Civilian Police Review & Advisory Board

MINUTES CIVILIAN POLICE REVIEW AND ADVISORY BOARD Regular Meeting January 11, 2024, at 12 pm In person at the Public Safety Building and by Zoom Members present: Rich Burks, Rachel Fetty, Bob Cohen, Megan Gandy, Catherine Fonseca, Bryan Church Also present in person: John Evans (research assistant to Megan) Present by Zoom: Mike Nolting (Metro News) 1. Call to Order: 12:06 2. Minutes of the regular meeting on December 14, 2023 were approved unanimously. 3. OLD BUSINESS A. Committee Reports: i. Training Committee Megan reported that Dr. James Nolan is available Monday, Wednesday and Friday all day and Tuesday and Thursday in the morning and evening. Dr. Nolan suggests a two hour period for the training. Bryan indicated that for a two-hour training, he would prefer doing it on an evening. Various dates were considered. Members who are present will all be available from 6 to 8 pm on February 15 and 28. Megan will check with Dady Dadyburjor regarding his availability those days, and then will choose a day with Dr. Nolan. They will also discuss the location of the training. ii. Community Outreach Committee - Discussion of February 8 Public Forum Brochure – Rachel presented a draft of the content of the brochure. Board members need to send comments on the content to Rachel. Megan will work with the City Clerk’s office to produce the brochure. Program – The outline of the program written by Rich and Bob and previously circulated by email was approved. Megan will print out copies of the 1-page survey which will be distributed to public forum attendees as they enter. It was agreed that copies of the Board’s 2023 Annual Report will also be available to attendees as they enter. For the panel, it was agreed that Rich will be the moderator, Rachel will present the history of the CPRAB, Bob will outline the powers of the CPRAB, Megan will describe what the Board has done so far, and Catherine will present what the Board plans to do in 2024. This will be followed by questions to the panel, a break for coffee and cookies and for attendees to fill out the survey, and then an opportunity for forum attendees to address the Board concerning their views about the Morgantown Police Department and what the MPD can do to improve. Publicity - Catherine will reach out to the City Clerk’s Office. Rachel will contact the neighborhood associations. iii. Statistics and Reporting Committee Rich reported that MPD Chief Powell is looking for dates for a meeting with MPD data base technician Angie Bell. The Board’s representatives at the meeting will be Rich, Catherine and Bob. B. Case Study of 8/30/21 Sheetz Incident It was determined that an available date for all Board members who were present will be February 29, 2024 at Noon. Rich will determine whether Chief Powell is available at this time. This will be a special meeting for the purpose of reviewing the written reports, call record, court records and bodycam footage together with the Chief and other officials of the Morgantown Police Department in order to better understand MPD procedures, the role of MECCA 911 and the information collected and relayed, and the standards for making an arrest. C. Board Vacancies Rich talked with Mayor Jenny Selin who basically said that it is essentially up to the Board to find two additional Board members. Members suggested that we should especially look for representatives of the homeless and disabled communities. Rachel will explore the possibilities of additional Board members with Health Right. D. 2023 Annual Report and 2024 Work Plan The first draft of the 2023 Annual Report and 2024 Work Plan was prepared by Catherine prior to the Board’s December 14, 2023 meeting. It was discussed at that meeting and has gone through several revisions since that meeting. Bob moved to accept the 2023 Annual Report and 2024 Work Plan in its present draft, Rachel seconded the motion, and the motion was approved unanimously. Catherine will put the document into final form, circulate it for final review, and submit it to the City Clerk prior to January 31, 2024. It was noted that the Board has been invited to the City Council meeting of February 27, 2024 to describe the Annual Report/Work Plan and answer questions from Council. 4. NEW BUSINESS – None 5. OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Mike Nolting of Metro News asked a number of questions to the Board, especially about the case study of the August 30, 2021 Sheetz incident and why a person might want to become a member of the Board. There was a general discussion in response to Mr. Nolting’s questions.  6. The meeting was adjourned at 1:05 pm. Minutes prepared by Bob Cohen