Mayor to replace CPRB members

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s announcement to replace the Citizens Police Review…

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s announcement to replace the Citizens Police Review Board may not have been a sudden decision.

Today he revealed that he would seek to replace five members of the CPRB, but the plan has been in the works for months.

The terms of all of the members of the board have expired, some as long ago as 2007.

Two current members of the board, Deborah Walker, the Student Conduct Officer at Pitt and a former Pitt police officer, and Robert Carrington will stay on. The new members will likely be Donna Kramer, Eugene Downing Jr., Deborah Whitfield, Leshonda Roberts and Phil Gruszka.

The Citizens Police Review Board investigates allegations of police misconduct, and is in court today to seek a contempt of court finding against Police Chief Nathan Harper for refusing to hand over documents relating to the G-20 Summit. Many of the documents the board requested are considered public records, including arrest records.

Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, chair of the Public Safety Committee, said that she, the city clerk’s office and members of City Council had been working on a list of nominations since March.

Smith took over the chair of the committee in January, and shortly after was informed of the expired terms of the Board members.

“I have no clue why they were not replaced before now,” she said.

Joanna Doven, the mayor’s spokeswoman, said that the mayor’s office had been busy with other administrative appointments over the past year before moving to the high-profile CPRB.

The Mayor’s office received Council’s nominations 58 days ago, and made this announcement two days before the legally-mandated deadline.

The nominees will have to go back to City Council for interviews and a vote before becoming official members. Smith and Doven agreed that it would take several weeks before the new members would be in place.

She said that she did not anticipate that the change in board members would hinder the board’s day-to-day operations, or its investigations. Part of what she encouraged her nominees to do was “continue investigating” but also look to build relationships between the police department and the community.

Smith said that she hoped the board would expand to fill that role.

The board’s executive director, Beth Pittinger, was not immediately available for comment, as she was in court today.