Richmond hires former cop to manage police oversight board

• But having former police officers on it hasn't been popular in the past among some community members, who feel the board should be entirely independent of any law enforcement.

Driving the news: This week's appointment of Joseph Lowery, who spent more than 20 years with the FBI and five years with Chesterfield police, comes over a year since City Council approved the creation of the CRB in a 2022 ordinance.

• The city posted the job opening last September with a salary ranging from about $87,000 to almost $140,000.

State of play: The process of establishing the board began in 2020 following months of protests spurred by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

• A task force formed to guide the board's creation recommended the board handle all complaints against officers and have disciplinary power in 2021.
• Mayor Stoney mostly rebuffed that proposal and used a policing expert's recommendations instead, per the Times-Dispatch.

• That left the board to become more of an advisory group that can review and make recommendations to the mayor, council and police chief on certain internal investigations.

Between the lines: A supermajority vote of the eight-person board — half of whom will be chosen by the mayor and half City Council — could still allow them to apply for a subpoena if an internal review is deemed inadequate.

What's next: Lowery's first task is to draft the board's policies and procedures.