BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) The Buffalo Common Council is in the process of appointing a new Police Advisory Board in Buffalo, after the previous board was dissolved Tuesday.
"We appreciate the work that they did," said Board chairman and Common Council member David Rivera on WBEN Wednesday. "But we're moving forward with a new board that will continue to do community engagement
in reforming the Buffalo Police Department.
Rivera explained that during the month of February, the council received
notice that four members had resigned from the board, including the two co-chairs. "The very next day I received a call from a fifth member who resigned and explained that the situation on the board was "very toxic," said Rivera.
The problems, he said, stem from internal conflicts within the board.
"Unfortunately we lost some really good board members because of
all of the conflict. These are volunteer positions, and people don't want to serve on a board where there is dysfunction and where people don't work well together."
At that point, Rivera said the council was unable to find the board's by-laws,
which would show how meetings are held, details on succession and election of officers. "When the board was unable to comply with a request to provide these items to the council, we dissolved the board," he said.
The goal is to put together a new board within the next few weeks that will work well together and with the common council. He's hoping a number of candidates will offer their expertise. "Group dynamics is always important," Rivera added.
The only role the council will play is in confirming the panel's eleven members.
As for the work that the Police Advisory Board has done in the past, Rivera pointed to Cariol's Law, named after Cariol Horne, (an officer's duty to intervene on a colleague), body cameras, training and de-escalation techniques, among other measures. "We're grateful for the diligent work that they did," he said.
The Police Advisory Board was created in 2018.
