Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

WILKES-BARRE — A week after declining to do so, the local NAACP branch backed the creation of a citizen review board to investigate allegations of misconduct by city police officers.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Wilkes-Barre Branch No. 2306 President Ron Felton endorsed the board over another citizen panel Mayor George Brown is assembling to work with police to improve community relations.

Felton said Thursday the review board was preferred because it was the stronger of the two in terms of accountability. He said he and other NAACP members attended a meeting with the mayor last week about the advisory board. “The impression we took away was that’s even weaker than what councilwoman (Beth Gilbert McBride) put together,” Felton said.

Gilbert McBride drafted an ordinance based on one in Pittsburgh and circulated it for review. The ordinance, requiring two votes of council to become law, would create a citizen review board with the authority to investigate allegations of police misconduct.

The Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association, the union representing officers in the department, previously said it has concerns about the language in the draft ordinance and asked to be included in the ongoing discussions.

PBA President James Conmy said Thursday the union has not had any discussions with the NAACP about either the advisory or review board.

”We are willing to sit down with the NAACP or any other organization to discuss ways to strengthen our department’s relationship with the community. As we stated in our letter to council and the mayor last week, we are on record supporting body cameras for our members to improve transparency. Our organization did have one formal meeting with Mayor Brown about his advisory board, and we support that proactive initiative designed to increase dialogue with the community,” Conmy said in an email.

Initially, the NAACP held off with its support for either board. It called for further examination and input from “leaders in the communities of color” before proceeding further.

Felton said the NAACP branch’s executive committee has been reviewing the draft ordinance and refining it before presenting it publicly. City council is scheduled to meet in person at City Hall next month, giving the branch “the time to present it before our executive committee and to try to outreach the African American community,” Felton said.

The local NAACP’s decision was announced late Wednesday night after Felton commented on the disciplining of Courtdale Police Chief Chris Matello for comments made on social media regarding the Black Lives Matter protests against racial injustice and police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer last month.

Matello’s Facebook post that has been deleted, read,“Just start shooting … this will end quick! This is making me sick!”

Felton demanded Matello be fired instead of being suspended without pay. Felton also condemned Matello’s appointment as chief even after he was fired from nearby Larksville years earlier. Matello’s job as a state correctional officer also is under review.

In his comments Felton acknowledged Wilkes-Barre has not experienced “the level of atrocities” that other cities have across the country.

People are under the illusion that this is happening everywhere else but here, Felton said Thursday.

Without disclosing their names, Felton said, people have brought to his attention “interactions with law enforcement that they felt inappropriate.”

One incident was brought up at the meeting with the mayor last week. “One of our pastors had an encounter with police where he as practically pulled out of his car in front of his son,” Felton said.

In explaining the NAACP branch’s decision, Felton said in the statement Wednesday, “Shouldn’t we take a proactive approach that may greatly reduce the possibility of such an occurrence? Even though Mayor Brown is moving forward with the creation of an Advisory Board. It’s not enough, and that’s why the Wilkes-Barre NAACP supports a totally independent Citizens Review Board.”

Felton further added that he expected resistance to the calls for change.

“Make no mistake about it. We understand this is going to be an uphill battle. No one wants to relinquish their autonomy. However, if we allow a rogue police officer to go unchecked, it will eventually contaminate the entire department,” Felton said. “I know you can’t legislate an individual’s behavior, but you can legislate consequences to their racist and discriminatory behavior.”

Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.