The City of Rochester released a statement Friday, saying:

"As a matter of policy, the City of Rochester, including the Police Accountability Board, does not discuss ongoing employee-related complaints or investigations. It is important that these matters are fully vetted to ensure a fair and complete understanding of all relevant information and to be certain that employee confidentiality and trust are not compromised."

Melendez issued a statement spelling out next steps, saying in part:

"Today I sent the following recommendations to the Board to make City Council and my expectations crystal clear.

1.     Our office determined the responsible course of action was to seek an outside legal firm with expertise in Human Resource matters to investigate these allegations, issue a report detailing their findings, and provide recommendations to the Board. City Council should receive a copy of the investigation’s findings as soon as it is issued. Until that investigation is completed and those findings are issued, the Board must proceed with the utmost caution to ensure all staff involved in this matter are afforded their right to privacy and protection as employees of the City.

2.     I supported the suspension of the Executive Director while this issue is investigated, and I appreciated the Board’s quick action in that regard. City Council staff will be a resource to the Board in the interim.

3.     I offered the opportunity for the Chief of Staff of City Council to provide administrative support to the PAB while this investigation is ongoing and strongly encourage the Board to take us up on this offer.

This matter is larger than one person and requires a thorough investigation. The Council looks forward to the PAB moving this process forward and understanding the validity of these allegations."

Evans released a statement Friday afternoon regarding PAB staffing, saying:

"Rochester’s Police Accountability Board (PAB) was established by City Council, and is overseen by a Board of Directors that retains the responsibility for staffing decisions related to its Executive Director.

The Mayor’s Office names one appointment to the PAB’s Board of Directors and remains supportive of the concept.

The administration defers all questions on the operation of the PAB to City Council."

The Rochester Police Locust Club also released a statement Friday, saying:

"The lack of information from the Police Accountability Board into the internal investigation of the Executive Director is incredibly hypocritical for an organization whose mission statement revolves around transparency. Our membership has seen all their personal information immediately disclosed whenever there is even a hint of wrongdoing or even in cases where all policies were followed. Even when the process allows for a confidential and fair process, police officers are not afforded the benefit of a City policy to “not discuss” employee investigations. The only thing more glaring is the lack of City Council members calling for PAB transparency and the termination of accused individuals. This Council has shown that, if the accused were a uniformed police officer, they would forego all the officers’ rights and immediately demonize them before any investigation took place.”