The interim executive director of the Rochester Police Accountability Board faced more than an hour of questioning during her confirmation hearing this week.
Lesli Myers-Small served as the superintendent of the Rochester City School District before resigning in 2022 amid allegations of mismanagement of district finances.
During the hearing Myers-Small was questioned about her departure from the district, her selection to lead the PAB, and how she would handle the numerous bureaucratic roadblocks the agency faces.
“I want to make sure the community thoroughly understands their rights and their responsibilities,” Myers-Small said. “We have a community that is very diverse and has lots of different types of people in the community. We need to do a better job of getting out there and getting the word out.”
The PAB tapped Myers-Small as its new leader last month after a nearly two-year, $40,000 search. Her selection requires City Council approval. Council members will vote on Myers-Small's confirmation on Tuesday, July 23.
Myers-Small was vague on the organization’s current powers. The PAB was envisioned as an oversight agency that would investigate claims of misconduct, dole out discipline to officers, and provide policy recommendations to the department.
But state courts stripped the board of its disciplinary power, and it would require a change in state law to recover that authority. Meanwhile, the agency has faced challenges in obtaining information from the Rochester Police Department, bolstered by the position of District Attorney Sandra Doorley that no information regarding any active criminal investigation be released.
Speaking at a news conference Friday, PAB board chairman Larry Knox reaffirmed his support for Myers-Small leading the agency, seeing her selection as a step towards stability.
“This has been a long and sometimes twisting journey for the PAB,” Knox said.
During the news conference, Myers-Small described the status of the PAB as essentially a research organization.
Myers-Small said the PAB will begin publishing redacted findings of its misconduct investigations over the summer. Those reports will not include the names of victims nor officers. But she said it is important to know “what part of the city are they coming from.”
When asked how she would work to create a good faith relationship with RPD, Myers-Small, who has been in the position for a week, said she has already begun those conversations. Building such a relationship is critical for the work of the PAB. Outside of the legal hurdles, the PAB’s work — particularly its analyses of policy — can only go so far as what the department is willing to offer.
Another major challenge for the PAB is forming agreements with the Locust Club union, the organization which represents sworn officers of the Rochester Police Department.
The PAB’s past two leaders had failed to create a functional working relationship with the Locust Club. Asked how she would move forward if she was also unable to, Myers-Small downplayed the possibility.
“I don’t want to speak on that,” she said. “My hope is that we can partner, that we can have conversations. But if we can’t, we continue to move forward.”
