Committee sends substitute Bill 53-25 on police review board to Committee of the Whole

A committee vote to send substitute Bill 53-25 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation passed 5-0 following public comment urging the council to provide the civilian police review board with additional tools for transparency and accountability.

The public speaker, identified in the record as "Commenter," addressed the committee during the "privilege of the floor" public comment period and framed the request in terms of public trust. "Police officers are our fellow citizens in police uniforms," the Commenter said. The speaker cited Sir Robert Peel and said that "trust comes from 3 bases: transparency, integrity, and accountability." The Commenter added, "This tool that you're giving us will allow us to reach better decisions, more thoughtful decisions, and to promote transparency and accountability and integrity that makes policing work." The speaker asked that the substitute bill be sent to the Committee of the Whole "with a favorable recommendation."

Following public comment there were no speakers in opposition. A committee member moved that substitute Bill 53-25 be sent to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; a second was recorded. The committee conducted a roll call: Committee member Neskotski (Aye); Committee member Bolden Simpson (Aye); Citizen member Alice Marie Pickens (Aye); Committee vice chair White (Aye); Committee chair Gooden Rogers (Aye). The clerk announced, "I have 5 ayes." That vote completed the committee's referral.

The record does not show the mover's or seconder's names beyond the roll-call votes. The action recorded in the meeting was a referral: the committee did not adopt the bill on final passage but forwarded substitute Bill 53-25 to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration.

The public comment described a pattern the review board has observed: most complaints brought to the board concern interpersonal interactions rather than alleged outright misconduct, and commenters said additional evidence would help the board assess encounters where the context outside the officer–citizen exchange is not recorded. The Commenter also acknowledged the high-stress context in which officers operate and framed the requested tools as a way to produce "better decisions" by the review board.

The item will next be considered by the Committee of the Whole; no further schedule or dates were stated in the excerpted record.