PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s Citizens Police Oversight Commission is losing three of its nine members, over internal squabbling and a lack of meaningful action, three and a half years after voters approved its creation.
The Commission was selected just over a year ago and already it’s coming apart, with the resignations of Benjamin Lerner, a retired Court of Common Pleas judge; Maryelis Santiago, who has worked for the School District of Philadelphia and the Philly311 mobile app; and Vice Chair Afroza Hossain, a diversity, equity and inclusion expert.
Santiago and Lerner didn’t go into detail, but Hossain said she had high hopes when she joined the Commission, and she gave up her seat reluctantly.
“I’m forced to resign because of the way this commission has gone off track, due to the behavior of some of its members. I believe the Commission is headed for disaster.”
In the wake of racial justice protests in 2020, a November 2020 ballot question created the Citizens Police Oversight Commission to replace the Police Advisory Commission, which was seen as toothless against alleged police misconduct. The new commission, with the power to issue subpoenas and investigate citizens' complaints, was expected to be a vast improvement.
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In reality, it took two full years just to name the commissioners, and it has taken more than another full year to hire staff and name a director.
A ballot question in the primary election earlier this month, proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to exempt CPOC staff from a civil service requirement, might have addressed hiring issues and that have frustrated commissioners, but it did not pass.
In the meantime, the Advisory Commission has gone away, and while the new Commission is receiving citizens’ complaints about the police, it has no capacity to investigate them.
‘Dysfunctional, toxic, and unable to function’
In a three-page letter obtained by KYW Newsradio, Hossain listed her reasons for leaving, branding the commission “dysfunctional, toxic, and unable to function as needed.”
Read Vice Chair Afroza Hossain's letter
Hossain alleges that, instead of fulfilling its mission to improve the relationship between the Philadelphia Police Department and the communities it serves, the Commission engages in internal power struggles and bullies its staff. She cites for example an incident at a Commission meeting when a woman became verbally abusive with the staff.
The Commission called a meeting, let the woman berate the staff some more, and Commission Chair Jahlee Hatchett responded: “Ma’am, I just want to say thank you for your courage. Thank you for being here. Thank you for speaking up.”
Hatchett says he did not intend to take the woman’s side.
Several people, who did not wish to go on the record but are familiar with the Commission’s internal workings, confirm the incidents Hossain cites. Some are recorded in the Commission’s proceedings posted on its YouTube page.
CPOC Public Meeting, May 2, 2023
Conflicts over leadership
She said the final straw was the process of selecting a permanent executive director. One finalist is Anthony Erace, who has been acting in the role for three years. As such, he has hired staff, set policy, done research and outreach.
Hossain says a faction of the board simply doesn’t like him and is poised to hire someone who Hossain believes is not eligible under the legislation that created the commission. It states no one who has ever been in a police union can be hired as executive director — and the candidate, Richard Rivera, was an officer in a unionized district for six years.
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She said members of the Commission who have spoken up have been treated as pariahs by members of that faction, “and it’s created animosity.”
Hatchett declined to discuss Rivera or the executive director selection, but he denied most of what was in Hossain’s letter. He said he’s sad the members are resigning, but he remains optimistic, saying he believes the remaining members are still committed to doing the work.
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CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this article indicated the CPOC has not been hearing citizens’ complaints about police conduct. The Commission is receiving feedback; it just can't investigate or address citizens' concerns.