New Rochelle Continues to Stonewall My Investigation Into the Civilian Complaint Review Board

Robert Cox

26 Oct 2026 — 12 min read

Detective Steven Conn struggles with Jerrell Garris prior to fatal officer-involved shooting on July 3, 2023.

DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 26, 2026) — After years of investigating New Rochelle’s efforts to establish civilian oversight of its Police Department, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the people running City Hall — the mayor, the city manager, the corporation counsel and the leadership of the New Rochelle Police Department — do not actually want a functioning Civilian Complaint Review Board.

I cannot prove what these officials are thinking, but I can document what they have done, and what they have failed to do. Nearly two years after the City Council established the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the board was still completing mandatory training. Three months after finally holding its first meeting, it still had not adopted bylaws. And now, when I seek records to establish what training members actually received, the City has spent more than three months postponing their release.

On Monday, October 26, I filed a formal administrative appeal with City Manager Wilfredo Melendez after the City missed yet another deadline to respond to my Freedom of Information Law request. If the City fails to determine my appeal within the ten business days required by state law, I intend to bring an Article 78 proceeding in New York State Supreme Court to compel compliance.

This is not an isolated dispute over public records. It is the latest development in an investigation I have been pursuing for years, one that has repeatedly raised questions about whether New Rochelle is genuinely committed to independent civilian police oversight or merely interested in creating the appearance of accountability.

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