Public Safety Advisory Committee meets for the first time Thursday

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

Eric Hall says he's been fighting for increased police accountability in Birmingham since 2018.

Then, two and a half years ago, Mayor Randall Woodfin announced a police Civilian Review Board.

Unfortunately, the five-person panel has been invisible to the public it was created to serve, ever since.

“I'm very disappointed. The CRB never, to my understanding and to my knowledge, never held one meeting,” Hall said.

That is about to change.

Thursday afternoon, the new Public Safety Advisory Committee will hold its first public meeting.

The group includes activist T. Marie King, Pastor Lawrence Conoway, former police chief Annetta Nunn, attorney Victor Revill and former Gov. Don Siegelman.

“I'm curious to see as it relates to what power this committee really had and is this going to be something that's going to really be beneficial to the citizens of Birmingham,” Hall said.

We have followed the lack of action by the previous CRB from the beginning.

We even drove to Atlanta to sit down with their Citizen Review Board Director.

Lee Reid was surprised by how long it was taking Birmingham to get off the ground.

“The worst thing you can do is set up oversight, and it becomes ineffective, under-resourced, and does not meet the needs of the community,” Reid said earlier this year.

Hall hopes the Birmingham community will now receive the policing checks and balances it was promised so many months ago.

“Somebody has to police the police, and somebody has to be in a position to hold these officers accountable for their actions,” he said.

Thursday’s public meeting of the Public Safety Advisory Committee will be held at 1 p.m. on the second floor of Birmingham City Hall.