A group of civil rights leaders on a city-backed advisory group on police reform in San Jose has called it quits.
The Reimagining Public Safety Advisory Board drew in a number of local advocates to consider reforms to policing and public safety, but as the Mercury News reports, it has now been placed on hold following the departure of several prominent members, who describe the proceedings as aimless.
The members ultimately decided to walk when they discovered that the body’s findings would be subject to oversight from city and police officials.
“They can either meet our demands or watch us work without them,” William Armaline—the criminal-justice chair of the local NAACP and director of the Human Rights Institute at San Jose State University—told KCBS Radio.
He said that if the city does not offer a community-led process, he and a growing contingent of community leaders will make their own report directly to the city council and mayor’s office.
“The city can decide if they’re going to learn their lesson here and be a part of that or not,” Armaline said.
City officials have reportedly signaled that they are considering restructuring the group in the hopes of winning back those who have left.