The city of Lansing is piloting a citizen-led effort to expand oversight of the city’s police department.
Under Lansing’s charter, the Board of Police Commissioners has the authority to conduct advisory oversight of city law enforcement. An executive order Mayor Andy Schor signed Thursday will turn a subcommittee for the board into a group responsible for reviewing complaints from citizens against police officers.
The new Citizen Complaint Oversight Committee will work withindependent investigator Delvata Moses to field complaints and comments from community members. Schor said Moses will be able to request internal documents from the police department.
"We're just adjusting to make sure that, that the citizen investigator can do their job as efficiently and effectively as possible on behalf of the citizens,” he said.
“This is going to increase her access and make sure that she gets the information to do appropriate investigation"
The committee will be composed of members from the Police Board of Commissioners, a group appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council.
The committee will operate as a pilot for the next six months with plans to evaluate its work and make adjustments with a city ordinance later this year.