Nineteen people have applied for a vacancy on Durham’s Civilian Police Review Board, an unprecedented number, according to the city clerk’s office. There is increased interest in the board because of tumult within the department, including two officer-related shootings and an in-custody death of a suspect in the past year.

The nine-member board is appointed by the city manager. Each member serves staggered four-year terms.

It hears appeals of complaints submitted by citizens concerning actions taken by Durham police officers. The Durham Police Department’s Professional Standards Division initially investigates these complaints. If a complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, he or she may file a request for a hearing with the board.

The board’s mandate is to determine whether or not the investigation was conducted appropriately, specifically, whether the police department abused its discretion in the conduct of the investigation. The board examines the written evidence submitted by the complainant and the police department to determine whether a hearing should be held. The board will hold a hearing only if that evidence persuades the board that a hearing is justified. The board’s findings are submitted to the city manager for his or her action.

The racial and gender breakdown is three African-American women, six African-American men, one Asian man, one white woman and six white men. Two men did not list their race.

Here is a list of the candidates and their applications:

  • Omar Beasley, a local bail bondsman who ran for City Council last year [pdf-1]
  • Norman Blake, a retired law enforcement officer, who was a lieutenant and spokesman for the Durham Police Department [pdf-2]
  • Frances Castillo, an attorney in the public defender’s office [pdf-3]
  • Courtney Coyle, a property manager at The American Tobacco Campus [pdf-4]
  • Jeffrey Daye, an adjunct instructor at Durham Tech; he served as a military policeman and counterintelligence special agent with the U.S. Army [pdf-5]
  • Thomas Fuller, a network engineer at RTI International [pdf-6]
  • Brian DeLaurentis, a retired New York City detective who spent 11 of his 20 years on the force as an internal affairs investigator [pdf-7]
  • Allen Gattis, a mail courier at the Duke Medical Center [pdf-8]
  • Ross Grady, a software development manager at IBM [pdf-9]
  • Lucy Gray, who is unemployed and holds an associate’s degree in secretarial science from Durham Tech [pdf-10]
  • Carl Hodges Jr, a retired Air Force Officer, who, during his tenure served on numerous boards, including those overseeing court martials, promotions and inspector general reviews [pdf-11] [pdf-12]
  • John Horton, a program manager at the EPA; a retired military police officer, also worked in the Durham administrative court system as a juvenile probation officer [pdf-13]
  • Severra Jones, an administrator at Kelly Temporary Services [pdf-14]
  • Jacob Klaiatchko, a consultant who is currently on the Human Relations Commission [pdf-15]
  • Jameson Lopp, a software engineer and Mensa member [pdf-16]
  • Charles Silvia, a retiree [pdf-17]
  • Stephen Kraus, an IT project manager at GlaxoSmithKline [pdf-18]
  • Ron Thomas, who retired from Durham Regional Hospital in the employee relations department. A Vietnam veteran, he is a volunteer Truancy Court Judge at Parkwood Middle School. [pdf-19] [pdf-21]
  • Kenneth Webb, a website application developer [pdf-20]