Mayor Eric Adams is seeking to fire the interim chairman of the Civilian Oversight Commission, which is tasked with investigating complaints against the NYPD, according to people familiar with the matter.
At some point last week, Phillips Banks, an Adams aide, asked Arva Rice to resign as chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), people familiar with the matter told The Post. Told.
Rice, who was appointed to the board by Adams’ predecessor Bill de Blasio, was appointed interim chair by the current mayor in February 2022 and is believed to be on the path to a permanent appointment, according to sources familiar with the matter. It is said that he was
But in recent weeks, the commissioner has been outspoken about the impact budget cuts have had on the commission’s ability to do its job and publicly criticized the NYPD’s response to the 2019 police shooting death of a Black man in his own home. Ta.
The CCRB has been in dire straits as Adams slashed city government budgets left and right due to the soaring immigration crisis, and Rice has been vocal about the true cost of the cuts.
Last December, the board was forced to halt the investigation due to intimidation of police officers, seizure of property, untruthful statements, disrespectful behavior, and refusal to provide names and shield numbers over attrition and vacancies. It was done.
Rice asked the City Council for $15 million in additional funding to fill vacancies and address a long backlog of cases.
He said the risks of continued underfunding include “complaints being unable to be investigated, police misconduct going unaddressed, and the public losing confidence in our public safety system.” in testimony during a Congressional budget hearing last month.
“We need an additional 73 investigators of varying experience levels to manage our current workload,” she added. “This does not include the 20 investigators whose promotions and raises were delayed due to budget cuts. Without timely promotions and fair compensation, we will lose many of our most experienced and talented investigators.” There is danger.”
Earlier this month, he thanked the council for supporting his request for additional funding.
“We need an adequate budget to serve New York City as civilian complaints increase,” Rice said. said in X. “The chronically underfunded CCRB is a critical element of public safety, and the budget should reflect that.”
In the same March 20 testimony, Rice criticized the NYPD’s response to the April 2019 shooting death of Kawaski Trawick by an NYPD officer in his Bronx apartment.
The department has refused to turn over evidence, including body camera footage, to the CCRB while it conducts a parallel investigation into the shooting, making it “impossible” for the commission to complete its investigation before the statute of limitations runs out. ,” Rice said.
“Essentially, the NYPD did not conduct a thorough investigation into Kawaski-Trawick’s murder, failed to clear its officers of any wrongdoing, refused to share evidence until the statute of limitations had expired, and continued to use the incident as an excuse to police officers. “The case was not closed within the statute of limitations,” she testified. “This circumvention of the disciplinary system is unacceptable and further proves why the CCRB is so important to public safety.”
Last week, at the CCRB’s monthly meeting, Rice spoke out about his alleged failure to properly investigate the officers’ actions and the NYPD judge’s finding that the two officers committed no wrongdoing in the deaths of Trawick and the officer. He once again criticized the “wrong recommendations.” The Commissioner of Police upheld the judge’s decision.
It was also last week that Rice’s deputy mayor for public safety, John Banks, who resigned as NYPD chief in 2014 amid a federal corruption investigation, visited Rice and asked him to resign.
After that meeting, the Speaker asked a trusted person within City Hall to go to Ingrid Lewis Martin, Adam’s chief advisor, and speak directly with the Mayor.
“We need to make changes,” Lewis Martin reportedly said, referring to unresolved NYPD complaints that the board has not been able to address, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting. he told the Post.
Rice did not immediately comment when reached by phone.
Kayla Mamelak, a City Hall spokeswoman, told the Post, “Mr. Rice was a holdover appointment from the previous administration.”
The person said he did not expect Rice to resign.
“She wants them to take her place,” the source said.
It’s unclear whether Rice will resign or whether Adams will have to find a replacement that would force him out of the interim position.
new york times, It was first reported Regarding the mayor’s desire to oust him, Rice said he expects to comply with the administration’s request and will resign within the next few weeks.
