Advocates disagree on Citizens Advisory Board in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A proposal to create a Citizens Advisory Board was brought up during Tuesday's Raleigh City Council meeting. Its goal is to strengthen community-police relations.

"You would have community people serving on this board," Diana Powell, Executive Director of Justice Served North Carolina told ABC11 after the meeting. "It just won't be law enforcement. It just won't be attorneys or whatever. It would be those individuals that have been directly impacted."

But some held up signs during the meeting saying "Not the people's proposal" and spoke out against the proposal afterward, including Rolanda Byrd.

She's the mother of Akiel Denkins, who was shot and killed by Raleigh Police. The officer who shot Denkins said through his attorney he shot in self-defense.

Byrd is with Raleigh PACT and said the proposal doesn't do enough.

"Police accountability means correcting the power imbalance between police and community," Byrd said. "To achieve that, the city must create a system where the police no longer police themselves."

During the meeting, the city said it will get more input before making a decision.