Syracuse CRB approves board training, tables summer intern hire; names Peggy Chase to government-relations post and moves to executive session on administrator

The Syracuse City Civilian Review Board on an evening meeting approved a multi-session training program for board members, tabled a proposal to bring a summer student supplied and paid by Human Resources, accepted several administrative updates about cases sent to an outside investigator, appointed Peggy Chase as chair of the committee on government relations and recessed to executive session to discuss the vacant CRB administrator post.

The vote to schedule educational training for the full board passed after a motion and second; board members said the training will be scheduled for a Saturday in June to allow broader attendance. Joe Barry, First Assistant Corporation Counsel, told the board that training sessions for educational purposes would not run afoul of the New York State Open Meetings Law because no decisions would be made during the sessions: "Correct, because you're not making any decisions, you're just receiving the benefit of . . . educational information," Barry said.

Why it matters: board members and staff said training is needed because many members lack experience reviewing cases; members also said clearer committee roles and consistent terminology are needed before the board can reliably review police policy and complaints.

Board business and administrative updates

The board's temporary leadership reported that Freeland Investigations has been assigned six cases for investigation: three cases nearing an 18‑month cutoff and three cases from fiscal year 2025. The temporary administrator said those six…