Community leaders praise Morgantown Civilian Police Review Board, police union opposes

"As someone who is working down in the trenches day-to-day, I can tell you that it’s just a no-brainer to have this kind of oversight (...) This could not be more necessary."

By DOUGLAS J HARDING

City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to make Morgantown the state’s first municipality to establish a Civilian Police Review and Advisory Board, an action applauded by community leaders and activists—but staunchly opposed by the local police union.

Chair of the Morgantown Human Rights Commission, Ash Orr, said during Tuesday’s public hearing that establishing a civilian review board is a major step in protecting Morgantown’s most vulnerable residents.

“This board is necessary to create transparency between our police departments and our citizens,” Orr said. “In addition, the board will help to protect our most vulnerable communities, including the Black, POC and LGBTQ communities. Creating this board should not be deemed a radical movement but a movement that is necessary for the betterment of our community.”

Robb Livingood, a local attorney, said supporting the establishment of the civilian review board is a “no-brainer” for people concerned about the fair treatment of minorities and other vulnerable communities.

“I am on the ground representing individuals who have been accused of crimes, and as someone who is working down in the trenches day-to-day, I can tell you that it’s just a no-brainer to have this kind of oversight,” Livingood said. “This could not be more necessary. We can never have enough transparency. I support this civilian review board, 100%, and I feel that it is very needed.”

Sam Wilmoth, who works at West Virginia University’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said establishing a civilian review board is fundamental to ensuring local law enforcement agencies actually serve and represent their communities.

“On a fundamental level, hearing from the people we serve is what service is all about, and having accountability for the ways we serve is what improvement is all about; If we don’t hear from people who have experiences directly with service of all kinds, then we risk becoming a sort of insular culture that never changes,” Wilmoth said. “We should ask ourselves if we can truly get better at anything without being really solicitous of feedback—without being really open to hearing criticism—from the people we’re working with, and I think we know the answer is ‘no’ (…) The more transparency and the more discretion we can have and do it well, the better and safer our communities will be.”

Tuesday’s unanimous passing of the ordinance to create the civilian review board came only after months of dedication and hard work from local activists and organizers, said Mollie Kennedy, community outreach director at the ACLU-WV, thanking council members for listening to such community input.

“The people have spoken through phone calls, emails and public statements and even the recent city council elections,” Kennedy said. “The community has made it very clear that this review board is very necessary and valuable and needs to be passed. As I’ve said before, this is not a radical step, but it’s a very important one that will help pave the way for reform in other parts of the state as well.”

Still, less than 24 hours following Tuesday’s unanimous vote, the Monongalia-Preston Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 87 filed a lawsuit against the city, aiming to prevent the establishment of such a civilian police review board.

Attorney Teresa Toriseva, representing the Fraternal Order of Police, argues that sharing with the civilian review board the decisions of the police chief—before such decisions already are finalized—on matters related to police misconduct violates state code.

During Tuesday’s public hearing, Morgantown-Kingwood NAACP member Bob Cohen said Toriseva’s assessment of the issue at hand is flawed and serves mainly as a threat to council members.

“Ms. Toriseva bases her claims on the authority of the Morgantown Police Civil Service Commission, which, she asserts, precludes any involvement ‘in the complaint process prior to the chief making a decision.’ However, the authority of the Police Civil Service Commission, as to disciplining an officer, does not take effect until after the chief makes a decision—It has no effect on what happens during the chief’s decision-making process. That is what West Virginia law provides,” Cohen said.

Cohen said it is important to consider the possible implications of Toriseva’s interpretations of West Virginia code.

“If the chief of police cannot legally consult with a civilian review board created by city council, then he cannot consult with anyone else either before making a decision,” Cohen said. “Let’s say that the incident giving rise to possible discipline involves a unique issue with policing for which the chief feels he should get expert advice. He would not be able to do so under Ms. Toriseva’s legal theory, nor would the chief be able to consult with other chiefs of police in West Virginia before making a disciplinary decision. To do so, under Ms. Toriseva’s theory, would violate the ‘complete and exclusive system’ language of West Virginia code 8-14-23. Arguably, the chief would not even be able to consult with the city manager before making a decision.”

Cohen said Toriseva’s argument is more about ensuring the Fraternal Order of Police’s considerable control over the Morgantown Police Department rather than accurately interpreting state code.

“What is at issue here is the question of who runs the Morgantown Police Department: the chief or the [Fraternal Order of Police] and Ms. Toriseva,” Cohen said. “Here, Chief Powell has accepted the process outlined in the ordinance, but the FOP says he cannot do so. Under a strange interpretation of West Virginia statutes, the FOP is attempting to dictate the chief’s process and to tie his hands. City Council should not bend to their threats.”

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