Two quit Raleigh’s new police advisory board after conflicts with the city
Two members of Raleigh’s new Police Advisory Board have resigned over “numerous challenges” in working with the city.
Scotia Burrell, the board’s vice chair, and Stacey Carless, the board’s secretary, both submitted their letters of resignation from the 11-member board created to advise the Raleigh Police Department and its policies. Both also expressed concern with the board’s chair, Sheila Alamin-Khashoggi.
“I cannot continue to be part of a leadership team where there is blatant disrespect of others on the team,” Carless wrote in her letter.
Emails and phone calls to Carless, Burrell and Alamin-Khashoggi were not returned as of 3 p.m. Thursday.
The city waffled on creating a police advisory board for years, debating and holding community meetings. In February 2020, the Raleigh City Council created a board over the objections of Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown. But some activists said the board lacked teeth and was just an attempt to placate the community.
“The board that the city gave us is not the board that we asked for,” said Surena Johnson, coalition coordinator for Raleigh Police Accountability Community Taskforce (PACT), Thursday “And we kinda had a feeling this would take place.”
The board members don’t have a voice in what happens, she said.
“We are really upset at the fact that the city has made the choice to still not show transparency in such an important manner,” Johnson said. “This affects people’s lives.”
The city’s board reviews existing police procedures but doesn’t investigate complaints or investigations, per the city’s website.
Raleigh Demands Justice
Johnson and other activists spoke at a virtual press conference Thursday held by Raleigh Demands Justice, a group that’s organized police reform protests and called for oversight in the wake of fatal shootings by police.
“Since the inception of this particular advisory board it has been an epic fail, and has not produced anything transformative nor reimagined public safety,” said Kerwin Pittman, founder of Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services. “So that leads one to the question why?”
Raleigh Demands Justice made four demands:
▪ The city should hire someone to lobby the General Assembly for more powers for the board, including the ability to subpoena witnesses.
▪ The City Attorney’s Office should give the legal reason why “it’s okay for RPD to withhold certain policies” from the advisory board.
▪ The city manager and director of the city’s Office of Equity and Inclusion should no longer be involved in the “creation or initiative implementation” of the board’s work and agenda.
▪ The city should not increase the city’s police budget but instead put resources toward mental health support programs and homelessness reduction programs, among other things.
Greear Webb, a police advisory board member who spoke at the press conference, said it’s unfortunate they are here in this situation.
“As a young person, a young Black man, living in Raleigh, born and raised in Raleigh, I am disappointed,” he said. “I am frustrated and just upset. Over and over again people of color, but specifically Black people in the city of Raleigh have stood up for not only themselves but their community. For white Raleighites, for truth, for justice. And we continue to be shut down by government officials and racism continues to be perpetuated.”
The board’s two alternate members will be appointed to the board full-time and new alternates will be appointed by the City Council.
“I think it’s unfortunate,” said Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin. “I wish they had stayed and been part of the solution. The role of the board is to provide policy guidance and build trust in the community. The city is fully committed to this mission.”
The Police Advisory Board, which meets monthly, will next meet March 24. People can watch its virtual meetings on the city’s website or on YouTube.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 2:43 PM.
