A divided Allegheny County Council on Tuesday approved creating an independent police review board.
The board won’t be created until 2022 and it will only have jurisdiction over Allegheny County Police Department.
Other municipalities with police departments in the county can opt-in to the board’s oversight, but that move would need to be approved by their local governments.
The vote to create the board was 9-5. In a statement released after the vote, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said he would sign the bill into law.
“I look forward to working with our municipal partners so that we can include as many police departments as possible in this effort,” Fitzgerald said. “This bill, and the resulting board, will provide an additional avenue for public accountability from law enforcement in our region. This is a great opportunity for the region moving forward.”