Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell told Boston Public Radio on Friday the recommendations issued by the mayor's police task force are a "step in the right direction," but contain some "red flags."
The task force's report, released earlier this month, calls for a new and more powerful civilian review board with the ability to independently review and investigate allegations of police misconduct.
The council has advocated for such a review board, and she noted that there are some key distinctions between the council ordinance and the task force recommendations.
Both call for an office to support the civilian review board, but Campbell said the council's proposal would fully eliminate the existing panel, called the Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel (COOP), rather than reconstitute it, as the task force recommends.
"The task force recommendations create an office, create a civilian review board, but they also keep the COOP panel and rebrand it. I dont think you need those many layers," she said. "There's also some red flags for me with respect to the appointment process for the new branding of COOP panel."
Campbell said the task force recommendations would allow police unions to give suggestions of panel members. She said the council ordinance has "shared authority" with the council and the mayor on the appointments, offering fuller independence from the police department.
