Police meetings go on hiatus

CITY HALL — With its membership in the air, the Police Commission voted to postpone its quarterly meeting in response to a City Council decision to launch background checks into all seven commissioners amid disclosures from the city attorney that an appointee is on probation for drunk driving.

Commissioner Claudia Bonis recommended putting off the meeting until July 15, citing the possibility that the City Council on Tuesday would remove any commissioner whose police record impedes their ability to serve.

“I’d rather wait until we have a final decision on the commission,” said Police Commissioner Elise Stearns-Niesen. She joined Commissioners Bonis, Nat Rubinfeld and Bob Frutos in voting 4 to 3 Wednesday to shelve the meeting.

But the decision was met with protests from newly confirmed Commissioners John Brady and Jim Etter.

“We’re all here together, and we have an agenda,” Etter said. “We’re not here to dodge bullets; we’re here to move forward. You are acting like you have a crystal ball, and the truth is, you don’t.”

Brady, who is on unsupervised probation after pleading guilty to drunk-driving charges two years ago, said he took the vote as a clear swipe at his record, which also includes decades as a well-known civil rights activist with leadership roles on the Human Relations Council.

“I was here to get working,” he said. “I wanted to propose an agenda item of holding more meetings. I wanted to propose a program of community outreach.”

He reiterated charges that apparent efforts to remove him from the commission were unfortunate given the recent lawsuit filed against the Police Department in which a lieutenant and four officers allege myriad discriminatory practices.

“I am [public relations] gold for the city and the Police Commission,” he said. “I am not the issue. My issue is minor compared to getting the Police Commission to function as more than a mutual admiration club and as a true oversight body.”

Two days after Brady was voted onto the commission, Councilman Dave Golonski requested that the City Council consider an unprecedented revote on the four new commissioners because the original appointments had been made “without complete and accurate information.”