[Adopted 6-5-1997 (Art. II of Ch. 24 of the 1973 Code)]
[1]
Editor's Note: The name of the "Police Objective Review Committee"
was changed to the "Police Objective Review Board" 3-5-2020 by Res. No. 27.
The City of Troy hereby establishes a Police
Objective Review Board consisting of eight members, who shall be representative
of a cross section of the population of the City, all of whom shall
serve without compensation and execute and file oaths of office as
public officers.
Board members shall be initially appointed to
serve the following terms: four members shall serve four-year terms
and four members shall serve three-year terms; thereafter each member
shall be appointed to serve a three-year term; no member may serve
more than two consecutive terms.
Nonvoting staff members of the Board shall include
a member of the City Department of Law, a member of the Troy Police
Department Inspectional Services Unit and a representative of the
Troy Police Benevolent Association.
After the Board first convenes, all vacancies
shall be filled by the Mayor selecting from among three candidates
proposed by majority vote of the Board for each such vacancy.
The Board shall perform the following duties
and functions:
A.
Review completed professional standards investigations
conducted by the Troy Police Bureau and make findings and recommendations
concerning the Bureau's internal processes and thoroughness of each
such investigation and, based upon such reviews, study and recommend
means through which the Police Bureau may provide greater service
to the community;
B.
Study and recommend means to improve relations between
the City police and the public;
C.
Study existing hiring practices and make recommendations
concerning the need for changes (e.g., the need for additional background
investigations, psychological tests, different educational requirements,
etc.);
D.
Study existing training requirements and programs
and make recommendations for improvements; and
E.
Examine the administrative review process for completed
professional standards investigations, perform further examination
of such process and investigations upon such direction to the Board
by the Mayor and submit a report of Board findings to the Mayor upon
completion of each such review.
No later than February 15 of each year the Board
shall submit to the Mayor an annual summary report which shall enumerate
the total number of professional standards investigations reviewed;
list the cumulative totals of overall findings and recommendations
made; list the number of objective reviews that remain incomplete
or open, with an explanation as to the reasons why for each; and make
such other recommendations as the Board deems appropriate regarding
the professional standards investigations process.
Upon notice and opportunity to be heard, if
the Board determines by a majority vote, excluding any member so charged,
that any member of the Board has knowingly divulged confidential information
which was received in the course of work as a member of the Board
and which would otherwise not have been available to the public pursuant
to law, such member may be removed from office upon recommendation
of the Board to the Mayor.
Members of the Board shall be provided a complete
summary of each professional standards investigation as soon as is
practical after the completion of each such investigation. The summary
provided to the Board members shall include all materials and descriptions
of evidence relied upon in the conduct of the investigation, but shall
have redacted therefrom the names of any individuals.
In the course of performing its duties and fulfilling
its responsibilities, unless otherwise prohibited by law, the Board
shall have access to any and all confidential materials that it determines
would be of assistance in fulfilling the intent and purposes of this
article.
The Board shall conduct its meetings in a manner
consistent with the Civil Rights Law, § 50-a and the protections
against unwarranted invasions of personal privacy afforded to individuals
pursuant to Public Officers Law, § 87.
