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[This history is a part of a larger, unpublished report titled, “A comparative analysis of the Police Advisory Board and the Civilian Review Board.” The report will be released sometime in mid-June 2015. [Ed. note--citations are still being scanned and uploaded. Come back for updates. The author wished to thank the kind people at the Local History Department of the Downtown Branch of the Monroe County Public Library System.]

Some events that precipitated the creation of the Police Advisory Board included the cases of A.C. White¹ (“...a Negro charged with drunken driving, resisted arrest and suffered a fractured arm among other injuries that took him to the hospital.”), Rufus Fairwell² (“...a 28-year-old Negro [who] suffered two fractured vertebrae in a struggle with two policemen who attempted to arrest him as he closed the service station at which we was employed...”), and a case of police interference with a group of Black Muslims³ who were having a religious meeting, on the pretext that they had firearms (those arrested were charged with riot and third degree assault).

Below is a skeletal outline of the history of the Police Advisory Board using clippings from the Democrat & Chronicle and Times-Union newspapers. Though not comprised of oral histories or direct source documentation, this history is meant to give clues and a chronology of events according, primarily, to two biased sources, the Democrat & Chronicle and the Times-Union. There were hundreds of clippings and I didn't get to include them all. Many of my citations were against the board, but there were a fair number of clippings in favor of it as well. The clippings left out here may appear in a longer version of this history in the future. For this article, I focused primarily on the work of the board, the legal actions taken against it, and, quite frankly, the vast amount of opposition to it, both white denial of police brutality and anti-Black racism fueling the call for its abolition. Thus begins Act One.

"10 Vow to Fight Advisory Board," has no author. The article was published in the Democrat & Chronicle on September 17, 1965. Ten candidates for City Council, Conservative and Republican parties, made it clear that they would fight to abolish the Police Advisory Board. Citizens for Abolition of the Police Advisory Board mailed their political statements to some "500 city policemen." The clipping can be found at the Local History Department of the Monroe County Library Downtown Branch.

"'People Should Vote On Advisory Board'," is a letter to the editor written by Russell C. Sciolino of the city. It was published in the Democrat & Chronicle on April 22, 1965. Russell is proud "of our boys" but the Police Advisory Board ties the hands of the officers behind their backs. He wants a referendum on whether to keep the board or not. He reminds us that "Their lives are always in danger trying to protect everybody." The clipping can be found at the Local History Department of the Monroe County Library Downtown Branch.

"'Advisory Board Unnecessary'" is a letter to the editor written by Daniel J. Murphy, president of the Rochester Police Locust Club. It was published in the Democrat & Chronicle on February 9, 1965. Murphy asks that the board be abolished and offers 9 ways a complainant can get (no) justice. The clipping can be found at the Local History Department of the Monroe County Library Downtown Branch.

"Police Board's Work is Done" is a Democrat & Chronicle article, with no listed author, that was published on January 11, 1965. The article starts with the introduction of a resolution to abolish the Police Advisory Board.

The year 1965 had by far the most column space with regards to the Police Advisory Board in both the Democrat & Chronicle and the Times-Union newspapers. For 1965, articles critical of the PAB from the Times-Union have been combined into single Rochester Indymedia articles divided by month. This is October 1965. The clippings can be found at the Local History Department of the Monroe County Library Downtown Branch.

Thirty-five people turned out at noon on May 23 at the Twelve Corners park in nearby Brighton to march in solidarity with the international March Against Monsanto taking place that day.  Representatives of GMO-Free Rochester and the Northeast Organic Farmers Association were present but no political leaders attended.  Even a show overhead by the US Navy Blue Angels did not distract from the message.

The year 1965 had by far the most column space with regards to the Police Advisory Board in both the Democrat & Chronicle and the Times-Union newspapers. For 1965, articles critical of the PAB from the Times-Union have been combined into single Rochester Indymedia articles divided by month. This is June 1965. The clippings can be found at the Local History Department of the Monroe County Library Downtown Branch.