Rochester Calls for New Independent Civilian Review Board After October 7th Police Riot

On October 7th , during a march down Main St. commemorating the 8th year of the American military occupation of Afghanistan, several units of Rochester, NY police maneuvered non-violent anti-war protesters into a trap on a bridge over the Genesee River. RPD then beat up local members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and other participants who had nowhere to disperse. In the aftermath of the police riot, a cry from the Rochester public rose for an independent civilian review board for the police—a real civilian review board—not the current one run by BY the police at Rochester's Center for Dispute Settlement (RCDS).

Rochester Indymedia's investigation of the history and current status of civilian review boards has uncovered a disturbing trend nation wide, in which the original social justice movement for oversight of police by citizens in civilian review boards has been hollowed out and co-opted by police departments around the country. Such is the case in Rochester. The complaint process here, according to review board representative Frank Liberti at RCDS, involves the Center taking sworn statements about police misconduct and brutality, and then shipping the paperwork directly to police internal affairs. The Center for Dispute Settlement does have nice offices outside the police department in the Reynolds Arcade, but attractive amenities aside— in Rochester, the police are in charge of policing the police.

Additional Information: Police Brutally Attack Funk the War | Police Attack on Funk the War Still Raising Issues

Related: The FBI Comes Calling, And The Struggle Continues……. | Community Organizing Meeting to Discuss Collective Strategies Against Police Brutality | Cop harassment while driving home tonight

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