A City Council committee hit the pause button Tuesday on a proposal from Mayor Levar M. Stoney to establish a new Richmond civilian review board to investigate complaints against city police.

The three-member Governmental Operations Committee led by 4th District Councilwoman Kristen Nye agreed Wednesday to table the proposal for 30 days to consider potential amendments, rather than advancing the ordinance to the full council next week for a vote.

“We want to make sure we get it right,” said 3rd District Councilwoman Ann-Frances Lambert, who took the place of 9th District Councilman Michael J. Jones, a full-time minister who is on a mission trip out of the country.

“For me,” Ms. Lambert continued, “I don’t want to push anything through that has not been really evaluated. I do believe that we need more discussion to make sure we’re all on the same page, and then we can actually put something together that all of the council can appreciate and vote for.”

Second District Councilwoman Katherine Jordan expressed concern that the mayor’s proposal would not produce a commission that would build public trust. She and Ms. Nye joined Ms. Lambert in continuing the matter.

The committee’s decision to table any action came a day after the council’s Public Safety Committee, headed by 8th District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, recommended approval. Ms. Lambert, who serves as vice chair of the Public Safety Committee, joined Ms. Trammell and 6th District Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson in voting to send the proposal to the full council without any changes.

As introduced by Mayor Stoney, the proposed citizen review board would be made up of seven members, with three chosen by City Council, three by the mayor and one by the Richmond Police chief.

Under the plan, people with felony convictions could be appointed to board, but current or former police officers and their family members would be excluded.

As outlined by Mayor Stoney, the board would operate as an advisory board to review behind closed doors cases involving seri- ous allegations against city police officers and then offer recommendations on discipline and on policies and practices for the police chief to consider.

The panel would be tasked with automatically reviewing completed Richmond Police Department investigations involving police shootings, deaths and serious injuries of people; accusa- tions of physical or verbal abuse by police; and citizen appeals of RPD findings or decisions.

The review, though, could only take place after all criminal and civil cases related to an incident were completed.

The panel also would be empowered to hire outside in- vestigators, and a five-member majority of the review board could request subpoenas from the Richmond Circuit Court for documents and witnesses.

“This proposal was built with citizen input and expert research and analysis of comparative cities,” Mayor Stoney stated after releasing his proposal, which also called for providing about $200,000 a year to support the new board. “The result is a CRB that will be properly staffed, funded and equipped to respond to the needs of our community, ensure accountability and enhance the public safety of all Richmond residents.”

For some, the proposal is inadequate.

“A CRB that is tacked on only after RPD has completed its own process, and only in the most egregious cases, isn’t what our community asked for,” said Dr. Eli Coston, a Virginia Commonwealth University assistant professor who served as co-chair of the city’s CRB Task Force. “I find it incredibly disappointing that the mayor’s office chose to ignore” the task force’s recommendations for a strong, independent operation with subpoena power.

The mayor relied heavily on the recommendations of another VCU professor, Dr. William “Will” Pelfrey Jr., a recognized

expert on citizen review boards.

“The mayor opted to employ a single individual to draft the recommendation that doesn’t take into account the task force’s recommendations,” said Maisie Osteen, an attorney with Legal Aid Justice Center who has been an advocate for a strong CRB. “When local officials create weak civilian review boards without public input, they’re causing more harm than they’re benefiting their community,” Ms. Osteen said.

Despite voting to send the proposal to the full council with a recommendation for approval, Ms. Robertson appeared to have reservations.

“What we are about to do is to put a board in place that will make some very significant decisions as it relates to how we deal with any complaints and infractions as it relates to our police department,” Ms. Robertson said. “It’s important we make the right decision.”