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WILKES-BARRE — The Police Advisory Committee will be going back to school soon to assist with their understanding of the duties of the city’s law enforcement officers.

Mayor George Brown last October named five men and two women to the Committee created to review policy, investigate complaints and make recommendations to the mayor on what steps to take.

“We scheduled training for the members of the Police Advisory Committee with two faculty from King’s College,” Brown said.

The Committee will assist in the development of the training it will use to carry out its duties, Brown said.

Paul Lindenmuth and Sean Blinn, Ph.D. of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at King’s offered to provide the training free of charge, Brown said.

Lindenmuth, chairman of the Department, former detective and member of the Office of Special Prosecutor investigating police corruption in Philadelphia, said a virtual meeting for the Committee was scheduled for Wednesday night to develop the curriculum.

“We don’t care what kind of notions they come in with. We want to give them information necessary for them to make informed decisions,” Lindenmuth said.

Chosen for the volunteer Committee were: Darlene Duggins, Francisco Gonzalez, Andrew Jerome, Faith Lane, William Lewis III, Rahman Marshall and Edward “Ned” McGinley.

Brown and Wilkes-Barre City Police Department Chief Joseph Coffay sit as advisers to the Committee announced in June as Black Lives Matter protests spread in reaction to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in the custody of Minneapolis police officers.

“The mayor and chief of police are trying to be proactive with regards to the Police Advisory Committee,” Lindenmuth said.

The Committee, put together by the mayor, was the choice over a Citizen Police Review Board proposed by City Council Vice Chairwoman Beth Gilbert McBride. Council voted against the ordinance that would have created the board authorized to investigate alleged police misconduct and refer its recommendations to the mayor.

The NAACP Wilkes-Branch #2306 supported the creation of the Board. The Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association, the union representing city police officers, raised concerns about some of the powers proposed for the Board.

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