Groups decry panel reviewing complaints of police abuse at GOP convention

NEW YORK -- Black and Latino police officers' groups said Saturday that a police panel formed to investigate citizen complaints about police tactics during the Republican National Convention threatened to undermine civilian oversight of the New York Police Department.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly formed the panel of senior chiefs to review claims filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent city agency that investigates complaints of police misconduct.

The creation of the panel added a layer to the NYPD discipline process, in which the police commissioner reviews complaints substantiated by the review board and then decides whether to impose discipline.

The National Latino Officers Association joined the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement and civil rights attorney Normal Siegel to protest the plan outside police headquarters Saturday.

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