NEW YORK CIT, NY - Sources with knowledge about a matter related to Mayor Eric Adams and the civilian oversight board tasked with investigating complaints against the New York Police Department (NYPD) told the New York Post that the mayor is trying to oust the interim chairwoman of the board.
According to sources, Adams' close advisor Philips Banks asked Arva Rice to resign from her position at the head of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) as recent as within the last week.
Rice was appointed to the board by Adams' predecessor, Bill de Blasio and in February of 2022, was named interim chair by Adams. The source said that Rice was believed to be on the path to a full appointment, until as of late when she has been outspoken about the effects of budget cuts on the board's ability to do its job.
Additionally, Rice allegedly publicly criticized the NYPD's handling of a 2019 police shooting of a black man in his home. Adams has been cutting budgets of city agencies due to the growing cost of housing the constant influx of illegal immigrants into the city, and Rice allegedly spoke up about the cost of the cuts.
According to the Post, in December 2023, the board was forced to stop investigating officers for threats, property seizures, untruthful statements, discourteous words or actions, or refusal to provide their name or shield number due to the budget cuts and vacancies. At the time, Rice asked the City Council for $15 million of additional funding in order to fill vacancies and tackle a long backlog of cases.
During a council budget meeting in March, she said that the risks of continued underfunding include not being able to "investigate complaints, police misconduct going unaddressed, and the public losing faith" in their public safety system.
Rice added, "We need 73 additional investigators of a variety if experience levels to manage the current workload. This does not account for the 20 investigators who have had their promotions and pay raises delayed due to budget cuts. Without timely promotions and fair compensation, we are at risk of losing many of our most experiences and talented investigators."
In the same March testimony, Rice proceeded to bash the NYPD's handling of the case of Kawaski Trawick, who was fatally shot by NYPD officers in his Bronx apartment in April 2019. The officer-involved shooting was ruled justified. Rice claimed that the department refused to hand over evidence including body camera footage to the CCRB while it was conducting its own investigation of the shooting.
Rice said, "Essentially, the NYPD did not thoroughly investigate the killing of Kawaski Trawick, cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, refused to share evidence until it was beyond the statute of limitations, and then has once again tried to avoid holding the officers accountable because the case was not closed within the statute of limitations. This circumvention of the disciplinary system is unacceptable and further proof why the CCRB is such an important entity for public safety."
During CCRB's monthly meeting in April, Rice reportedly again slammed the NYPD for its alleged failure to properly investigate the officers' actions as well as the NYPD's judge's "flawed recommendation" that the two officers had committed no wrongdoing in the death of Trawick and the police commissioner's endorsement of the judge's decision.
It was after that meeting that Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety went to Rice to ask that she resign. This meeting was first reported by The New York Times, however, sources revealed to the Post that Rice asked a person she trusted within City Hall to go to Adam's chief advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, to try and get a meeting directly with the mayor to discuss what Banks had asked of her.
Sources with knowledge of the meeting told the Post that Lewis-Martin allegedly referenced the backlog of open NYPD complaints that the board has not been able to get to and said, "we need to make a change." Sources also said that Rice was "taken aback" by how Lewis-Martin responded to her confidant trying to set up a face-to-face meeting.
City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak told the Post that "Rice was a holdover appointment by the previous administration." The sources said that they don't believe Rice will step down adding, "She wants them to replace her." However, according to the Times, Rice is expected to comply with the administration's request and will leave the job in the coming weeks.
According to sources, Adams' close advisor Philips Banks asked Arva Rice to resign from her position at the head of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) as recent as within the last week.
Rice was appointed to the board by Adams' predecessor, Bill de Blasio and in February of 2022, was named interim chair by Adams. The source said that Rice was believed to be on the path to a full appointment, until as of late when she has been outspoken about the effects of budget cuts on the board's ability to do its job.
Additionally, Rice allegedly publicly criticized the NYPD's handling of a 2019 police shooting of a black man in his home. Adams has been cutting budgets of city agencies due to the growing cost of housing the constant influx of illegal immigrants into the city, and Rice allegedly spoke up about the cost of the cuts.
According to the Post, in December 2023, the board was forced to stop investigating officers for threats, property seizures, untruthful statements, discourteous words or actions, or refusal to provide their name or shield number due to the budget cuts and vacancies. At the time, Rice asked the City Council for $15 million of additional funding in order to fill vacancies and tackle a long backlog of cases.
During a council budget meeting in March, she said that the risks of continued underfunding include not being able to "investigate complaints, police misconduct going unaddressed, and the public losing faith" in their public safety system.
Rice added, "We need 73 additional investigators of a variety if experience levels to manage the current workload. This does not account for the 20 investigators who have had their promotions and pay raises delayed due to budget cuts. Without timely promotions and fair compensation, we are at risk of losing many of our most experiences and talented investigators."
In the same March testimony, Rice proceeded to bash the NYPD's handling of the case of Kawaski Trawick, who was fatally shot by NYPD officers in his Bronx apartment in April 2019. The officer-involved shooting was ruled justified. Rice claimed that the department refused to hand over evidence including body camera footage to the CCRB while it was conducting its own investigation of the shooting.
Rice said, "Essentially, the NYPD did not thoroughly investigate the killing of Kawaski Trawick, cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, refused to share evidence until it was beyond the statute of limitations, and then has once again tried to avoid holding the officers accountable because the case was not closed within the statute of limitations. This circumvention of the disciplinary system is unacceptable and further proof why the CCRB is such an important entity for public safety."
During CCRB's monthly meeting in April, Rice reportedly again slammed the NYPD for its alleged failure to properly investigate the officers' actions as well as the NYPD's judge's "flawed recommendation" that the two officers had committed no wrongdoing in the death of Trawick and the police commissioner's endorsement of the judge's decision.
It was after that meeting that Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety went to Rice to ask that she resign. This meeting was first reported by The New York Times, however, sources revealed to the Post that Rice asked a person she trusted within City Hall to go to Adam's chief advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, to try and get a meeting directly with the mayor to discuss what Banks had asked of her.
Sources with knowledge of the meeting told the Post that Lewis-Martin allegedly referenced the backlog of open NYPD complaints that the board has not been able to get to and said, "we need to make a change." Sources also said that Rice was "taken aback" by how Lewis-Martin responded to her confidant trying to set up a face-to-face meeting.
City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak told the Post that "Rice was a holdover appointment by the previous administration." The sources said that they don't believe Rice will step down adding, "She wants them to replace her." However, according to the Times, Rice is expected to comply with the administration's request and will leave the job in the coming weeks.
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