The trustees of Rochester’s Police Accountability Board met in emergency session Thursday night, a few hours after leaders of Rochester’s City Council promised that the dysfunction within the agency will not continue.
The PAB’s board met by Zoom conference, with only about five minutes of the meeting open to public view. In those minutes, Board Chairman Larry Knox said the agency continues to take in complaints about police conduct for investigation despite problems including 18 staff members calling for the acting head of the agency to be fired.
Knox defended Acting Director Duwaine Bascoe against allegations that he was intoxicated during a staff meeting on October third. Bascoe has issued a statement saying he was taking Sumatriptan for a migraine, which the Mayo Clinic website says can cause changes in speech patterns and slurring. Bascoe said he wore dark glasses for the same reason. Knox said Bascoe had been “pushing himself more than he should have,” but there was nothing “nefarious” about why he was not at his normal speed that morning.
Prior to the meeting, City Council President Miguel Melendez, Vice-President Willie Lightfoot, Councilmember Mitch Gruber and Councilmember Michael Patterson all said they supported the PAB initially, but are now concerned about the turmoil which began with suspension of Executive Director Conor Dwyer Reyolds. Since then, three staff members have been fired and 18 staff members called for his replacement to be fired for causing what they call a toxic work environment.
The city currently has an investigation of the PAB situation and the suspension of Dwyer Reynolds underway. It’s due to be delivered at the end of the month, and Council President Melendez said council will then act quickly on those findings to make changes that will guide the agency on a path forward.
Council has already withheld half the PAB’s annual $5 million budget until the agency can meet certain benchmarks which it has yet to do.