MORGANTOWN – Morgantown Civilian Police Review and Advisory Board Chairman Richard Burks stood before Morgantown City Council this week to deliver the board’s mandatory annual report.
He ended up on the hot seat.
Members of council – primarily Louise Michael and Danielle Trumble – took Burks to task for recent board member comments made directly to the press and during board meetings.
“I think it’s having consequences, unintended consequences, on morale for our police department; recruitment,” Michael said, questioning whether the board is fulfilling its intended mission. “I believe some of the comments that have been made to the media are misleading and false about city council.”
The comments in question came via a January radio interview with Burks and board member Bob Cohen. According to a report filed by WAJR, Cohen surmised at least one candidate for a seat on the board may have been blackballed by one or more members of council because the applicant worked as an advocate for the city’s homeless population.
“Do you think that’s appropriate to go to the media and say things like that about the board that governs your commission?” Trumble asked.
The speed at which openings on the MCPRA are being filled by council has been a sticking point with board members.
Councilors pointed out filling the seats may not be as simple as it appears.
They explained the stipulations put in place by the board’s founding ordinance are very specific. For example, it states three of the nine members must be either residents of subsidized housing or members of historically disadvantaged communities. Another three members must be nominated by organizations seeking racial or social justice.
Further, Councilor Bill Kawecki said, council isn’t interested in filling the board with individuals who show up with an axe to grind for or against the city’s police force.
“We’ve been cautious, and we’ve been deliberate,” Kawecki said. “And I would ask you, please, to be that too.”
While Burks said the board has had a number of positive interactions with the city’s police department, the body has expressed some frustration at the frequency with which those occur.
Trumble said she believes that’s likely down to the fact that the department has more pressing priorities, particularly as it currently has 20 or more open positions.
Further, she pointed to a recent report in The Dominion Post in which a board member is quoted questioning whether officers are intentionally turning off their body-worn cameras during interactions in violation of department policy.
The MCPRA has identified a review of the department’s body cam policy as a priority in 2025.
Trumble asked why the department would be interested in participating in that conversation when accusations have been made prior to the review process.
“I want [the MPD] to have an open conversation with you and I want communication to happen, but I think the way the board is operating currently is turning them off to those conversations,” Trumble said.
Burks said the member in question, Bryan Church, is a defense attorney whose work takes him beyond Morgantown. His recollection, Burks continued, is that Church was speaking generally, not specifically about the MPD.
While Councilor Brian Butcher conceded that there are conversations to be had regarding how the board interfaces with the media and the public, he questioned whether the grilling of Burks was proper in that setting.
“I don’t know if during an annual report, impugning the entire existence of the board is necessarily appropriate,” Butcher said, explaining he believes the body is doing good work, but is under increased media scrutiny.
“The other thing I would say, though, is, like, we all attend boards and commission meetings all the time. The paper is often at theirs. The paper is often looking because people are interested to know what the police review board is doing,” he said. “It gets clicks, right, to publish a story about them.”
According to meeting minutes, The Dominion Post has attended – either physically or remotely – six of the last 10 MCPRA meetings.
Throughout the conversation, Burks maintained the board has nothing but positive intentions.
“My intent is to try to make it so that people aren’t so intimidated by police, and also that the community has a place in this; that they understand why these things are done; that they understand what’s going on,” he said.
