On Oct. 21, 2025, Pamela Brooks-Grimes resigned from the New Castle County Police Accountability Board, citing disagreements between the county and the board as her reason for leaving in a letter obtained by the Delaware Call. 

“In recent months, I have witnessed a discord between the county and the board, lending the board ineffective,” read Brooks-Grimes’ resignation letter addressed to New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry. “The board has backpaddled with many legal limitations rendering it ineffective to make real policy recommendations which could lead to better outcomes for citizens of New Castle County.”

The letter mentions a trauma-informed training for New Castle County police officers and board members that Brooks-Grimes had recommended before Henry became county executive in January. In an Oct. 7 board subcommittee meeting, Brooks-Grimes said she learned that the training, which would cover topics like excessive force, was removed from a list of recommendations. She also used this time to air out her frustrations with the slow progress of the board’s work. 

“We are almost at the finish line and we are still having or attempting to have discussions with folks who now have deterred the training,” she said at the meeting.

Brooks-Grimes was a founding member of the board, which was created in 2023 under County Ordinance 23-148. This ordinance was passed to comply with House Bill 206, which requires all police departments in Delaware to establish police accountability committees or boards. New Castle County’s board members serve two-year terms, which can be renewed. The current term ends Feb. 27, 2026.

“We are running out of time folks. And yet, we have been called upon to address some concerns, major concerns. We are kind of getting lost in the mud,” said Brooks-Grimes in the Oct. 7 meeting. 

Brooks-Grimes added that the training is now for all New Castle County staff. Tanya Whittle, another board member, concurred. Brooks-Grimes recommended the training in a July 2024 meeting, according to meeting minutes. In the September 2024 board meeting minutes, four hours of training with Dr. Deborah Berke on trauma-informed policing were included in the board’s training curriculum. A motion to adopt the training curriculum passed unanimously. 

“She brought up the frustration she has had around the non-movement with this training, and she doesn’t feel like she’s being heard,” Whittle said in an interview with the Delaware Call. “I could tell that she was at her wits’ end.”

A former member of the board, Bishop George Gibson, resigned in August “following his pending appointment to the Housing Committee.” He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an earlier draft of the Oct. 21 board meeting minutes, it stated that one member resigned before the meeting but the name was “omitted per instruction.” It is unclear who instructed to have her name left out. In a more recent draft, Pamela Brooks-Grimes’ name is included. The document also includes remarks from Chairwoman Kim Eppehimer that  “observed that additional resignations may be forthcoming.”

“She was a great asset to our board and I am sorry to see her go. I can understand why,” said Eppehimer via text. She added that she would like to support Brooks-Grimes and would not comment further without her blessing.

Marcus Henry and Pamela Brooks-Grimes did not immediately respond to requests for comment.