Citizen Review Board considers Oakland for hearing

The Citizen Police Review Board plans to hold a public hearing concerning the G-20… The Citizen Police Review Board plans to hold a public hearing concerning the G-20 Summit-related arrests in Oakland, but the University’s feelings about the meeting are unclear.

The review board, an independent group that investigates police behavior, tentatively scheduled a public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 10 to hear students’ and business owners’ complaints about police conduct during and surrounding the Summit.

Beth Pittinger, the board’s executive director, said the group initially hoped to hold the meeting on campus, “because [the demonstrations] happened there.”

If it can’t hold a meeting on campus, Pittinger said, the group will hold one at another location in Oakland.

Robert Hill, Pitt’s vice chancellor of public affairs, said it was “premature” to comment on the Citizen Police Review Board’s plans because the University hasn’t yet received a request to use its facilities.

“We have not established a position,” Hill said.

Pittinger said the meeting will be similar in format to one held in Lawrenceville last week, where people who attended had three minutes each to speak. Pittinger said the review board will hold a second meeting if demand requires it.

She said the Citizen Police Review Board has received 75 complaints related to the Summit and that each of them is at a different stage. Some are still pending, while others are sworn statements. Some complaints are about individual officers, she said, while others question the general police procedures used Sept. 24 and 25.

“We’ve never received this number of complaints or even close to it for any one particular event,” Pittinger said. “We had a handful around the Super Bowl, but nothing has ever reached this level of complaints, about individuals or policy.

“It tells us that it was a very unique event for the city to host. Some things merit a review, because it seems there is some controversy about what transpired and that’s why we’re here,” she added. “Those things are worthy of a review, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Pittinger said that when the review board finishes conducting its hearings, it will conduct a general inquiry of its own, eventually having a discussion with board members and public officials about how police were trained and why officials chose those methods of training.

“There might be things that we don’t know that might explain some of what transpired in those two days,” Pittinger said. “Some things may never be explained adequately, but we need to vet it.”

City police spokeswoman Diane Richard declined to comment on the meeting or on Pittinger’s remarks, writing in an e-mail, “Chief [Nathan] Harper indicated that he has no statement regarding allegations made by the Citizen Police Review Board.”