The head of City Council responds to PAB’s claims

Rochester, New York — According to the head of the City Council, it supports the Police Accountability Board and isn’t trying to prevent it from doing its job.

President Loretta Scott defended the City Council against PAB’s claims that the City of Rochester could take away its power. Board members said earlier this week that the city is undermining them and they will take legal action if it continues.

According to Scott, the PAB’s law firm sent a letter to the city’s corporation counsel earlier this month, “demanding the City recognize the PAB as an autonomous body, fully independent from the City Council”. She added she could not comment further because of the legalities of the issue.

“As the authors of this legislation, we remain steadfast in our support of the PAB as a sub-unit of the City Council. Our intent has always been to ensure the PAB acts as a unit within the City government, independent of the Rochester Police Department. As such, the PAB has always been held to the same set of standards and expectations as any other City department, bureau, or unit,” Scott said.

PAB, she added, has not investigated a single citizen complaint in the time since a voter referendum approved its creation in November 2019.

“We have dedicated $170,000 in legal fees defending the PAB’s disciplinary powers, utilized our own staff resources to ensure they operated smoothly prior to the Executive Director’s appointment, and continue to offer our guidance as they lay their foundation. In July, we unanimously passed legislation to hire a consultant firm to assist in developing their policies and procedures. City departments spanning from Information Technology, to the Department of Environmental Services, to Human Resources have given their full cooperation in seeing that the needs of the PAB were met,” Scott said.

“We will continue to champion the PAB and work together as we navigate the difficulties of starting something so unprecedented. We look forward to the day the PAB opens their doors to the public and fully dedicates their time to fighting for a more transparent public safety system in Rochester.”