The interim head of an independent civilian police oversight board in New York, who had criticized the Police Department and had sought more investigative power and funding for the agency, resigned on Monday after being forced out by Mayor Eric Adams.
The chairwoman, Arva Rice, was asked in April to resign from the panel, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, by Philip Banks III, the deputy mayor for public safety. The request came after she criticized police officials for delaying an investigation into the fatal shooting of a Bronx man by failing to turn over evidence in a timely manner.
Ms. Rice, who also serves as president and chief executive of the New York Urban League, has led the board since the mayor installed her in February 2022, when he called her a “champion for equity and justice.” Her resignation will take effect on Aug. 15.
“While I will no longer serve on the C.C.R.B., my commitment to holding police officers accountable for misconduct remains unchanged,” Ms. Rice wrote in her resignation letter, which was reviewed by The New York Times.
Among her accomplishments are investigating the police response to the protests over the murder of George Floyd in 2020, during which 138 officers were found to have committed misconduct, and clearing a backlog of complaints made during the coronavirus pandemic. Ms. Rice requested $15 million more in funding from the City Council than the mayor proposed in his budget this year. She also pushed for a change in state law that would allow the board more access to police body camera footage.
Mr. Adams has denied forcing Ms. Rice out. City Hall officials called her a “holdover” appointment from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration. While Mr. de Blasio appointed Ms. Rice to the board, Mr. Adams elevated her to interim chairwoman.
Christopher Dunn, legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said that Ms. Rice’s “forced departure” was “yet another troubling step in this administration’s campaign to undermine police accountability.”
Under Mr. Adams, a former police captain who campaigned on fighting crime while protecting the rights of New Yorkers, the Police Department has increased the use of tactics such as stop-and-frisk that have led to findings of racial bias in the past. The number of complaints received by the Civilian Complaint Review Board increased 50 percent in 2023 from the year before and was the highest since 2012.
Jumaane Williams, the public advocate, expressed concern about who might be chosen next to lead the board.
“I’m concerned the push will be for someone who will just toe the line and not do the job, as Arva Rice did, of holding people accountable and speaking out when something is wrong,” Mr. Williams said.
Ms. Rice’s resignation comes in the wake of the departure of several high-profile women in Mr. Adams’s administration. While the mayor often cites his appointment of women to serve as deputy mayors and lead prominent city agencies as proof of his commitment to diversity, some have departed under difficult circumstances.
Laura Kavanagh, the commissioner of the New York Fire Department, resigned earlier this month without explanation after less than two years. Commissioner Kavanagh, the first woman to lead the department, faced lawsuits from several top fire chiefs accusing her of age discrimination and unfair demotions. In a post on Medium, she cited a desire to spend more time with friends and family.
Keechant Sewell, the first woman to lead the Police Department, abruptly resigned in June of last year after less than 18 months on the job. Current and former police officials said that Ms. Sewell had felt she was being micromanaged by City Hall, including by Mr. Banks.
Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix, the corporation counsel, resigned in June after The New York Times reported that Mr. Adams wanted to replace her with Randy Mastro, who served as chief of staff and deputy mayor to former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Ms. Rice had criticized the police for being slow to hand over evidence in the 2019 fatal police shooting of 32-year-old Kawaski Trawick in his Bronx apartment. Officers had said that he jumped at them with a knife.
Ms. Rice said that the board’s investigation had found that the officers had acted improperly in entering Mr. Trawick’s home, using force against him and failing to aid him after the shooting. Because the police waited 18 months to turn over body camera footage from the incident, the board’s investigation exceeded its own statute of limitations, making it more difficult to recommend that the officers be charged with misconduct.
Darcel D. Clark, the Bronx district attorney, in 2020 declined to file charges against the officers, Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis. In April of this year, Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban ruled that the two officers had acted properly and would not face punishment.
“Essentially,” Ms. Rice said in written testimony before the City Council in March, “the N.Y.P.D. did not thoroughly investigate the killing of Kawaski Trawick.”
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