The South Bend Common Council will hold its third reading of the Community Police Review Board ordinance tonight, but the South Bend chapter of Black Lives Matter wants to see some changes to the measure before a vote.
In the current version of the ordinance, the director of the review board would be appointed by the mayor. Darryl Heller, a member of the executive board for Black Lives Matter - South Bend, said he believes that could compromise the separation of powers in local government.
“If the body of the civilian review board is under the Common Council of the legislative branch, then it creates some confusion if the director is under the executive branch,” Heller said.
The organization would rather the appointment be managed by a less political office, like the Clerk’s Office. Heller says that would help ensure some of the trust needed to make the board function.
“In order for it to do the job that it was created to do, it has to have the community’s trust. Otherwise, it devolves into ineffectiveness, I think,” Heller said.
The Common Council will meet Monday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. via Microsoft Teams.
Contact Gemma at gdicarlo@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @gemma_dicarlo
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