Police review board again being considered by Allegheny County Council

Allegheny County residents will again have input about creating an independent police review board.

But council may have already approved the legislation if the meeting is even held.

“This is a very important issue that establishes a newly created board and I believe every resident that wants to be heard should have that opportunity,” Councilman Sam DeMarco said in a statement.

Legislation to create the board is on the agenda for county council’s meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

“It’s going to pass,” Councilwoman Bethany Hallam Said. “I would be absolutely shocked if it didn’t.”

DeMarco and council members Cindy Kirk, Bob Macey and Nick Futeles issued a release Friday urging participation in a hearing set for 5 p.m. Wednesday — a day after the scheduled council vote — to get public input on creation of the new board.

“I believe it’s going to be frustrating for the public,” DeMarco said in an interview Monday.

The legislation has been talked about since 2018, and has faced opposition from some council members, including DeMarco.

It is sponsored by council members DeWitt Walton, Olivia Bennett, Paul Klein, Anita Prizio and Tom Duerr.

The bill is the result of several committee meetings and public hearings and “a good deal of negotiation and compromise,” Klein said.

“I don’t think this is a mystery,” he said.

Council’s public safety committee advanced the bill for approval last week.

To speak at the Wednesday meeting, people need to register by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Here’s the link to register.

Several similar hearings have been held since 2018. Legislation creating the board was defeated in August 2019. But it was reintroduced last year.

The legislation would create an unpaid, nine-member board that would be responsible for reviewing complaints of alleged misconduct by Allegheny County law enforcement. Only Allegheny County Police Department complaints would be handled by the board unless a municipality or municipal authority in the county opted in to the process.

Klein wouldn’t speculate about whether council would adopt the legislation Tuesday and, if so, if Wednesday’s hearing would be held.

“All indications are there will be a call for a vote tomorrow,” he said. “We have been vetting this for a long time.”

The process has been “a little messy,” Hallam said, calling Tuesday’s scheduled vote on the legislation “long overdue.”

“We had public meetings, town halls, committee meetings, to get to this point,” Hallam said. “This bill is by no means perfect. I see this as a starting point.”