Montgomery County Council Appoints Nine Nominees to Serve on Police Accountability Board

Per Montgomery County:
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 28, 2022
The Police Accountability Board will be responsible for handling complaints alleging police misconduct by Montgomery County police or officers of local municipalities

ROCKVILLE, Md., June 28, 2022—Today the Montgomery County Council appointed the nine individuals nominated by the County Executive to serve on the inaugural Police Accountability Board (PAB).

“Montgomery County is committed to ensuring that we build bridges between our community and law enforcement to ensure community safety for all,” said Council President Gabe Albornoz. “The Police Accountability Board will play a critical role in ensuring that connection, and I appreciate the residents who have come forward to serve.”

“As Chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, I know how important it is to have the best people serving on these boards,” said Councilmember Sidney Katz. “The state gave us a mandate to establish the PAB and the ACC, and it took a true team effort to meet the requirements of this mandate. I am pleased that we were able to meet the deadline, while thoroughly vetting the applicants to ensure that those who are serving are committed to being fair and impartial.”

In April, the Council enacted Expedited Bill 49-21, which established a PAB and Administrative Charging Committee (ACC) for Montgomery County. This legislation followed the passage of House Bill 670 by the Maryland General Assembly in 2021, which created a new uniform procedure for police accountability and discipline, including the establishment of a PAB and an ACC in each county in the state. These bodies will be responsible for handling complaints alleging police misconduct by a Montgomery County police officer or officer of a local municipal police department filed by a member of the public. The new state law requires every Maryland county to establish a PAB by July 1.

The County Executive transmitted his nominations to the Council on June 8 and the Council held interviews with all nine nominees on June 21.

The appointees are: Bishop Paul Walker (chair), Alicia Hudson, Kenneth Kellner, George Lluberes, Rudy Logan, Katharine Manning, Alvin McCray, Thomas Williams Jr. and Christopher Zatratz.

All nine public voting members of the PAB must be County residents and the board must reflect the racial, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation and cultural diversity of the County. At least one voting member must reside in a municipality that operates a police department within the County. The County Executive may appoint one or more non-voting members.

Members must demonstrate through professional or lived experience the ability to balance effective oversight, perform objective analysis of an investigation report and practice procedural fairness.

The Council staff report can be found here.

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