What to know about State College’s Community Oversight Board as it nears 5th anniversary

State College’s Community Oversight Board is approaching its fifth anniversary, but officials say the civilian panel created after a police shooting hasn’t met its accountability goals. Changes are being made in response to low engagement and few complaints.

FULL STORY: State College board overseeing police struggles with engagement as 5-year anniversary nears

Here are key takeaways:

• The Community Oversight Board, known as COB, formed after State College police shot and killed Osaze Osagie, a 29-year-old Black man experiencing a mental health crisis, in 2019. It held its first meeting in December 2021.
• The board has received just 14 complaints since launching. Of three complaints received last year, none involved State College police — they concerned a local business, parking enforcement and a service provider’s billing.
• Original initiatives including a public dashboard and annual town hall reporting were never implemented, said Leslie Laing, who helped form the board and called the current version “disappointing.”
• The board was designed for nine members but had only six consistent members in 2025. State College Borough Council approved changes Monday making it a seven-person board.
• Mayor Ezra Nanes said there has been a lack of “engagement” with the civilian complaint process, while praising the police force as “highly trained, very professional, very dedicated.”
• COB member Zachary Van Horn and co-chair Jan Ulbrecht say expanding community outreach is a priority, including contacting every homeowners and neighborhood association in the three townships.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.