On the agenda: Brookline, MA Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Meeting — license plate reader (Oct 5)

Ron Wilkinson, Co-Chair
Paul Yee, Co-Chair
C. Scott Ananian
Nicolas Fetzer
John Hilliard
Kristine L. Knauf
Kimberley Richardson

333 Washington St., Room 111
Brookline, MA 02445
Click Here to Register for Meeting
Or call: 646-828-7666
Meeting ID: 165 669 9143

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Agenda
Hybrid Meeting
Monday, October 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM
PCAC Public Comment Policy
1. Convene Meeting
2. Introductions
2a. Introduction of presiding Chair
2b. Introduction of voting & non-voting members
3. Approval of Minutes
3a. Approval of 6.29.2026 General Meeting minutes
3b. Consent agenda on Article 25 Meetings minutes from 8.6.2026; 9.8.2026.; and
9.22.2026
4. Public Comment - 3-Minute Limit
4a. Public Comment - please email [email protected] before the meeting.
5. Status of PCAC Subcommittees established for the Article 25 Resolution of the May 26,
2026 Town Meeting that charged the PCAC with investigating whether Brookline should
remain a member of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), including these
specific investigative and analytical tasks:
5a. BRIC operations as per paragraph 4(1): Scott Ananian & Kristine Knauf
5b. BRIC compliance as per paragraph 4(2): Kimberly Richardson & Ron Wilkinson
5c. BRIC databases as per paragraph 4(3): Scott Ananian & John Hilliard
5d. Oversight of BRIC as per paragraph 4(4): Paul Yee & Nick Fetzer

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6. Reports
6a. Update on Proposed Changes to PCAC Website: John Hillard
6b. Civilian Complaint Reports: Lieutenant Joseph Amendola
6c. ICE in Brookline Updates
7. Discussion and vote on draft Internal Policy for Reviewing Complaints for PCAC: Paul
Yee/Ron Wilkinson
7a. Internal Policy for Reviewing Complaints for the PCAC
8. Discussion of Future Topics and Agenda
9. Future Meetings: October 26, 2026, December 7, 2026
10. Adjourn

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Webpage
For help attending meetings on Zoom, go to BrooklineMA.gov/ZoomTips. If you need reasonable
accommodations or modifications related to this meeting, please contact Sarah E. Kaplan, ADA
Compliance Officer, at [email protected] or call 617-730-2329. ADA Information:
BrooklineMA.gov/Town-Legal-Notice
Requests for language access may be sent to the Language Access Coordinator at
[email protected].

Page 2 of 26

Ron Wilkinson, Co-Chair
Paul Yee, Co-Chair
C. Scott Ananian
John Hilliard
Kristine L. Knauf
Kimberley Richardson

333 Washington St., Room 111
Brookline, MA 02445
Click Here to Register for Meeting
Or call: 646-828-7666
Meeting ID: 165 203 2518

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Minutes
Hybrid Meeting
Monday, June 29, 2026 at 7:00 PM
PCAC Public Comment Policy
1. Convene Meeting
Paul Yee convened the meeting at 7:02 PM in Room 111 and online.
2. Introductions
Voting Members Present:
• Paul Yee (Co-Chair)
• Ron Wilkinson (Co-Chair)
• John Hilliard (Committee Member, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 11)
• Kristine Knauf (Committee Member, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 15)
• Scott Ananian (Committee Member, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 10; via Zoom)
• Kimberly Richardson (Committee Member, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 2)Note:
Kimberly Richardson arrived after the vote on the minutes and was present for the
remainder of the meeting.
Non-Voting Committee Members and Staff Present:
• Chief Jennifer Paster (Chief of Police, Brookline Police Department)
• Lieutenant Joseph Amendola (Office of Professional Responsibility, Brookline Police
Department)
• Lieutenant David Hill (Brookline Police Department; via Zoom)
• Deputy Superintendent Russell O'Neill (Community Service Division, Brookline Police
Department; via Zoom for the ICE update)
• Susan Harris (Associate Town Counsel; via Zoom)
• Sarah Kaplan (Staff Liaison, Community Relations Specialist, Diversity Office; via
Zoom)
3. Approval of Minutes
3a. Approval of minutes of meeting on 5/18/2026

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Ronald Wilkinson made the motion to Approve May 18, 2026, minutes as written. The motion
was seconded by Kristine L. Knauf.
Result: Passed; Yes 5, No 0, Abstained 0
Voting Aye: Ronald Wilkinson, Paul Yee, Scott Ananian, John Hilliard, Kristine L. Knauf
Voting Nay: None
Abstaining: None
4. Public Comment - 3-Minute Limit
4a. Public Comment - please email [email protected] before the meeting.
Linda Roseman, Town Meeting Member and first chair of the PCAC, spoke about the
committee's upcoming review of Brookline's relationship with the Boston Regional Intelligence
Center (BRIC). She said she was disturbed by what she described as inflammatory rhetoric at
Town Meeting during the Article 25 debate, and urged the committee to look at facts and data,
to listen to Chief Paster and public safety experts, and to approach the study with an open
mind. She described the BRIC as a valuable public safety resource.
David Butcher, Brookline resident, raised a topic for a future meeting. Following the recent
publication of town payroll data and related coverage in Brookline News, he asked how the
department arrived at an 18-hour limit on the hours an officer can work, how often officers
approach that limit, and what risk long shifts pose. He noted the limit is higher than in
professions such as pilots, doctors, and truck drivers. He credited Deputy Superintendent Paul
Campbell's explanations in that coverage. The chair said the topic could be placed on a future
agenda and noted that members have raised similar concerns.
Remarks by Jessica Chicco, a co-petitioner of Article 25, are recorded under the Article 25 item
below.
5. Overview of Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) and Brookline Police Department:
Chief Jennifer Paster
Chief Paster gave an introductory overview so that members would share a common
understanding before reviewing the Article 25 motion. She noted that she served as the
department's first liaison to the BRIC, from 2005 to 2011, while a detective.
Key points:
• Fusion centers were created on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission to address
the fragmentation of information among law enforcement agencies. Massachusetts has
two: the statewide Commonwealth Fusion Center and the BRIC, which serves the greater

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Boston area.
• The BRIC and UASI (the Urban Area Security Initiative) are separate. UASI is a
federally designated homeland security funding region of nine communities: Boston,
Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea, and Quincy. The
BRIC also serves communities outside that region, such as Newton.
• What the BRIC provides to the department: officer safety alerts and BOLOs; crime trend
and threat analysis; missing and wanted persons notifications; and critical infrastructure
and event security information (for example the Marathon, FIFA, Tall Ships, and 250th
anniversary events).
• Safeguards: the Constitution and Massachusetts law; federal regulation 28 CFR Part 23,
which governs all fusion centers; need-to-know and right-to-know restrictions on every
bulletin; audit trails on database access; and supervisory review before products are
disseminated.
• Participation does not replace the department's own judgment or policies. Information
received from the BRIC or any outside agency is independently vetted before officers act
on it.
In response to a question, Chief Paster said she would check whether the practice of
independently verifying outside information is written into a specific department policy. The
chair noted he had found online a BRIC standard operating procedure and a 2024 BRIC privacy,
civil rights, and civil liberties' protection policy; the Chief confirmed these are public documents
that govern BRIC personnel, who are City of Boston employees.
6. Review and discussion of the Motion to Article 25 from May 26, 2026 Town Meeting to
investigate whether Brookline should remain a member of the Boston Regional
Intelligence Center (BRIC) and to complete the listed investigative and analytical tasks in
the Motion
The investigation should determine the extent to which Brookline can rely on the BRIC to:
(1) provide us with fully transparent and accurate information on its operations (2)
demonstrate compliance of its operations with Brookline’s expectations of
nondiscrimination and due process (3) provide evidence of accurate and valid
determinations of inclusion of individuals in its databases (4) show effective oversight of its
operations by appropriate local civilian officials. The investigation shall include in-person
discussions with BRIC officials and follow-up inquiries to obtain additional information as
outlined in Article 25 Motion. See attached Motion to Article 25
The chair introduced the motion under Article 25 of the May 26, 2026 Annual Town Meeting,
which asks the PCAC to investigate whether Brookline should remain a member of the BRIC, to
complete a list of investigative and analytical tasks, and to make its recommendation to the
Select Board before the next Annual Town Meeting in May 2027. It was noted that the motion
passed Town Meeting overwhelmingly.
Discussion with Chief Paster:

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• Scott Ananian asked where the town has practical leverage: for example, whether
Brookline could compare Boston's policies with its own, or qualify or filter information it
receives from the BRIC rather than face an all-or-nothing choice. Chief Paster agreed that
comparing the publicly available policies would be a good approach, and cautioned that
need-to-know restrictions will limit what the committee, and even she, can obtain about
BRIC databases.
• Chief Paster suggested the committee would be best served by focusing on the Brookline
Police Department's own policies and what it does with information it receives, since the
BRIC would continue to operate if Brookline withdrew.
• UASI grants are a separate matter; each is reviewed by the Select Board when a town
agency seeks to accept one.
• John Hilliard asked whether newer department policies, such as General Orders 41 and
43, have been reconciled with the BRIC relationship, given that the memorandum of
understanding (MOU) found for the agenda packet dates from 2011. Chief Paster said she
has not seen a more recent MOU and would look into it, and agreed the reconciliation is
worth reviewing.
• The department no longer has a designated BRIC liaison because of staffing shortages.
Chief Paster agreed to make an introduction to Boston Police Superintendent Lanita
Cullinane, who oversees the Bureau of Intelligence & Analysis, which includes the
BRIC, without being able to guarantee her participation. The chair noted that formal
public records requests through Town Counsel may be needed if information is not
provided voluntarily.
• It was noted that Boston Police report annually on the database formerly known as the
gang database: in 2025, 94 individuals were added and 252 removed, and at the start of
2026 it held 1,567 individuals and 80 groups.
Jessica Chicco, a co-petitioner of Article 25 and chair of the Immigrant Advancement
Committee of the Commission for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Relations, spoke
at the committee's invitation. She offered the petitioners and her committee as a resource, and
pointed to work on the BRIC by the Brennan Center, the ACLU, and the Muslim Justice League,
and to hearings held by the Boston City Council. She said key open questions include how
information is fed into the BRIC, how it is verified, who has access to it (including federal
officers), and how BRIC and UASI participation are entangled. She offered to compile
recordings of the Boston hearings.
Organizing the work. Members agreed the task is too large for monthly meetings alone and
discussed dividing it. Sarah Kaplan suggested one subcommittee for each of the four charges in
paragraph 4 of the motion, and reminded the committee that any group of two or more members
must post agendas and materials as a subcommittee. Some members noted that the four charges
overlap and that it is unclear how the committee could verify the accuracy of BRIC databases it
cannot access. Members also asked to hear from the petitioners soon, to better understand the
intent of the motion.
The following assignments were made by volunteers, without a vote:

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• Operations, paragraph 4(1): Kristine Knauf and Scott Ananian
• Compliance, paragraph 4(2): Ron Wilkinson and Kimberly Richardson
• Databases, paragraph 4(3): John Hilliard and Scott Ananian
• Oversight, paragraph 4(4): Paul Yee
Follow-ups: Sarah Kaplan will contact members to schedule subcommittee meetings. Scott
Ananian will reach out to BRIC staff, with the Chief's help, to arrange conversations. Paul Yee
will contact the Boston City Council regarding its oversight hearings. Sarah Kaplan will locate
the Town Meeting recording of the Article 25 debate for members who were not present.
6a. Documents for review
7. Reports
7a. Update on Proposed Changes to PCAC Website: John Hilliard/Sarah Kaplan
John Hilliard showed a draft of the revised home page with three sections: about the PCAC,
quick links to commonly needed documents, and frequently asked questions. He asked whether
the work should continue or be tabled given the Article 25 workload. Scott Ananian said the
draft looked close and offered to mark up any changes. John will circulate the draft to the
committee for review, with discussion and a vote at the next meeting.
7b. Civilian Complaint Reports: Lieutenant Joseph Amandola
Lieutenant Amendola noted that, as requested at the last meeting, each report now includes its
classification and finding. The redacted reports were not included in the agenda packet and will
be sent to members.
• IA #2026-05 (online): A motorist who accepted responsibility for a traffic violation
complained that the officer's manner during the stop was abrasive and rude. After
reviewing body camera footage, Lieutenant Amendola agreed with her assessment, and
the officer acknowledged he should have handled the interaction more professionally.
Both agreed to a mediation session, which concluded positively. Finding: mediated. Class
B.
• IA #2026-06: A lengthy investigation is complete. The Chief's report will be sent to
members, and the case will be presented at the next meeting.
• IA #2026-07 (online): A non-resident who was not involved objected to the department's
release of the individual in the ICE-related incident reported at the May meeting. The
complainant did not return calls. Found to be frivolous. Class D.
• May 18, 2026 complaint (online, anonymous): The complainant alleged no specific
misconduct and attached a 13-second video of telling an officer that he had not used a
turn signal. No misconduct was observed. Filed.
• IA #2026-08 (online, anonymous): Alleged that a crossing guard made an offensive

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remark; the complaint itself expressed uncertainty about what was said. The crossing
guard denied it, and with no contact information there was no way to follow up. Filed.
In response to a question, Lieutenant Amendola summarized the classes: A, serious matters such
as criminal conduct; B, rudeness or bias; C, policy issues; D, no misconduct. Members said the
classifications make the reports easier to follow.
7c. Monthly Civilian Feedback Report: Sarah Kaplan
Sarah Kaplan reported that no civilian feedback has been received through the Google-based
form since it replaced the earlier form, other than a test submission. The form has been
confirmed to work.
7ci. Discussion of ways to get engagement on Google based Civilian Feedback Form
Ways to increase engagement — Ron Wilkinson. Ron Wilkinson presented a draft news release
and, with Sarah Kaplan, a draft flyer. Ideas discussed:
• Posting on social media (the Brookline townwide discussion group on Facebook and the
Police Department's page) and in local news outlets.
• Flyers for community bulletin boards, with a QR code alongside the web address.
• The Town Administrator's newsletter and the Senior Center newsletter, which Sarah
Kaplan can arrange.
• Making the feedback form more prominent on the PCAC website and easier to find by
search, John Hilliard noted that searching for police feedback currently leads to the
complaint form.
• Translating the form into the six languages most commonly spoken in Brookline, is to be
taken up at a future meeting with the town's language access coordinator. Sarah Kaplan
noted the committee has a small budget for her office that could be used.
Sarah Kaplan asked that paper copies of the form not be used, to avoid any question about how
responses are transcribed.
Vote: Ronald Wilkinson made the motion to approve the flyer, amended it and add a QR code.
The motion was seconded by Kimberley Richardson.
Result: Passed; Yes 6, No 0, Abstained 0
Voting Aye: Ronald Wilkinson, Paul Yee, Scott Ananian, Kimberley Richardson, John Hilliard,
Kristine L. Knauf
Voting Nay: None
Abstaining: None
Vote: Ronald Wilkinson made the motion to accept the news release text and publicize it. The
motion was seconded by Kimberley Richardson.

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Result: Passed; Yes 6, No 0, Abstained 0
Voting Aye: Ronald Wilkinson, Paul Yee, Scott Ananian, Kimberley Richardson, John Hilliard,
Kristine L. Knauf
Voting Nay: None
Abstaining: None
7d. Ice in Brookline Update: Deputy Superintendent Russell O'Neill
Deputy Superintendent O'Neill reported no recent ICE activity and no updates other than the
complaint (IA #2026-07) described by Lieutenant Amendola.
8. Discussion and vote on draft Internal Policy for Reviewing Complaints for PCAC: Paul
Yee/Ron Wilkinson/Associate Town Counsel Susan Harris
8a. Draft Internal Policy for Review
Paul Yee reported that he had drafted the policy and that it had been revised after circulation.
Because the meeting had reached 9:00 PM, the item was deferred to the next meeting;
members were asked to review the draft in the meantime. No vote was taken.
9. Discussion of Future Topics and Agenda
• Article 25 tasks: To be advanced through the subcommittees and additional meetings, as
described above.
• PCAC website (next agenda): Review and vote on the draft home page.
• Internal policy for reviewing complaints (next agenda): Deferred from this meeting.
• IA #2026-06 (next agenda): Lieutenant Amendola to present.
• Translation of the feedback form: To be scheduled with the language access
coordinator.
• Officer work-hour limits: Raised in public comment for a future agenda.
• National Night Out: Chief Paster invited members to the department's National Night
Out on Tuesday, August 4, and offered the committee a table. Members noted it would be
an opportunity to publicize the feedback form.
9a. Completion of the listed investigative and analytical tasks in the Article 25 Motion prior
to the May 2027 Annual Town Meeting, with possible additional meetings
10. Future Meetings
10a. August 17, 2026, October 5, 2026, October 26, 2026, December 7, 2026
The next meeting is August 17, 2026. Sarah Kaplan reported that Room 111 has been approved

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for the August 17 and October 26 meetings and that she is waiting on confirmation of the
remaining dates.
• August 17, 2026
• October 5, 2026
• October 26, 2026
• December 7, 2026
11. Adjourn
Kimberley Richardson made the motion to Adjourn. The motion was seconded by Ronald
Wilkinson.
Result: Passed; Yes 6, No 0, Abstained 0
Voting Aye: Ronald Wilkinson, Paul Yee, Scott Ananian, Kimberley Richardson, John Hilliard,
Kristine L. Knauf
Voting Nay: None
Abstaining: None
There being no further business, the Chair ended the meeting at 9:01 PM.

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Webpage
For help attending meetings on Zoom, go to BrooklineMA.gov/ZoomTips. If you need reasonable
accommodations or modifications related to this meeting, please contact Sarah E. Kaplan, ADA
Compliance Officer, at [email protected] or call 617-730-2329. ADA Information:
BrooklineMA.gov/Town-Legal-Notice
Requests for language access may be sent to the Language Access Coordinator at
[email protected].

Page 10 of 26

Ron Wilkinson, Co-Chair
Paul Yee, Co-Chair
C. Scott Ananian
John Hilliard
Kristine L. Knauf
Kimberley Richardson

Click Here to Register for Meeting
Or call: 646-828-7666
Meeting ID: 165 930 1203

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Minutes
On the Status of the Article 25 Subcommittees
Zoom Meeting
Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM
PCAC Public Comment Policy
1. Convene Meeting
Ron Wilkinson served at presiding chair and convened the meeting at 7:05 PM.
2. Introductions
Present: Ronald Wilkinson, Paul Yee, John Hilliard, Kristine L. Knauf
Present, Not Voting:Lt. David Hill (Community Relations, Brookline Police Department;
attending for Deputy Superintendent Russell O'Neill)
Absent: Scott Ananian, Kimberley Richardson
3. Public Comment - 3-Minute Limit
3a. Public Comment - please email [email protected] before the meeting.
Jessica Chicco, Brookline resident and co-petitioner of Warrant Article 25, offered herself and
the other petitioners as a resource for the committee's study. She committed to sending Sarah
Kaplan, by the following Friday, a list of suggested reading, recordings of public hearings
(including a June 4 Boston City Council hearing on the BRIC), and experts the committee may
wish to hear from, for distribution to members. She said that a list of BRIC databases will likely
have to come from the BRIC itself, and that the lack of transparency was part of the reason for
the article.
Paul Yee thanked her and asked that the material be organized around the specific tasks listed
in the Article 25 motion.
No other members of the public asked to speak. Jessica Chicco's later remarks are recorded
under the items where they were made.
4. Status of PCAC Subcommittees established for the Article 25 Resolution of the May 26,
2026 Town Meeting that charged the PCAC with investigating whether Brookline should

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remain a member of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), including these
specific investigative and analytical tasks:
Ron Wilkinson explained that the purpose of the meeting was to clarify the work of the
subcommittees formed at the last meeting, one for each item in paragraph 4 of the Article 25
motion. John Hilliard displayed the motion on screen. No subcommittee had yet met.
4a. BRIC operations as per paragraph 4(1): Scott Ananian & Kristine Knauf
Kristine Knauf reported that she had not yet been able to reach Scott Ananian. She had been
working from a different version of Article 25 than the motion as voted; John Hilliard sent her
the motion during the meeting. She has gathered general background on the BRIC and a City of
Boston document containing recommendations regarding the BRIC, which she found detailed
and helpful.
4b. BRIC compliance as per paragraph 4(2): Kimberly Richardson & Ron Wilkinson
Ron Wilkinson reported that he and Kimberly Richardson had not yet met, and asked for the
committee's view on the scope of the task.
• The narrowest reading is a comparison on paper: the privacy, nondiscrimination, and due
process standards the Brookline Police Department must follow under its policy manual
and town bylaws, against the BRIC's written policies and procedures.
• A separate question is whether the BRIC follows its own policies in practice. He noted
that the Muslim Justice League and the ACLU have contended that it does not, and asked
how the committee could verify practice other than through existing court cases.
• Paul Yee said he read the motion as asking for both. Ron Wilkinson agreed that the
subcommittee's scope covers compliance on paper and in practice and said it will work
out what methods are available.
• John Hilliard suggested one objective test: whether the BRIC has met its known public
reporting and audit obligations on time.
• Lieutenant Hill said he would look into whether the department receives any BRIC
annual reports or audits, and that he hoped the Detective Division, which has more
expertise, would be involved.
• Jessica Chicco asked that the review of practice also draw on testimony and reports from
advocates.
4c. BRIC databases as per paragraph 4(3): Scott Ananian & John
John Hilliard reported that he had not yet met with Scott Ananian. So far he has been collecting
sources rather than reviewing them, and showed the list he has compiled.

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Key points:
• The collection covers public hearings and meetings (the Mayor of Boston, the Boston
City Council, and Boston's civilian oversight bodies), policy documents, and interviews.
It runs to hundreds of items, categorized by the tasks in the motion, with 84 bearing on
the list of databases.
• Public information is patchy: reports that should be annual can be found for some years
and not others, and some links are dead.
• The principal known database has been renamed, from the Gang Assessment Database to
the Associative Violence Information System (AVIS). Disclosed totals show it shrinking
substantially over the past five years.
• Oversight appears largely self-administered, and demographic information, which is part
of the charge, is hard to obtain.
• Little is public about databases other than AVIS. Learning what else exists will require
direct outreach to the BRIC or its oversight bodies.
• Obtaining year-end 2026 figures before Town Meeting will be tight, given the timing of
the BRIC's public reporting.
4d. Oversight of BRIC as per paragraph 4(4): Paul Yee
Paul Yee described his approach as deliberately narrow: to contact civilian oversight officials in
each BRIC member community and ask how they oversee the BRIC and what concerns they
have.
• Boston: he has invited the chair of Boston's Office of Police Accountability and
Transparency (OPAT) to the committee's August 17 meeting to speak about the BRIC
and about that body's recommendation to the Boston Police Commissioner to decouple
the BRIC from the federal government. Attendance is not yet confirmed.
• Cambridge: he left a message with the Police Review and Advisory Board and has had no
response.
• Newton: he has contacted the City Council.
• Still to contact: Chelsea, Everett, Revere, and Winthrop.
John Hilliard suggested also contacting another Boston civilian oversight board and will send its
details.
Discussion of overall approach. Following the four reports:
• Kristine Knauf said the four assignments appear to overlap and that she was unsure where
to start on hers. Paul Yee agreed that dividing the work by paragraph produces overlap.
He asked her to confer with Scott Ananian and, if the assignments are not workable, to
suggest another way to divide the work. No change was made.
• John Hilliard noted a gap: none of the four reports involved working directly with the
Brookline Police Department to understand its own interactions with the BRIC. Ron

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Wilkinson suggested the Chief could be asked to return.
• Jessica Chicco suggested that the committee first learn about the BRIC together and then
divide the questions, and that questions be sent to the Chief in advance. She also pointed
to the separate analyses the motion requires, including review of the department's
booking and fingerprinting practices and of what Brookline would have to do if UASI
grants came to require funding of immigration enforcement.
• Paul Yee agreed those analyses are part of the charge and said they would follow once
the information is gathered. Information held outside Brookline will take longest and may
require public records requests.
4e. Documents for discussion
Ron Wilkinson noted the core documents in the agenda packet: the department's
memorandum of understanding with the BRIC; the BRIC's privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties
policy; its standard operating procedure on dissemination of information and intelligence
products; and a federal court decision in an immigration case in which the reliability of BRIC
information was at issue. The documents were not reviewed individually.
Sharing documents. Ron Wilkinson asked whether the collected documents should be pooled
where all members can reach them. John Hilliard said his collection is already on a public
website (https://jfh.me/bric/), with items that were summarized by AI and not yet personally
reviewed labeled as such. He has also made a preliminary inquiry to Brookline News about
partnering on document collection, since DocumentCloud works through news organizations
rather than directly with public committees. The chair said it was worth exploring further. No
decision was made.
Current contact with the BRIC. In response to the chair, Lieutenant Hill explained that the
department's intelligence officer, a Detective Division position, had been the designated BRIC
liaison. The position was eliminated several years ago because of staffing shortages, not
because of any concern about the role, and its duties are now spread among the Detective
Division, crime analysis, and his own division. The department receives BRIC bulletins, and its
crime analyst joins the BRIC's daily morning call for member departments, along with a
detective when Brookline has a case to share.
5. Discussion of Future Topics and Agenda for Subcommittees
• PROTECT Act: Paul Yee raised the Massachusetts PROTECT Act, which he said had
just passed and described as limiting ICE activity at schools, courthouses, daycare
centers, and churches, and said the committee should consider its effect on the Article 25
work and on General Order 43. The committee agreed to make it a topic for a future
meeting, possibly with Town Counsel. Jessica Chicco, who said she is an immigration
lawyer at MIRA, pointed members to MIRA's summary of the act at MIRACoalition.org.
• Temporary Protected Status: Kristine Knauf asked whether someone could also speak
to the end of TPS for Haitians. Paul Yee noted that it is a separate, federal matter.

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• Subcommittee assignments: Kristine Knauf and Scott Ananian to confer and, if needed,
suggest a different division of the work.
6. Adjourn
Paul Yee made the motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Kristine L.
Knauf.
Result: Passed; Yes 4, No 0, Abstained 0
Voting Aye: Ronald Wilkinson, Paul Yee, John Hilliard, Kristine L. Knauf
Voting Nay: None
Abstaining: None
There being no further business, the Chair ended the meeting at 8:09 AM.

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Webpage
For help attending meetings on Zoom, go to BrooklineMA.gov/ZoomTips. If you need reasonable
accommodations or modifications related to this meeting, please contact Sarah E. Kaplan, ADA
Compliance Officer, at [email protected] or call 617-730-2329. ADA Information:
BrooklineMA.gov/Town-Legal-Notice
Requests for language access may be sent to the Language Access Coordinator at
[email protected].

Page 15 of 26

Ron Wilkinson, Co-Chair
Paul Yee, Co-Chair
C. Scott Ananian
Nicholas Fetzer
John Hilliard
Kristine L. Knauf
Kimberley Richardson

Click Here to Register for Meeting
Or call: 646-828-7666
Meeting ID: 165 393 7169

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Minutes
On the Status of the Article 25 Subcommittees
Zoom Meeting
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM
PCAC Public Comment Policy
1. Convene Meeting
Paul Yee served as presiding Chair and convened the meeting at 7:02 PM.
2. Introductions
Present: Paul Yee, Scott Ananian, John Hilliard, Kristine L. Knauf, Nicholas Fetzer
Present, Not Voting: None
Absent: Ronald Wilkinson, Kimberley Richardson
Non-Voting Committee Members and Staff Present: None
Note: Kristine Knauf joined at about 7:04 PM, just after the introductions. Sarah Kaplan (Staff
Liaison) started the recording and left before the meeting was called to order. This was Nick
Fetzer's first meeting as a member.
3. Public Comment - 3-Minute Limit
3a. Public Comment - please email [email protected] before the meeting.
No members of the public signed up in advance to speak, and no members of the public were
present.
4. Status of PCAC Subcommittees established for the Article 25 Resolution of the May 26,
2026 Town Meeting that charged the PCAC with investigating whether Brookline should
remain a member of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), including these
specific investigative and analytical tasks:
Paul Yee asked each subcommittee to report on its work on the Article 25 motion of the May
26, 2026, Town Meeting, which charged the PCAC with investigating whether Brookline should

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remain a member of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), and to raise any problems
on which other members could help.
4a. BRIC operations as per paragraph 4(1): Scott Ananian & Kristine Knauf
Kristine Knauf reported that she and Scott Ananian had not yet been able to meet; Scott said he
had been away for most of the summer. Working on her own, Kristine had read much of the
bibliography circulated to members, which she described as largely critical of fusion centers and
surveillance.
Key points:
• Kristine cited two concerns from her reading: an article reporting that it was unclear
where BRIC funding goes and who is on its payroll, and a reported case in which a
school incident report about a teenager was entered into the gang database, reached
immigration authorities, and led to his deportation.
• Because the available material is almost entirely about Boston, she proposed meeting
with Chief Paster to learn how the BRIC relationship works for Brookline.
• Scott recalled the earlier plan to seek a meeting with the BRIC or a tour of its operations
center, and agreed that a meeting with Chief Paster is the next step. The two will schedule
a subcommittee meeting.
4b. BRIC compliance as per paragraph 4(2): Kimberly Richardson & Ron Wilkinson
No report was given; both subcommittee members were absent. Paul Yee summarized the
charge (whether the BRIC complies with Brookline's expectations on discrimination and due
process), and Scott Ananian recalled that the subcommittee's plan was to gather the BRIC's and
Brookline's policy documents and compare them.
Later in the meeting, members discussed a question bearing on this charge: how BRIC policies
relate to Boston Police Department policies. The BRIC's published procedures are posted by the
Boston Police Department, which is responsible for compliance with them, and the gang
database (now the Associative Violence Information System, governed by Boston Police Rule
335) is a Boston Police policy that refers to review by BRIC personnel. Members asked whether
member communities share one set of policies or each has its own, what authority Boston has
over a Brookline officer beyond the memorandum of understanding (MOU), and noted that the
published policies cover how information is disseminated but not how it enters BRIC systems.
4c. BRIC databases as per paragraph 4(3): Scott Ananian & John Hilliard
John Hilliard reported that he has not yet contacted anyone at the BRIC. His approach has been
to compile publicly available material (articles, investigative journalism, minutes and records of
public bodies before which Boston Police or BRIC staff have appeared, and documents already

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circulated to the committee) to learn what data the BRIC collects, why, and for how long. He
showed the collection on screen and posted the link in the chat: (https://jfh.me/bric/.) The site
is public; it includes AI-generated summaries of the documents, only some of which he has
reviewed.
Key points:
• Nick Fetzer asked whether the motion's request for the content of each database means
the underlying records. Scott Ananian and John read it as a description of each database
(such as the number of individuals and a demographic breakdown), and Scott said he
reads "shall" in the resolution as a best-efforts obligation, since the committee cannot
compel anyone. Nick later agreed with that reading.
• The 2011 MOU, the most recent version found, gives the department full access to a
named set of BRIC databases and to others as deemed appropriate. John noted that the
largest list he has found, from a 2023 annual surveillance report, shows more than 50
BRIC-affiliated databases.
• Members raised questions for the department: whether Brookline arrest, incident, or
school-related information is ever transmitted to and stored in BRIC databases; under
what circumstances; and what policy governs the department's use of information it
receives.
• Members noted that records about individuals are restricted, and Scott said descriptive
information (fields, counts, types of images) should be obtainable without a
confidentiality arrangement.
• The committee agreed that the subcommittee should ask Chief Paster for a meeting,
narrowly scoped, to go through the database list line by line with someone who knows
which ones Brookline uses, and to share the text of the motion in advance. John will
coordinate with Scott to arrange it.
4d. Oversight of BRIC as per paragraph 4(4): Paul Yee
Paul Yee reported on his outreach regarding civilian oversight of the BRIC, beginning with
Boston.
Key points:
• He contacted Boston City Councilor Benjamin Weber, who sits on a surveillance
advisory board that expects to review the BRIC budget and question the BRIC director in
September; no date has been set. The councilor offered to put the committee's questions
to the director. Members were asked to send questions to Paul, and Scott Ananian
suggested members attend the hearing.
• He contacted Ryan Walsh, Director of the BRIC (Boston Police Department, Bureau of
Intelligence & Analysis), who said he did not yet know how to respond to the
committee's request and would get back to him. Paul obtained the contact through
Superintendent Paul Campbell of the Brookline Police Department, so a separate
introduction from Chief Paster may not be needed.

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• He reached out to the chair of Boston's Office of Police Accountability and Transparency
(OPAT), which he said had sent a memo asking the Boston Police Commissioner to
decouple from the federal government. They have not yet spoken.
• He has invited each of them to speak at a PCAC meeting and will follow up within two
weeks.
Funding. In response to a question from Kristine Knauf, members said their understanding is
that Brookline does not pay into the BRIC; the question is what leaving would mean for the
UASI grant funds Brookline receives. Paul noted that the fire department also receives UASI
funds, and that the department's BRIC liaison position was cut for budget reasons.
Public records requests and compelling information. Members discussed filing a public
records request, jointly rather than one per subcommittee, because the charges overlap, and are
limited to what is not already public. John Hilliard noted that typical response times shown on
MuckRock would likely run past the committee's deadline; members saw value in making the
request for the record. Paul said he will raise with Susan Harris, Associate Town Counsel, at the
October meeting whether a subpoena could be issued through the committee or the Select Board
if information is refused. He said that if the BRIC director does not respond affirmatively, the
committee should consider drafting the request.
5. Discussion of Future Topics and Agenda for Subcommittees
• Subcommittee assignment: Nick Fetzer joined Paul Yee on the oversight subcommittee,
paragraph 4(4). The chair made the assignment without a vote. Nick also offered to help
other subcommittees, including with data analysis.
• Meeting with Chief Paster: To be requested by the operations and databases
subcommittees, as described above.
• Boston oversight contacts: Paul Yee will follow up and report the date of the Boston
hearing.
• Subpoena and public records questions (October meeting): To be raised with Town
Counsel.
• Article 25 materials: Scott Ananian noted that the motion is not posted on the PCAC
website and suggested it be added. John Hilliard will send Nick the BRIC policy
documents circulated earlier.
• Open Meeting Law: The chair reminded members to observe it in subcommittee work.
Future Meetings
The committee agreed to hold another status check-in on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 7:00
PM, unless Ron Wilkinson and Kimberly Richardson schedule a subcommittee meeting that the
others can join instead. Paul Yee will check with them. The next regular meeting is October 5,
2026.
6. Adjourn

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No motion to adjourn was made and no vote was taken; the chair closed the meeting.
There being no further business, the Chair ended the meeting at 8:07 PM.

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Webpage
For help attending meetings on Zoom, go to BrooklineMA.gov/ZoomTips. If you need reasonable
accommodations or modifications related to this meeting, please contact Sarah E. Kaplan, ADA
Compliance Officer, at [email protected] or call 617-730-2329. ADA Information:
BrooklineMA.gov/Town-Legal-Notice
Requests for language access may be sent to the Language Access Coordinator at
[email protected].

Page 20 of 26

Ron Wilkinson, Co-Chair
Paul Yee, Co-Chair
C. Scott Ananian
Nick Fetzer
John Hilliard
Kristine L. Knauf
Kimberley Richardson

Click Here to Register for Meeting
Or call: 646-828-7666
Meeting ID: 165 395 3686

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Minutes
Article 25 Motion Subcommittees
Zoom Only Meeting
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 7:00 PM
PCAC Public Comment Policy
1. Convene Meeting
Presiding Chair, Paul Yee, convened the meeting at 7:01 PM.
2. Introductions
2a. Voting Members
Present: Ronald Wilkinson, Paul Yee, Scott Ananian, Kimberley Richardson, John Hilliard,
Nicholas Fetzer
Absent: Kristine L. Knauf
Note: Kimberly Richardson joined at about 7:28 PM and Nick Fetzer at about 7:29 PM, after the
subcommittee status reports.
2b. Non-voting members
Present, Not Voting: Human Resources Director Ann Braga
Note: Ann Braga left before the end of the meeting. Sarah Kaplan (Staff Liaison) started the
recording and left before the call to order.
3. Public Comment - 3-Minute Limit
3a. Public Comment - please email [email protected] before the meeting.
No members of the public were present, and no public comment was offered.
4. Status of PCAC Subcommittees established for the Article 25 Resolution of the May 26,

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2026 Town Meeting that charged the PCAC with investigating whether Brookline should
remain a member of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), including these
specific investigative and analytical tasks:
Each subcommittee reported on its work under the Article 25 motion of the May 26, 2026,
Town Meeting, which charged the PCAC with investigating whether Brookline should remain a
member of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC).
4a. BRIC operations as per paragraph 4(1): Scott Ananian & Kristine Knauf
Scott Ananian reported that the committee has been invited to visit the BRIC (see the Oversight
report below), which he expects to be useful to several of the subcommittees. A meeting with
Chief Paster was being arranged but had not been confirmed. He expects to know more about
BRIC operations after the visit.
4b. BRIC compliance as per paragraph 4(2): Kimberly Richardson & Ron Wilkinson
Ron Wilkinson reported that the subcommittee has reviewed two resources so far:
• A June Boston City Council hearing of about an hour and a half, at which advocacy
groups opposed to the BRIC gave testimony. He found it a useful introduction to the
parties involved and their concerns.
• A comprehensive set of documents from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York
University on its concerns about the BRIC and how its practices could be reformed.
The subcommittee plans to enumerate and compare the written privacy and civil liberties policies
of the BRIC and of Brookline and assess whether they are adequate, and then to assess how
closely they are followed in practice, drawing on interviews with BRIC personnel and the work
of advocacy groups. He said the subcommittee's recommendation will depend on whether any
shortfalls it finds can be addressed and monitored.
At Paul Yee's request, Ron Wilkinson agreed the subcommittee could summarize the two
resources, possibly for the October 5 meeting packet.
4c. BRIC databases as per paragraph 4(3): Scott Ananian & John Hilliard
John Hilliard reported that public sources list the BRIC databases but say little about how they
relate to one another or are used. He will draft two sets of questions, one for the BRIC or
Boston and one for Brookline, on how each uses the databases, including how people are
proposed for and added to the gang database and whether Brookline contributes data to BRIC
databases as well as receiving it. He will circulate the questions before or at the next meeting.

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Scott Ananian suggested also asking Chief Paster which databases the department has access to
and regularly uses, noting that the memorandum of understanding names some and refers
generally to others. He raised two ideas for possible recommendations: a fixed list of databases
Brookline may access, with additions requiring approval (for example by the Select Board), and
a requirement that a written policy be in place before any new data source is used. He also
asked whether bulletins broadcast through the BRIC could work around limits in Brookline
policy. For example, if another agency ran a license plate reader or face recognition search that
Brookline itself would not; he said he does not know that this is happening.
Paul Yee noted that a Boston Globe article circulated by Ron Wilkinson reported that Boston
Police have changed data systems and vendors without the Boston City Council's knowledge,
and said a complete list of databases may not be achievable.
Paul Yee reported that he has arranged a visit to the BRIC on October 8, 2026 at Boston Police
Headquarters, with BRIC Director Ryan Walsh. Superintendent Paul Campbell of the Brookline
Police Department is expected to attend. He has sent Director Walsh the Article 25 motion and
its list of tasks.
4d. Oversight of BRIC as per paragraph 4(4): Paul Yee & Nick Fetzer
Key points:
• Open Meeting Law. In response to a question from John Hilliard, Paul Yee said the visit
is not a public meeting. The co-chairs consulted Susan Harris, Associate Town Counsel,
and the visit falls under the Open Meeting Law exemption for an on-site inspection of a
project or program. Members may not deliberate during the visit, and a recap will be
given at a later public meeting.
• Preparation. Members agreed to prepare specific questions in advance, including on
databases and on who sets and owns BRIC policies, and to use the regular October 5
meeting to prepare rather than schedule a separate check-in.
• Other communities. Paul Yee said the subcommittee will contact the other cities and
towns in the BRIC to ask what oversight and policies they have. Scott Ananian suggested
also asking how many officers each assigns to the BRIC.
• Logistics. Members may travel together, as the Chief suggested. Kimberly Richardson
said she may be unable to attend because of work.
Nick Fetzer, who had spoken with Paul Yee the day before, had nothing to add to the report.
5. Discussion of Future Topics and Agenda for Subcommittees
• Site visit preparation (October 5 agenda): Members will bring their questions for the
BRIC visit, including John Hilliard's draft database questions.
• Staff support for October 5: Paul Yee reported that Sarah Kaplan will be away until
October 25. The co-chairs will contact her supervisor and the Town Administrator about

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who will staff the meeting.
• Committee membership: Scott Ananian reported that Kristine Knauf told him her term is
expiring and she does not plan to reapply.
Future Meetings
• October 5, 2026
• October 26, 2026
• December 7, 2026
The BRIC site visit on October 8, 2026 is not a public meeting.
6. Adjourn
No motion to adjourn was made, and no vote was taken. The chair closed the meeting.
There being no further business, the Chair ended the meeting at 7:36 PM

Police Commissioners Advisory Committee Webpage
For help attending meetings on Zoom, go to BrooklineMA.gov/ZoomTips. If you need reasonable
accommodations or modifications related to this meeting, please contact Sarah E. Kaplan, ADA
Compliance Officer, at [email protected] or call 617-730-2329. ADA Information:
BrooklineMA.gov/Town-Legal-Notice
Requests for language access may be sent to the Language Access Coordinator at
[email protected].

Page 24 of 26

DRAFT 5.20.26 v.2

INTERNAL POLICY FOR REVIEWING COMPLAINTS FOR
THE POLICE COMMISSIONERS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PCAC)
PREFACE: This policy does not seek to repeat or modify the PCAC charge. It is
intended to supplement and clarify PCAC’s practices in carrying out part 6 of the PCAC
Charge: monitoring and providing input into complaint cases.
1.​ The role of the “Liaison” of the Diversity Office
The tasks of the Liaison to assist a complainant from intake to any appeal, as stated in
the Civilian Complaint Policy are that of a neutral facilitator and shall not include
advocacy on behalf of the complainant or the Police Department.
2.​ The role of a PCAC Committee if the “Liaison” of the Diversity Office were
absent.
If the “Liaison” of the Diversity Office were absent to assist a complainant, a single
PCAC member shall be appointed by the PCAC chair to receive the complaint and assist
the complainant in lieu of the Liaison pursuant to the PCAC charge. The role of the
single PCAC member shall be that of a neutral facilitator and shall not include advocacy
on behalf of the complainant or the Police Department. The single PCAC member shall
act as the Liaison would have with respect to the complaint and shall not be involved in
any further action on that complaint other than reporting any factual findings to the full
Committee as per the PCAC charge. The single member shall be disqualified to vote on
the complaint at any PCAC meeting.
3.​ The role of the PCAC
The PCAC's role in a civilian complaint consists of monitoring and reviewing the
investigation of the complaint. The PCAC's role does not include independent
investigation of the complaint such as interviewing the complainant or witnesses, visiting
the scene, etc. In conjunction with reviewing the investigatory reports of the OPR and
any reports of the Liaison, the PCAC may elect to review documents and records
gathered by the OPR, including, but not limited to, reports, audio or video recordings,
photographs, and other tangible or documentary evidence. PCAC members shall
coordinate with the BPD Liaison to review such records.
Should the investigation of the OPR be deemed to be deficient or incomplete in any way,
the PCAC may not adopt the report of the Police Chief but refer the report back to the

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OPR for further consideration of specific concerns as per the PCAC charge. Weighing of
the evidence by tThe PCAC’s determination will be based on an impartial and unbiased
consideration of the factors stated in the PCAC Charge at 6.vi.credible evidence of
record and reasonable inferences from that evidence, based on common sense, life
experience, and good judgment.
The PCAC's role shall not include advocacy on behalf of the complainant or the Police
Department
ADOPTED on __________2026:

________________________
John Hilliard, PCAC Secretary

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