Scranton City Officials and Community Activists discuss possible Citizen Review Board

SCRANTON (WOLF) — Earlier this week we told you about confidential internal investigation files released involving a couple Scranton Police officers fired over alleged racist behaviors. Now activists are demanding greater transparency. A few activist groups met with city leaders to get their message across.

“Everyone was really receptive, there were a lot of people talking at once, but I believe we did get somewhere," said Savannah Drummond of Creating Change for the People.

Less than 24 hours after meeting with Scranton City officials, Drummond wants to hear from her fellow Scrantonians.

“Myself as well as the Mayor, the police chief and others in Lackawanna County got together over a Zoom call and talked about the documents that were out," said Drummond.

Those documents stemming from a confidential internal investigation, involving two Scranton Police officers who were formally fired in June after alleged racist behavior dating back to 2018.

"We discussed transparency with it between the police department and the city," said Drummond.

Drummond along with other activist groups are calling on the city to create a citizens review board. This afternoon she met with City residents on courthouse square to discuss it.

"I’ve gotten a bunch of decent feedback already about the citizens review board, how they feel about what happened with the documents, how SPD and the Mayor have handled those things," said Drummond.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church Reverend Rebecca Barnes stopped by suggesting the community has more open conversations about racism.

"I think they exist often in silence and we may not be having open conversations about how we can heal and remedy some of them," said Rev. Barnes.

In a statement, Mayor Paige Cognetti said “I want to share steps we have taken and are planning to address racial bias in city government, increase accountability, and build trust between the police department and the community.

I appreciated the opportunity to review these and hear from Black community leaders last night during a remote meeting, which included our Chief of Police.

I look forward to continuing the dialogue and receiving your ideas, listening to the stories of your experiences, and to the hard work we have ahead of us.”

Below are steps the City said they have taken and plan to take to address racial bias in city government.

Activists say they are planning to meet with city leaders again early next month. They are hoping these discussions will spread to other towns across the region.

NAACP released the following statement regarding the alleged behavior.

"The President of the NAACP Organizing Charter Committee of Lackawanna County, Heather Rhodes, met with Chief Graziano in June 2020 and discussed increased training for the force and new hires. Chief Graziano reports that training is on-going and updated periodically. A follow-up meeting was conducted on November 11, 2020 with Interim Chief Namiotka, Mayor Paige Cognetti, their staff, and Scranton Activists and Black Leaders. Suggestions were made to implement racial, gender, and cultural sensitivity training and increase diversity within the force. In addition, we suggest the current training be reviewed and updated to reflect a complete understanding and knowledge of the aforementioned topics. Training is suggested to be implemented in theory and practical experience that will demonstrate an exemplary skill set for new officers and currently employed personnel.

The NAACP Organizing Charter Committee strongly encourages transparency in order to continue to grow a positive harmonious relationship with the SPD and the citizens of Scranton which will inevitably gain public trust and confidence.

We are hopeful and motivated by Mayor Paige Cognetti’s recent remarks regarding the development of an Independent Police Review Board. We anticipate remaining diligent as more information is made available and continuing a discussion of implementing a review board to prevent future situations and correct previous violations."