ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Police Accountability Board pitched its future to the public after a lengthy legal battle stripped its investigative powers.
“I obviously am working on just to continue to stabilize the organization,” Executive Director Dr. Lesli Myers-Small said. “We have been through litigation and it has been a very challenging year.”
It’s been two months since the PAB’s investigative power was stripped after a lawsuit by the Rochester Police Union. News10NBC’s Tom Kowalski crunched the numbers and found that in the past five years, the PAB has cost city taxpayers more than $15 million — about $3 million per year.
Giving people a voice
Legal pushback from the Locust Club has caused the organization to switch from its original purpose of directly disciplining officers to a systematic overview and policy review committee. Myers-Small said last month alone, the PAB received 14 complaints…