ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Five years ago, Phyllis Harmon says she was a victim of what she believes is police brutality.

“I was begging for him to let me go,” she recalled. The officer “grabbed me around my neck, pushed me against the glass.”

The Rochester City Council has drafted legislation to establish a police accountability board, but on Monday, some Rochester residents spoke out against the proposal.

Calls for increased police accountability have gotten louder since two officers were suspended for allegedly using excessive force when they arrested a Rochester man earlier this year. The case is being investigated both by the city council and the district attorney.

Joined by other alleged victims including Harmon, a grandmother and life-long Rochester resident, the Police Accountability Board Alliance said the draft fails to establish five essential pillars of accountability the group feels is needed:

  • An independent agency of city government, separate from RPD,
  • Subpoena power,
  • Disciplinary power,
  • The power to review and evaluate RPD patterns and
  • The power to independently investigate complaints of police misconduct, which the Alliance says is crucial.

“The board needs to be independent, totally independent from the Rochester Police Department and from city government to be allowed to do their own investigations,” said The Police Accountability Board Alliance’s Pastor Wanda Wilson.

Panelist Jessenia Edgerton is outspoken about the need for change.  She said her husband is a victim of police brutality.

“He was kicked in the face to the point where his eye socket was broken and his ribs were fractured,” she said. “We need true transparency and true equality, the PAB that they want to put in place, but the PAB that we have let them know we want in place.”

City Council member Willie Lightfoot said he wants the Alliance to understand that this is only a draft.  He said the city council is in favor of having a police accountability board, sometime City Council President Loretta Scott reiterated.

“It is the beginning of a process, not the end,” Scott said. “It is not the final legislation.”

For Harmon, the time to act is now.

“Something must be done, it has to immediately,” she said. “These officers, they’re acting like they’re in a gang or something and we’re the target.”

Discussions about the PAB will continue this week.  The Alliance is urging supporters to speak out at Tuesday evening's City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m.

There is also a planned meeting is set to take place on Thursday afternoon between the Alliance and City Council.