Philly’s Citizens Police Oversight Commission faces ‘growing pains’ as a third of board resigns

The vice chair and two commissioners of Philadelphia’s Citizens Police Oversight Commission resigned Tuesday, with the vice chair claiming that a “toxic” environment of “petty power moves” has prevented any progress. The agency, created by City Council after George Floyd’s murder in response to calls for police accountability, is now missing a third of its nine board members.

The commissioner’s vice chair, Afroza Hossain, and commissioners Maryelis Santiago and Benjamin Lerner all resigned within hours of each other.

Interviews with commissioners and a review of recent CPOC meetings indicate that tensions over the commissioners’ influence on the day-to-day duties of the oversight commission have been escalating for months. Those duties include police department policy audits, investigation of civilian complaints, and community relations work.

Commissioners have forced staff to seek their permission to perform daily work activities, slowing progress, staff and commissioners say. The appointed board members and staff have clashed over delays in hiring, staff salaries, and operational expenses. In an unusual move, the commissioners requested the commission’s dozen-plus staff members share their resumes — which staffers said the appointed board did not have the authority to do.

“The commission as a body has not been able to do one thing that relates to police commission work for reform and oversights. Instead, they have been causing issues and dysfunction and bullying and just creating a really untenable environment,” Hossain said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s just become a really toxic environment where you can’t get anything done.”

The commission’s public meeting in April highlighted some of the ongoing discord. The commissioners spent more than half an hour addressing a physical altercation that had erupted during a recent community meeting — an incident that commissioners said was referred to the Office of the Inspector General for investigation.

Commissioners then quarreled at length over whether to allow CPOC to send a staffer to a national police oversight conference in May to present a policy project on CPOC’s policy work regarding police body-worn cameras. One commissioner objected to the fact that “none of the commissioners were invited” to present at the conference. Others said they weren’t given enough notice to make a decision.

Hossain said that over the last year, the commission has been consumed by bullying and squabbles on the part of four commissioners in particular: Jahlee Hatchett, Hassan Bennett, Rosaura Torres Thomas and Melanie Debouse.

Hatchett, Bennett and Torres Thomas, all reached by phone Tuesday, said they were caught off guard by the resignations and Hossain’s claims. The three said there were merely differences of opinion on the nine-member board and that they were focused on the best interests of the community. Debouse could not be reached for comment.

“I think that when there’s nine different people from nine different walks of life, we didn’t always agree,” said Hatchett, who serves as commission chair. “But I think that so far we’ve been able to make progress with the commission. I didn’t get the sense that bullying or anything like that was going on.”

Hossain, in her resignation letter, called for the ousting of the four commissioners or restructuring of the commission if they remained.

One of the issues at the center of Hossain’s claims is the search for a permanent executive director.

Since the commission began, Anthony Erace has served as the interim executive director. The four commissioners, Hossain said, had banded together in a concerted “conspiracy” to prevent Erace from becoming the permanent executive director.

Hatchett, Thomas and Bennett all said that there was no plan to fire Erace, and that they had merely raised concerns about a potential candidate.

“To say that we have been sabotaging him is false,” said Bennett.

Erace did not return calls for comment.

Hossain also alleged the mishandling of the hiring process for a general counsel position. In her resignation letter, she claimed that Hatchett and Torres Thomas spoke to a reporter from Axios about a candidate for the general counsel position.

The resignations and claims of internal strife come little more than a year after Philadelphia City Council created the commission in response to loud calls in Philadelphia and across the country for changes in the police department.

The commission replaced the Police Advisory Commission, which many saw as underfunded and relatively powerless. The legislation that created the commission, sponsored by Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., was designed to have nine appointed commissioners to increase transparency and representation in police districts across the city.

Some say the opposite has happened. A source close to the situation at CPOC, who asked not to be identified to protect their employment, said there is concern that the strife will lead many staffers to leave the office, further kneecapping the commission’s work.

“I’m honestly concerned that CPOC is going to implode because of the untenable situation brewing between the commissioners and the staffers,” the source said.

The commission is meant to have an executive director, chief counsel, and other staff. It also has nine members chosen by a selection committee and confirmed by City Council. The commission would have subpoena power and access to crime scenes and records, which the Police Advisory Commission did not. The body will review all complaints against police made by citizens, employees of the Police Department, and other city workers.

It can also investigate officer conduct, such as in instances involving the use of force or discharging a firearm, and can recommend criminal charges or discipline. And it can conduct audits and make policy recommendations.

In a statement, Jones attributed the resignations to “growing pains” and said the search would begin for replacements who are “committed to the mission, dedicated to serving, and willing to begin the tough work ahead.”

“The selection panel gave second interviews to 32 finalists and recommended nine who they collectively believed would be helpful in enhancing police oversight in Philadelphia,” Jones said. “In forming a new independent oversight commission, growing pains are inevitable. I thank the commissioners for their hard work and for their willingness to serve CPOC.”