Community leader seeking civilian review board revival after a year of inactivity
The city of Birmingham’s Civilian Review Board became a topic of discussion on Tuesday after the misconduct of police in the deadly beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis.
The board was created in 2021 to hold police accountable for their actions, and Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin was asked about the status of the board during a press conference.
The board has met at least once since then, but one community leader said that's not enough and is calling for better policies.
"The killings will not stop with Tyre Nichols. It didn't stop with George Floyd," said Eric Hall, of Black Lives Matter Birmingham. "It didn't stop with Trayvon Martin."
Hall called for an overhaul of the Civilian Review Board. The board was created by Woodfin in April 2021 in response to George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.
"I think that that was more so just a performative measure taken to calm the people, and there was really no true intent," Hall said.
Hall said he and others called for a civilian review board as early as 2016. Since the review board was created nearly two years ago, there's been lives taken by police.
"There has been demand for transparency and police accountability since his announcement," Hall said. "I find it very disrespectful the fact that he brought forth the family members of Benita Carter, who was killed by Birmingham police years ago, which of course was a part of the Civil Rights Movement, it brought forth real change in the city of Birmingham."
The mayor admits the civilian review board is something the city hasn't perfected, but he said getting the board back up and running is a priority.
"This is an area we haven't fully gotten right yet," Woodfin said. "We've got to. We had a number of people on there. Somebody had to resign and pull out. We just haven't gotten our civilian review board off the ground the way our citizens deserve. "
The once five-member board included a pastor, an activist, a former police chief, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor all selected by the mayor. Hall believes the mayor should be less active in the board's selection process.
"It needs to be a true civilian review board that's appointed by the people and the people have some authority as it relates to holding police officers accountable," Hall said.
The mayor said he plans to come back with an update on where the city is with the review board. He did not give a timeline for when to expect that update.