Groups call for Tampa’s Citizens Review Board to have subpoena power

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Several groups in Tampa are calling for more transparency and accountability ahead of a city council meeting this week. They want to see changes to the city’s Citizens Review Board.

The Citizens Review Board was formed to increase trust between the Tampa Police Department and the community. During a press conference Sunday, those groups called for the board to have subpoena power. News Conference: Advocacy groups discuss potential reforms to Tampa’s Citizens Review Board On Tuesday, the city council will decide whether to put that question on the ballot in March of 2023.

Groups supporting this move say it’s needed, as the board reviews cases of police misconduct. “How can people trust results when the evidence isn’t made available to them,” Joseph Nohava with Tampa Bay Community Action Committee said. “We’re thinking that the CRB is here to do a job right to increase trust and accountability.

Well, it seems to me that they can only do that with the full breadth of evidence before them. ” window. loadAnvato({“mcp”:”LIN”,”width”:”100%”,”height”:”100%”,”video”:”8116517″,”autoplay”:false,”expect_preroll”:true,”pInstance”:”p0″,”plugins”:{“comscore”:{“clientId”:”6036439″,”c3″:”wfla.

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“This is a completely unnecessary proposal supported by a small but vocal group of defund-the-police activists that would send the message that Tampa residents don’t support our outstanding police department.  This subpoena power proposal would not give the CRB authority to subpoena police officers, but it would give an unelected volunteer board the power to force any resident of Tampa to appear, testify, and produce private text messages, emails and videos under the threat of civil or criminal penalties. That is an extreme step that would threaten the civil liberties of our neighbors, family and friend.

” “If you’re not trying to hide anything, if you’re not trying to protect anyone, then this should be sufficient,” President of the Hillsborough branch of the NAACP Yvette Lewis said. Tampa City Council has a special called meeting November 1st at 9:00 a. m.

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