State College Borough Council passes ordinance for ‘COB’ overseeing police. Here’s what it means
Fourteen months after it started as an idea, State College’s Community Oversight Board — a civilian board overseeing local police — is now simply one signature shy of becoming official.
The State College Borough Council voted unanimously Monday night to form the COB, which should be formally established by October once the nine-member board is filled. A full-time board coordinator must also be hired for the group.
“I think this can only improve relations and relationships throughout the community,” Councilwoman Theresa Lafer said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the lone holdup in the official creation of the COB is a signature from Mayor Ron Filippelli, who told the CDT in an email, “I have two weeks to decide.” But, at this point, the mayor’s signature is essentially a formality. Council needs only five votes to override any potential veto, and all seven council members voted in favor of it.
The COB hasn’t been without its controversy — even Monday, with a debate on critical race theory that Filippelli participated in — but, ultimately, the entire council felt this was something the community needed. The State College Police Department may have the confidence and trust of a majority of citizens, they said, but that doesn’t mean others who feel differently should be ignored. More accountability should be seen as a positive, they intimated.
For months, a study committee researched similar groups, interviewed boards from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and created a 62-page report that helped guide council’s vision for the COB. Some eight public work sessions were held, two public hearings were hosted, four public study committee meetings were scheduled, numerous council discussions centered on the COB, and countless feedback was received.
Council voted 7-0 Monday night to pass the ordinance establishing the COB.
Critical race theory debate
Most issues and disagreements had already previously been settled. But one hot-button issue took up much of Monday’s discussion — critical race theory.
The theory, a decades-old academic concept that holds racism is embedded in social institutions and legal systems (e.g. redlining), has fast become part of the U.S. culture wars. At issue Monday was whether future board members should be required to learn about the theory as part of board training, which also calls for police ride-alongs, an emphasis on the 4th Amendment, department training practices, etc.
Eventually, the borough council unanimously settled on keeping critical race theory under its required training — but not until two impassioned-but-opposing speeches and at least one changed mind.
Lafer initially proposed making the language less specific, removing the requirement of teaching critical race theory, saying the COB’s needs may shift and the theory may not necessarily be needed a few years down the road. Council President Jesse Barlow countered by saying the ordinance can be tweaked as society changes but, right now, it’s needed — so the language should remain.
Councilman Evan Myers then dove in to a 6-minute monologue, where he laid out just why the theory is needed. He referred to redlining, when banks once essentially refused to offer mortgages to Black people, and how single-family zoning prevents the building of affordable housing — which stymies desegregation efforts — in white neighborhoods. But his last point might have been his most effective.
He recounted the recent story of Eric Brown, a Black real-estate agent who — along with a Black client and his son — was handcuffed by police while showing a home in western Michigan. A neighbor saw the Black men and assumed they were breaking in.
“The fact is that’s the kind of thing that I certainly don’t ever experience. I’ve never experienced,” Myers said. “Yet it’s ingrained in the institutions we have in our society. And that’s why it’s important for people who are enforcing the law, or people that need to understand what’s going on, to understand those things.
“It’s part of the fabric of who we are that these things happen — and it’s important for all of us to understand and learn these things and put them in our head so that we don’t think, on a Sunday afternoon, that two Black men and one with his teenage son are not breaking into a house but are looking to buy it.”
Said Lafer: “Long. But well-put.”
Filippelli, who’s authored four books on American labor history, then offered his own impassioned speech. He didn’t disagree with any of Myers’ points; instead, he said historians reinterpret history all the time.
“History is never settled,” Filippelli said, adding he does not object to critical race theory.
“Critical race theory is is one of many approaches to the study of race and slavery, and racism, in America. I agree with almost all of it. But we are writing law here; we are writing law. ... We should not put in a theory of history and embed it in a law.”
Lafer voted against her own proposed amendment to change the language, and it failed 6-1. (Councilman Peter Marshall was the dissenting vote.) Critical race theory was then kept in the ordinance, as required training for the COB.
So, what will the COB do?
The COB’s goals are fully outlined in the ordinance itself. But among them is the hope to create an environment that allows for “better communication, understanding and relations” between the police department and the community.
Here’s a look at key elements — not all elements — of the COB:
- The COB can receive, process and investigate complaints about the police department from the public through a Civilian Complaint Process, a new process independent from police that will be formed by the spring. Any complaints about alleged officer misconduct will still be referred to the police department for internal investigation, however — although the COB’s board coordinator may observe internal affairs investigations.
- The COB has “timely and unfettered access to necessary information within limits imposed by law” and can make recommendations to council, the borough manager or police department about policies, practices and procedures. The board chairperson and two other members will also hold quarterly policy reviews with the police department to review redacted summaries involving use-of-force incidents, in addition to other information (e.g. search and seizure, officer complaint history, race-bias concerns, etc.)
- The COB can publish an annual report documenting its findings, recommendations and the police department’s responses to its oversight. It can also recommend strategies to provide education and training in the community, with an emphasis on increasing transparency.
- The COB can direct independent review of closed closes, within the limits imposed by law, regarding cases that resulted in serious injury or death — once litigation is finished. However, the goal of such investigations is “primarily for the purpose of making policy recommendations” to council, the borough manager or police department.
What comes next?
Filippelli has until Aug. 30 to decide whether to sign off on the ordinance. If he does, it officially becomes law. If he vetoes it, then it goes back to council — which, according to the home charter, requires five votes to override.
Again, considering council passed the ordinance 7-0, that’s not expected to be an issue.
Once the ordinance is official, the focus can shift to filling the board and hiring the board coordinator. Borough council will appoint board members to three-year terms, and borough staff will hire the coordinator.
Who will be appointed? Names haven’t been floated at this early point, but the ordinance does outline the qualifications for future appointees:
- Must live in the service area of the State College Police Department
- Must be open-minded, impartial and committed to the civil rights of all affected parties
- Must commit to completing all of required training
- Must sign a confidentiality statement to protect the status of confidential information
- Should reflect the broadest possible diversity, with particular attention paid to those who have suffered past institutional discrimination
The borough council will especially look for board members from six different areas: those involved in community organizations, those who understand the role played by systemic racism, those with knowledge of law enforcement (who have not worked for police for at least three years), those with backgrounds connected to behavioral health, those with the understanding of the experiences of children in local schools and a Penn State student who lives in the police service area.
The COB will meet, at minimum, quarterly. No board member can serve for more than nine consecutive years (but can serve again after a three-year break), and borough council can remove members for a number of reasons — such as not completing training, failure to remain impartial, etc.
The full board and coordinator were expected to be in place by Oct. 1, as outlined by the ordinance. But that could be delayed, at least slightly, if the mayor chooses to veto or takes the full two weeks to sign.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 4:52 PM.
