Cop’s Dad Chosen for Civilian Complaint Board

By LUIS GONZALEZ

The City Council Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections on Thursday approved the appointment of the father of a New York City rookie police officer to the New York City Complaint Review Board.

The New York City Complaint Review Board handles independent investigations into allegations of abuse by New York City Police Department officers.

The appointee, Ramon Peguero, who said he has a “very good relationship with police officers,” and grew up with close friends who are now also officers, is the father of a recent police academy graduate now assigned to Brownsville, Brooklyn, according to hearing transcripts.

“My son, I’m proud to say, just finished, graduated from the Police Academy,” he told committee members.

During an earlier hearing Peguero was asked by Council member Jumaane D. Williams whether he believed that his previous relationship to police officers and his son being an officer would prove to be a distraction.

“Absolutely not,” he had responded saying that he believed he could remain objective and not take sides when faced with a decision.

Peguero is former executive director of Southside United, a nonprofit affordable housing advocacy organization in Williamsburg. The organization is credited with organizing the Dominican Independence Day parade for the last decade.

Also approved for the Complaint Review Board was Marbre Stahly-Butts, a policy advocate at the Center for Popular Democracy.

During her time at the Center for Popular Democracy, Stahly-Butts worked with families affected by aggressive policing tactics and uneven criminal justice policies in New York. A Yale graduate, Stahly-Butts worked with criminal justice organizations such as the Bronx Defenders, Prison Policy Initiative and the Equal Justice Initiative.