Mayor Joe Hogsett on Monday replaced three members of the Civilian Police Merit Board, an oversight committee that drew criticism from Hogsett and the African-American community last May after the board reinstated two officers who fatally shot an unarmed black motorist.

The appointments are Dianna Ferguson-Mosley, a former police supervisor; Jennifer Drewry, an attorney at Sun King Brewing Co.; and Frank Sullivan, Jr., a former Indiana Supreme Court justice.

Hogsett also reappointed Joseph Slash, former president of the Indianapolis Urban League who is entering his fourth term on the board.

"Our public safety professionals play a critical role in the well-being of our neighborhoods, and the police merit board helps to increase transparency by offering a community voice to the decisions being made within the police department," Hogsett said in a written statement. "The men and women I have appointed to serve on this board will take this responsibility seriously, working to ensure residents can feel confident in their personal safety and in the accountability of our criminal justice system."

Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police leadership, which butted heads with Hogsett over the merit board last year, said in a written statement that it respects the mayor's decision.

"Our objective remains to ensure a firm, fair and consistent review free from any political influences of all matters brought before such a board," the statement said. "We trust this will be the case with those appointed and we look forward to their service to our community, the department and the officers who serve and protect."

Ferguson-Mosley worked as an Indianapolis police officer for more than 30 years, according to Hogsett's office, including as a lieutenant. Her background includes time in internal affairs and as the supervisor over the homicide and robbery division — experience that will prove useful if the board debates potential disciplinary actions following a fatal police shooting. Homicide and internal affairs detectives both investigate such shootings.

Ferguson-Mosley retired from IMPD in 2013, according to Hogsett's office, and now teaches a criminal justice class at the Pike High School Career Center.

Drewry is vice president of governmental affairs and compliance for Sun King Brewing Co. Her background includes work as a lobbyist, prosecutor for the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and an attorney for Indianapolis law firm Bose McKinney & Evans.

That's the same law firm that Hogsett joined prior to his 2015 run to become mayor. Drewry also worked alongside Melissa Coxey, an attorney who now represents IMPD, including on matters that come before the merit board.

Sullivan is a retired Supreme Court justice now working as a law professor at Indiana University's Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

IndyStar emails to Ferguson-Mosley and Drewry were not returned Monday.

In an interview with IndyStar, Sullivan said he viewed the appointment as one of the most important assignments in his career.

"I don’t think there is any more important issue that faces our community or, for that matter, American cities these days than public safety and police-community relations," Sullivan said. "As a citizen, this is a subject of great personal importance to me."

Across his 19 years on the Supreme Court, Sullivan said he voted on thousands of cases that involved police work. Sometimes his vote favored the state, sometimes he supported defendants.

"You don’t vote on any of these based on your personal views," Sullivan said. "You vote on them based on what the law and the proven facts require."

It's the same mentality that he will carry into the toughest aspect of serving on the merit board: deciding on disciplinary actions for officers accused of wrongdoing.

While the bulk of the merit board's time is spent on hiring and promotions, its most visible work centers on disciplinary action, including deciding whether to fire an officer.

One of the most contentious decisions occurred last May when the board reinstated two officers who fatally shot 45-year-old Aaron Bailey, an unarmed motorist who fled from police.

Three mayoral appointees, who were all selected by former Mayor Greg Ballard, joined a 5-2 majority to reject the recommendation of Chief Bryan Roach, who sought to fire both officers.

While backing his police chief, Hogsett immediately criticized the merit board's decision that night.

In a follow-up interview with IndyStar in June, Hogsett emphasized that he would be given the opportunity to review the four Ballard appointments at the start of 2019. In addition to the four mayoral picks, which are made in the last year of a mayor's term, the City-County Council is given one appointment and a vote by IMPD officers selects the final two.

Slash, who retired as president of the Indianapolis Urban League in 2014 and previously served as deputy mayor under former Mayor Bill Hudnut, was the only Ballard appointee retained by Hogsett. He's also the only Ballard appointee who sided with Roach in the matter involving the IMPD officers in the Bailey shooting.

Hogsett selected new names for the other three slots.

When asked about the merit board's decision to reinstate the two officers, Sullivan was reluctant to comment, saying: "I don't know that any useful purpose is served in expressing a view that's in the past."

But he said he's hopeful a similar shooting won't happen again.

"I think that we would all hope that in the future, circumstances would not arise where a police confrontation would escalate into such a tragic loss of life," Sullivan said. "I guess my view on this is not looking backwards but looking forwards in the hope that such situations in the future are avoided, maybe prevented."

Contact IndyStar reporter Ryan Martin at 317-444-6294 or ryan.martin@indystar.com. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter: @ryanmartin