ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Police Accountability Board, voted in by the people in 2019, has faced challenges in its first four years including turnover, a sexual harassment scandal, and lawsuits. The board finished its first investigation in 2023 and has done 28 to date, far from its goal of 125 investigations by 2022.

The PAB’s charter states it is meant to investigate officer misconduct, provide recommendations, and discipline when necessary. However, the Rochester Police Department’s union sued the PAB over its ability to discipline and won. Now, the PAB takes down reports of misconduct, investigates them, and hands its results to RPD Chief David Smith, who is required to respond. The process has been slowed down partly because investigators can’t get access to all the RPD materials they request.

Dr. Lesli Myers-Small, former superintendent of the Rochester City School District — who was interviewed Thursday night by City Council as the potential new leader of the PAB — said her focus would be on transparency, community engagement, and accountability.

“While we don’t have disciplinary power, that’s not a part of what we can do at this point. I stand on the fact that we can educate and we can help to empower community members to report information. We can make this information available and create awareness even without disciplinary powers. Knowledge is power, and informing our community residents in the transparent way that we can that things have occurred, I think is very powerful,” Dr. Myers-Small said.

Myers-Small says the PAB can still collect reports, analyze data, and inform the community of their rights relating to police.

She says one of her goals is to publicize reports. Right now, individual reports of misconduct and investigated privately and shared with the RPD. Chief Smith is mandated to respond and, if he deems it necessary, discipline the officers involved. But up until now, the public couldn’t see the allegations or the investigations.

Myers-Small also says she’ll be meeting with RPD to talk about its trouble getting information and evidence from the police department.

The PAB’s budget is more than $3.5 million. It has 26 full-time employees.

Hailie Higgins, News10NBC: “Do you believe the public has trust in the PAB?”

Dr. Lesli Myers-Small: “So I went out and did a little information gathering — and there’s a full spectrum of responses within the community. Some fully understand what we do and they support what we do and are comfortable and know what we’re all about. There are other community members who have no idea what we do, and so again that community engagement. We have had a little bit of a rocky start and some bumps in the road. But I think again, getting out and making sure we do a reset if necessary with community members for them to understand and know what we do.”

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