AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ten people have been appointed to help oversee the Austin Police Department as part of the city’s very first Community Police Review Commission. The move comes almost two years after an agreement was put in place that would allow the group to be formed.
These people, who are members of the community and not affiliated with APD, will help recommend policies related to discipline, training, community relations and the citizen complaint process. They will also address community concerns, review APD practices, assess how effective the Office of Police Oversight is and review critical incidents and police misconduct cases.
The city had previously had a Citizen Review Panel from 2001 to 2017, but the interim city manager suspended it in early 2018 because the city and Austin Police Association had not come to an agreement on a new police contract. In November 2018, the groups agreed to create a civilian review panel as part of their new meet and confer agreement.
The following people were selected after applying for the role earlier this year. City leaders, community members and oversight consultants helped screen 70 applications to whittle it down to the final commission members. City and community members interviewed each of them before they were selected:
- Ryan Carlino
- Elizabeth Castaneda
- Joao Paulo Connolly
- Erica Flores
- Jessica Gonzales-Bricker
- Sukyi McMahon
- Tania Rosamond
- Amani Seay
- Richard Segovia
- Grayson Turner
The commission will meet on the first Monday of each month from 6 to 8 p.m. and its first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 5. There is also a new website for more information about the commission and its meetings and people can email their questions to cprc@austintexas.gov.
