Community Activist and Lawyer Resigns From Providence Police Review Board, After Ethics Commission Said She Was Prohibited

Community Activist and Lawyer Resigns From Providence Police Review Board, After Ethics Commission Said She Was Prohibited

Community activist and lawyer Shannah Kurland has stepped down from a board seat on the Providence External Review Authority (PERA).

The move comes after the Rhode Island Ethics Commission ruled that Kurland was “prohibited by the Code of Ethics from serving” on the body. 

June Rose, the Chief of Staff of the Providence City Council, confirmed Kurland’s resignation.

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“Yes, she resigned today. Her resignation will be received as a communication on the council docket for the 5/21 meeting. There isn't a timeframe for the council electing someone to fill the vacancy, though we'd like to do so ASAP. PERA will have 8 out of 9 members, so it should not have any problem with quorum. If members of the community would like to apply for the vacant seat, they can send a resume to [email protected],” said Rose.

As GoLocal reported last week, the Ethics Commission found Kurland, a new PERA board member - a municipal appointed position, who in her private capacity is a licensed attorney who regularly represents clients in civil cases alleging misconduct against the Providence Police Department and its officers, “is prohibited by the Code of Ethics from serving on PERA, given her private employment, because the nexus between the Petitioner’s public duties and her private employment is too close.”

“Additionally, the Petitioner’s private work as an attorney who brings civil actions on behalf of clients alleging misconduct by the Providence Police  Department and its officers is an area over which PERA has decision-making jurisdiction. The totality of the facts as represented indicates that the Petitioner’s private work would impair her independence of judgment with regard to her public duties,” the Commission continued.

Kurland - who in 2024 received a $142,000 settlement from the City of Providence relating to an arrest in 2015 - was the most recently appointed PERA board member, which "serves as a civilian oversight body that investigates allegations of police misconduct."

GoLocal called and emailed Kurland, and she did not respond to the requests for comment about her resignation.