Interim chair of NYC civilian review board appointed to review NYPD discipline, after prior chair resigns

Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday his pick for a new interim chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, tapping a former journalist for the job a month after the previous chair resigned in a bitter dispute with a major police union.

Pat Smith, who worked for decades as writer and editor for The Daily News, and served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton during his 1992 presidential campaign, will be replacing Mohammad Khalid, a dentist, who had been appointed interim chair in late 2024.

Khalid resigned in early November after he was criticized by the Police Benevolent Association over his alleged bias against officers and claims that he improperly held a position on a Staten Island community board.

Khalid refuted that criticism in an interview with the New York Times and said that the stress on him and his family over the dispute prompted him to resign.

Smith was appointed by Adams in November 2023 to fill one of the 15 regular CCRB board positions for a three-year term which expires in 2026.

"I am honored to be appointed Interim chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board by Mayor Eric Adams," Smith said in a statement released by the CCRB. "I look forward to leading in a diligent, fair and unbiased manner."

In recent months, the PBA released data which the union said indicated that most of the CCRB board members "rubber- stamp" the department's disciplinary recommendations, except for Smith who only agreed 40% of the time.

"Pat Smith’s voting record demonstrates that he is one of the new CCRB members who is willing to review cases fairly and independently," said PBA president Patrick Hendry. "As interim chair, we hope he will steer [the] CCRB towards the fairness required by the City Charter."

With just weeks remaining in Adams term as mayor, it was unclear if Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani would keep Smith in the interim position, appoint a new interim or join with the City Council to pick a new permanent chair. The City Charter is silent on when an interim chair or a regular CCRB board member can be removed.

Smith is the third interim chair of the CCRB in the last two years. Khalid was preceded by interim chair Arva Rice who resigned in 2024 after she reportedly got into a conflict with then deputy mayor for public safety Phil Banks.

Both the CCRB and the NYPD have joint responsibility for disciplinary matters impacting the nearly 34,000 police officers. Such matters include minor infractions and discourtesy to cases involving civilian deaths. Penalties can range from extra training to dismissal by the police commissioner.

The most serious cases are handled by a special CCRB unit which brings officers to trial before an NYPD administrative law judge holding the rank of deputy commissioner. The law judge determines if the CCRB proved its charges against the officer and if so recommends a penalty. It is up to the police commissioner to decide if the charges are substantiated and the penalty.

A key issue in recent years has been over whether the CCRB should have final authority over its cases. Currently, the police commissioner has the final say. Khalid had supported making CCRB the final authority and Mamdani has also voiced support for it during the mayoral campaign. But such a move would require state legislation and previous efforts have failed in Albany.

CCRB data indicated that the agency and the NYPD agree about 78% of the time either in whole or in part over what charges should be substantiated against officers and what the right penalty should be.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.