said none of the municipals leaders they’ve talked to are in favor of it.

But Klein and others who supported the board said it provides accountability that’s needed to restore trust in police.

Duerr called it a “step toward true justice.”

Walton agreed.

As a Black man, Walton shared stories of being pulled over and mistreated by police in the 1970s and 1980s.

He cried as he talked about how it felt to be afraid of being killed. People deserve to be treated with “respect and dignity,” Walton said, and this is a move toward that.

“We owe our residents the best we can be,” he said.

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