WB Police Advisory Committee agrees with report on Duggins-Magdalinski, asks her to resign

Sep. 3—WILKES-BARRE — The city's Police Advisory Committee asked chairman Darlene Duggins-Magdalinski to resign after reviewing an investigative report into a traffic stop she said was based on her race.

Committee Secretary Andrew Jerome Friday said Duggins-Magdalinski was given 24 hours to respond after he and the two other members met with Mayor George Brown and Wilkes-Barre City Police Chief Joseph Coffay at City Hall.

"We 100 % agree with the city's decision to exonerate Officer (Dan) Duffy," Jerome said.

"We have officially asked Miss Duggins to resign from the committee and are waiting for her decision," Jerome said. The request was made by email and text, he added.

Duggins-Magdalinski, 53, of Hanover Township, did not immediately return a call for comment from the Times Leader. The Wilkes-Barre City Police Benevolent Association, which also called for her removal, did not return a call for comment.

Pending Duggins-Magdalinski's response, the Committee will release a statement on its decision and include an apology to Duffy. If she refuses to resign the Committee will schedule another meeting to vote on her removal, Jerome said.

Jerome distanced himself and the other Committee members from Duggins-Magdalinski. "Darlene's action do not reflect the mindset of the Committee," he said.

The traffic stop on South Wilkes-Barre Boulevard became a he-said, she-said dispute between Duggins-Magdalinski and the union representing Duffy with police body-camera video providing an independent and up-close and personal view of the interaction between her and officers.

The videos have been posted on the Times Leader YouTube channel.

Having viewed the video with Coffay and the leadership of the PBA, Brown released it in the interest of "full public disclosure" last week after each side also called for its release.

The video was part of the investigation conducted internally by the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department after Duggins-Magdalinski, who is Black, filed a complaint on Aug. 17, accusing Duffy, who is white, of racially profiling her and acting with bad intent when he pulled over her Mercedes Benz sedan in which she was a passenger in the driver's side rear seat, next to her grandson in a child safety seat. Her daughter Fa'tirah Duggins, whose license was suspended and who had an outstanding warrant for her arrest, was at the wheel and later taken into custody.

Duffy initiated the stop around 7 p.m. on the busy roadway after the license plate reader in his marked police vehicle indicated the registration on the Mercedes expired in July and was suspended for lack of insurance. Duggins Magdalinski tried in vain to call up the insurance on her new phone. When Duffy notified Duggins-Magdalinski her car would be towed she launched into a profanity-laced tirade directed at him. It resumed when Duffy overheard her tell another officer on the scene of her membership on the Committee. She called Brown from the scene, leaving a message, and notified Duffy his job was on the line.

The PBA alleged Duggins-Magdalinski tried to use her position on Committee to change the outcome of the stop, but she denied it.

Days after the stop Duggins-Magdalinski produced proof of insurance and police Tuesday withdrew that citation filed against her. Four other traffic citations remained and a summary trial was scheduled for Sept. 7 before District Justice Rick Cronauer in Wilkes-Barre.

The complaint Duggins-Magdalinski filed was the first to be presented to the Committee formed by Brown in 2020 to improve relations between police and the public. At the time there were protests in response to the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis, Minn. police officers. He selected seven Committee members to serve as an alternative to a citizens' review board with investigative powers as proposed by the current City Council Chairwoman Beth Gilbert McBride.

In a press release Thursday Brown agreed with the findings of the report prepared by Lt. Christopher Roberts. "I believe Officer Duffy deserves to be fully exonerated from these unfounded allegations. I am proud to have Officer Duffy and all of the officers involved in this incident serving the citizens of Wilkes-Barre," Brown said.

The Committee convened Friday at the request of Brown to review the report and consider the appropriate recommendations, including the removal of Duggins-Magdalinski.

Without the participation of Duggins-Magdalinski, Jerome, Edward "Ned" McGinley and acting Chairwoman Faith Lane were presented the report, having viewed the videos presented on local media digital platforms.

"There were no questions. We had all unanimously agreed with every outcome they had," Jerome said of the report.

"I thought the process worked wonderful and came to the right conclusion," Jerome said. The report, that has not been made public by the city, was five or six pages and discussed by the Committee in an hour-long meeting, he said.

Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.