‘The People’s Council’ must allow independent review of police misconduct

After new members were elected to the Prince George’s County Council last fall, the council dubbed itself “The People’s Council.” While this is encouraging to hear, as residents of this county, the actual litmus test for whether this new council is genuinely dedicated to the concerns of the people, and in particular, the needs of residents from less affluent, over-policed communities, is the passage of CB-81-2023, a bill to give the county’s new Police Accountability Board independent investigatory and subpoena powers. In other words, we’ll believe it when we see it.