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Former United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch will announce recommendations by the second week of September for a citizen review board to oversee Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety.

The Public Safety Citizen Review Board, which will hear, review and recommend actions in response to allegations of misconduct by DPS officers, is the first concrete measure to emerge from Lynch’s ongoing review of the department.

Lynch and her team have spoken with multiple students, faculty and administrators since Chancellor Kent Syverud announced the department review in February and will continue discussions this semester, Lynch said in a statement to The Daily Orange. Her investigation of DPS is “fully underway,” she said.

Lynch’s review is a result of growing concerns about how DPS engages with the campus community.

#NotAgainSU, a movement led by Black students, occupied Crouse-Hinds Hall for 31 days last semester to protest SU’s response to a slew of racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic incidents reported on or near campus. DPS sealed the building off for two days at the start of the occupation, preventing outside food and supplies from entering. SU provided food to the protesters.

Protesters who gathered outside Crouse-Hinds physically struggled with DPS officers multiple times during the occupation. One video posted to social media shows DPS Associate Chief John Sardino reaching for his holster during a struggle with protesters.

Lynch’s team will host a series of listening sessions with students, faculty, staff and DPS personnel to guide their recommendations for the review board’s makeup and operating procedures, Syverud said in a news release Friday.

Neither Lynch nor SU has said when the review is expected to be complete or when the team will publish its recommendations.

Student Association sent a DPS Experiences and Concerns Form to the student body in June. The form has received over 100 responses, all of which Lynch and her team have reviewed, SA President Justine Hastings said.

“I hope that students finally feel like their concerns are not only being heard but addressed with bold, swift actions and solutions,” she said.

Lynch’s team has also reached out to various student leaders and has asked them to share their availability to schedule a time to discuss their views on DPS, Hastings said.

SA plans to partner with DPS to conduct student focus groups centered on DPS-student relations. SA will minimize the role of campus police in the groups, which InterFaith Works will lead as a third-party facilitator, Hastings said.

The association expects between 100 and 225 students to participate in the groups and will share notes from the meetings with Lynch and her team.

Lynch served under President Barack Obama’s administration and is a partner in the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison law firm. Her work has focused on improving community-police relations.

DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado said in a statement posted to social media that he welcomes the independent review and looks forward to suggestions that can improve DPS and the safety of the campus community.

Published on August 25, 2020 at 9:37 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3