New Rochelle CCRB Still Training Two Years After Launch

New Rochelle filed a formal Freedom of Information Law appeal on October 26. The action followed the city's repeated failure to produce records concerning the Civilian Complaint Review Board. The documents sought include specific qualifications for individual board members.

Robert Cox, publisher of Talk of the Sound, initiated the appeal. He also renewed his objection to Corporation Counsel Dawn Warren handling the case. Warren serves as a plaintiff in pending federal litigation against Cox. Cox stated he will file an Article 78 proceeding if the city does not determine the appeal within the statutory ten business days.

The oversight panel has been in place for nearly two years. Despite this duration, the board is still completing mandatory training. It has not yet adopted bylaws. These delays have left the panel largely unable to provide meaningful oversight of the Police Department.

Cox argues that the city's leadership may not want a functioning board. He points to Mayor Yadira Ramos Herbert, City Manager Wilfredo Melendez, and police department leadership. He contends that restrictions prevent the CCRB from reviewing many high profile misconduct cases that originally drove demands for independent oversight.

Minutes from an October 1 CCRB meeting provide further evidence of the delays. The document shows that additional mandatory training was still scheduled. It also notes that the board's bylaws remained unfinished. The board was preparing to begin reviewing completed Internal Affairs investigations at that time.

The city missed multiple deadlines to produce the requested records. Cox's column details years of unanswered questions regarding the board's operations. The formal appeal places the city under statutory pressure to respond or face further legal proceedings in the near term.