Community Activist and Lawyer Prohibited From Serving on Providence Police Review Board, Says Ethics Commission
The Rhode Island Ethics Commission has ruled that a lawyer recently appointed to the Providence External Review Authority (PERA) is “prohibited by the Code of Ethics from serving” on the body.
Community activist Shannah Kurland – who in 2024 received a $142,000 settlement from the City of Providence relating to an arrest in 2015 – is the most recently appointed PERA board member, which “serves as a civilian oversight body that investigates allegations of police misconduct.”
“[Kurland], a new board member of the Providence External Review Authority (PERA), a municipal appointed position, who in her private capacity is a licensed attorney who regularly represents clients in civil cases alleging misconduct against the Providence Police Department and its officers, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether she is prohibited by the Code of Ethics from serving on PERA, given her private employment,” said the Ethics Commission in their advisory opinion issued this week…