Overview
- Mayor Eric Adams named former Daily News journalist Pat Smith interim chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, filling the role weeks before the new administration takes office.
- Smith replaces Mohammad Khalid, who resigned in November after a dispute with the Police Benevolent Association over alleged bias and outside board service, which he denied.
- The PBA praised Smith’s voting record as fair and independent, noting he agreed with departmental recommendations about 40% of the time, and he previously sided with officers in the Win Rosario shooting review.
- The CCRB chair directs the agency’s public posture and more than 200 staffers but holds one vote on the 15-member board that decides whether to bring charges against officers.
- Mamdani must choose whether to keep or replace Smith, a move with potential union fallout, as Adams’ late-term board picks—also including the Rent Guidelines Board—could complicate early policy plans unless overturned in court.