A video of an incident on West Main Street on October 27, 2015 showed five Rochester police officers violently subduing a mentally ill, homeless, Black man. The incident lasted two minutes, according to the Rochester Police Department in a Democrat & Chronicle article.


What people may not know, however, was that about a week before on October 21, 2015, a similar incident happened on Clarissa Street involving a young, white man with mental health issues. The individual exhibited aggressive and belligerent behavior toward other people on Clarissa Street. During this incident, he removed his own clothing and proceeded to move up and down the street. The incident lasted a little over an hour.


Due to negative societal stigma attached to mental illness, Rochester Indymedia has made every effort to hide the face of the individual. We wanted to show the difference in how the police responded to both situations, and also question why there was a marked difference in police tactics. What happened on W. Main St. was not acceptable--regardless of police procedure.

Watch the video below of the incidents on October 27, 2015 and October 21, 2015:

Some questions that were raised for us as we watched both incidents were:

• Was the difference in police response racially motivated?

• Was the difference in police response class motivated?

• Was the difference in the police response due to training differences?

• Was the difference because of the location?
• Was the RPD's mental health response team called to the scene on W. Main Street and if not, why not?
• Would the incident on W. Main Street have happened if all five of those officers had the same training as the officers on Clarissa Street?
• Will the officers who brutalized the man on W. Main Street be held to any account by the Rochester Police Department or the community at large?

These are questions that need to be answered by the City and the Rochester Police Department. The incidents also raise the need for a community discussion about the treatment of mentally ill people in our community.



I (Susan) personally witnessed the incident on Clarissa Street and was impressed with the how the police handled the situation. First of all, the RPD officers took the time to assess the situation by observing the man. When they did start interacting with the individual, they spoke to the man calmly, but did not immediately approach him. The officers attempted to persuade the man to get into the car of someone who knew him that had volunteered to take the individual home. It appeared that the police were trying to avoid arresting him. When the individual refused to get into the person's car, the police calmly got him into their cruiser and called an ambulance. No harsh language or raised voices were used by the police. The man was moved into the ambulance after he was placed on a gurney in soft restraints, without force, and moved from the police cruiser. In total the police were dealing with the individual at the scene for a little more than an hour. The police acted in a way that did not escalate the situation. In the end, the man's and the community's safety were protected where humane and nonviolent tactics won the day.



Although I (Susan) did not witness the incident on W. Main Street, I have read the articles, watched the news reports, and viewed the video. The Democrat & Chronicle reported that according to the RPD statement, officers responded to the Open Door Mission, at 210 W. Main Street, for a man refusing to leave the property. The caller from the shelter stated that the man said, "Police will have to kill him to make him leave."

This could mean that the RPD were aware that they were going to be dealing with an individual with mental health issues. According to a Time Warner Cable News piece, Rochester Police Locust Club President Mike Mazzeo said, “The call that the officers got was that, 'if police come, they’re going to have to kill me,' so additional officers went because they anticipated officers having problems, and even with that amount of numbers there, that suspect was able to take a pair of handcuffs off an officer and use it as a weapon and resist in that way." Mazzeo continued, “They got to a point where another officer used a taser that didn’t work. They went with the continuum of the use of force that follows based on their training. They had no choice in that matter."

After witnessing what happened on Clarissa Street, it seems like there are choices that can be made, contrary to what the police union president said to the media.

Supposedly, there is a team of RPD officers that is specially trained to deal with mentally ill and emotionally disturbed individuals. Were they called? If not, why?  The incident on W. Main Street does not appear to be that much different from the Clarissa Street incident--except for the response.

How mentally ill people are approached and interacted with can be the difference between de-escalating or escalating a situation. Laurie Jean Premo, a mental health professional stated, "When dealing with a person having a psychiatric episode, I speak in a calm voice. I do not approach the person or touch them unless they are in imminent danger to themselves or others."

On Clarissa Street, the police used the approach described by Ms. Premo and de-escalated the situation. On W. Main Street, it appeared that the officers almost immediately went to their use of force matrix and escalated the situation by approaching and touching the man. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, "The entire incident lasted about two minutes police said." The results are self-explanatory.

There was a meeting at Rochester City Hall between city officials, the RPD and community leaders on November 2, 2015 where the incident on W. Main Street was discussed. Those in attendance included Mayor Lovely Warren, RPD Chief Michael Ciminelli, Deputy Chief Scott Peters, Captain Kevin Costello and Officer Daniel Carlson. The following account is based on notes taken at the meeting by members of the Rochester Coalition for Police Reform.



While Officer Carlson was relaying the details of the incident between the five RPD officers and the mentally ill man, he repeatedly referred to the man as "the bad guy". He did change his terminology after the Chief interjected with the term "the individual". Using the term "bad guy" to describe a man with mental illness is troubling and raises questions about how those struggling with mental health issues are viewed by the RPD. Is the police perception that mental illness is equated with "badness" and is this use of language indicative of a police culture problem that uses terminology like "bad guy" to dehumanize people struggling with mental health issues?



Community members asked some questions of city officials regarding the incident. For instance, why didn't the RPD stop traffic instead of trying to physically remove the man from the intersection? The chief responded that a fight had started right away, which meant that the officers moved on the individual pretty quickly after arriving on scene. This is clearly different from how officers handled the incident on Clarissa Street: officers observed the individual that was naked in the street, they approached him calmly, they did not make physical contact with him, and they spoke calmly and compassionately. Again, why the difference in tactics?



The officials at the meeting acknowledged that the incident on W. Main Street was a mental health situation. The chief stated that the RPD has an Emotionally Disturbed Person Response Team (EDPRT), but none of the responding officers were trained. Why, when it was apparent from the 9-1-1 call that the situation involved a person with mental health issues, was the EDPRT not dispatched? Why aren't all officers trained in EDPRT tactics? Clearly, it is time to train all RPD officers in how to respond to individuals showing signs of emotional distress or mental health symptoms.



The juxtaposition of these two incidents is paramount to understanding how deficient the police response is most of the time. Out of nearly 730 officers, the chief said, at another meeting with police that happened on November 6, 2015, about 75 officers are trained in EDPRT tactics. An individual having a mental health episode is not a "bad" person or a "criminal"; they are in-need of direct support and must be treated as such. EDPRT training needs to given to ALL officers in order to effectively and safely intercede in situations like the one on W. Main Street. The five officers who mercilessly beat the man on W. Main Street need to be held accountable--regardless of police procedure. When interceding with an individual who is experiencing a mental health episode, it takes patience, calm, and proper training to de-escalate the situation resulting in a dignified and humane conclusion. The outcomes speak for themselves.

Related: Coalition praises council on body cameras; demands a voice in policy decisions | Family identifies man Tased by police | Rally Denounces RPD Murder of Israel "Izzy" Andino! | RPD, Health Care System and Community Negligent in Mental Health Issues | Edison Tech student athlete files civil rights lawsuit against police | Rally at the Rochester Police Department (Patricia Thompson) | THINK TWICE BEFORE CALLING ROCHESTER POLICE! (LaShedica Mason) | Vulnerable Populations/Critical Populations: The criminalization of poverty, homelessness, and dissent | "The Throwaways": discussion after the screening

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Heavy rain did not deter some 50 demonstrators from rallying on October 16 in support of the people of Palestine. Palestine is a nation in the Middle East that is increasingly losing its territory to Israeli settlements. The settlements are in violation of several peace treaties and international laws. The Palestenian people are Arab, mostly Muslim, however nearly a quarter of them are Christians. They are considered second-class citizens by the Israeli government which enforces an apartheid-like regime.

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The demonstration was called in solidarity with others around the country including one planned in New York City the following Sunday. It was not in response to a single incident but to ongoing killings in the occupied territory. An unofficial report mentioned 35 killed by the IDF (Israeli army) in one day. Often the IDF does not even return the bodies of the dead, instead burying them in secret. Many of those killed are children.

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Amongst those present was Eli Mizrahi, an Israeli citizen. In his words: "This is not the Jewish religion...Judiasm is peaceful." "This is more like the Nazis." "They just shoot kids." Israeli is not respecting the Oslo accords. The accords call for Palestinian sovereignty and equality.

Groups sponsoring the event included the International Action Center, Palestenians Witnessing for Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace, the International Socialist Organization, Christian Eyewitness for Peace and the Islamic Center of Rochester. The group had initially planned to rally in front of the Federal Building where the offices of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand are located, as well as Congress member Louise Slaughter. The rain forced them to take refuge under the entrance of the Genesee Crossroads building two blocks down the street. However it did not dampen the spirit of the event.

It is no secret that I question the sincerity of the Unite Rochester initiative of the D&C. They fail time after time to put their money where their mouth is. And, since they are a corporate, profit-making entity, this should come as no surprise. I want to share a letter I sent some time ago when the latest ACT Rochester stats came out for Rochester. The D&C did not publish it. No surprise there either. Anyway, here it is for your consideration.

Unpublished letter to D&C:

The City of Rochester in the latest report is fourth in poverty in the nation. For children in poverty we rank first. It's academic standing is last in the state.

So one would expect a look at the headlines in our local paper would be screaming out these terrible facts and crying for solutions. A look at today's online paper is a real trip down denial.

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Amid death threats, a change in venue, and pro-Israeli groups applying pressure to stop Rev. Graylan Hagler from speaking on the connections between the Palestinian struggle for justice and the Black Lives Matter movement, Christians Witnessing for Palestine and the Rochester chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace were able to secure a different speaking venue after his invitation to speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School had been rescinded. His tallk, "Connecting the dots: Ferguson to Palestine," was given on September 24, 2015, at The Historic German House in Rochester, NY.

Rev. Hagler spoke earlier in the day at the University of Rochester. Rochester Indymedia filmed that talk and did an interview with one of the student organizers. Both will be featured on Rochester.Indymedia.org later this week.

At The Historic German House, Rev. Hagler spoke to a rapt audience of 150+ people who listened to him drop truth and justice as he made the connection between the oppression of the Palestinians by the Israeli state and the oppression of black and brown people in Amerikkka by the police.

Part I -- introduction and Rev. Hagler's talk

Part II -- Q & A session

The evening started with a prayer by Rev. Richard Myers. Elaine Johnson from Christians Witnessing for Palestine was introduced, who in turn introduced two speakers before inviting Rev. Hagler to the podium.

Ms. Johnson invited Joshua Dubler, an assistant professor of religion at the University of Rochester, to speak on behalf of the Rochester Chapter of the Jewish Voice for Peace--a co-sponsor for evening event. Before he took the podium, Ms. Johnson called Jewish Voice for Peace "phenomenal" in all of its efforts to make sure Rev. Hagler would be able to speak in Rochester.

“These great enterprises—the United States and Israel—are not inherently virtuous, but nor are they inherently vicious. They are rather, what hence forth, we collectively think of them. No more and no less. This is our power and this is our duty. Can such a principle of collective responsibility truly be controversial to assert? If so, then I'm afraid that controversy is the only option available," said Mr. Dubler.

He continued, "Polemic is always easier than practical prescription. But polemic, and the call for abolition, is where we must collectively begin. To stand up and say 'No!' Not for the security of our homes and for the security of our children and certainly not for the cynical ambitions of powerful men who will not condemn the destruction of someone else's home or the murder of someone else's child. Not by missile, not by bulldozer, not by handgun, and not by nightstick. No to war, no to occupation, no to predatory policing, and no to mass incarceration.”

After Mr. Dubler, Tonya Noel was introduced by Ms. Johnson. Ms. Noel is a member of B.L.A.C.K.--Building Leadership And Community Knowledge--and went down with other members of B.L.A.C.K. to Ferguson last October for "FergusonOctober." Ms. Noel talked about her own journey of connecting the dots between the oppression in the U.S. and the oppression in Palestine.

She said, “My idea of going out to Ferguson [in October 2014] was that this is extremely patriotic. I'm going to take my American-made Jeep and drive across the country and protest because that's the American thing to do. But when you get there and you realize that the system that you've been saluting your whole life—that you think is sworn to protect you—is actually upholding a global system of oppression of white-supremacy is a big pill to swallow." She continued, "What we've learned from that is the resilience of people in Ferguson is the same as the resilience of the people of Rochester is the same as the resilience of the people in Palestine—that they will continue to work and fight to get free.”

"The whole damn system is GUILTY!" a community reportback from Ferguson

After Ms. Noel concluded, Ms. Johnson invited Rev. Hagler to the podium who received a standing ovation.

Rev. Hagler made it very apparent at the start of his speech, after thanking many people and organizations, that he was "not here to destroy anybody. I'm standing here to lift up the dignity and rights of all people in the world."

In talking about some of the connections between Palestine and Ferguson, he noted, as had Ms. Noel briefly, that large police stations around the country have sent their officers to Israel--not to learn compassion and respect, but to be better at counter-insurgency--to become a better occupying army.

He said, "Ask yourself a question if you really want to understand what's going on with Black Lives Matter. How can a domestic police department be trained by those who are trained to occupy a community? You end up as occupiers. That's your mentality. If that's the curriculum you're going in to study, then you're not there to form partnerships with people, you're there to occupy the community!"

In Rochester, NY, not so far away, according to the records access officer for the City of Rochester who handles FOIL requests, 93% of Rochester Police Department officers live outside the city limits while only 6% live within the city limits. It's practically the entire force--and depending on who you are and where you live--it's an occupying army.

Rev. Hagler continued by talking about some of the military equipment that gets shunted to local police departments. "The tear gas used in Gaza came from the same company in Pennsylvania that manufactured the tear gas that was used in Ferguson," he said. "Think about that relationship."

Later on, he seemed to admonish people who told him not to come to Rochester. 

"When folks tell me that I should not come to Rochester to speak about this, I'm gonna come anyway," he said. "When you say that, you should know that I'm gonna come. Don't tell me that I can't come some place—oh the hell with that—I'm coming, I'm speaking, I'm doing what God has called me to do."

Before ending his speech by acknoweldging the importance of the affirmation "Black Lives Matter" and linking it with the Palestinians, he let people know that, "We—all of us—need to start speaking out about the injustice. We need to start speaking out about the Palestinians. We need to start speaking out about the injustices that go on in our own communities. We need to start speaking out before we become sensitized to the things going on that hamper and hinder human life."

It was a powerful delivery and a wonderful speech.

Witness Palestine Film Series

The Witness Palestine Film Series is in high gear! See the films coming up at the beginning of October as well as the cultural event scheduled for Friday, October 9, 2015, below.

Related: Threats against speaker are “not the Rochester way” | We believe one voice cannot speak for all Jewish people | New venue found for Palestinian rights speaker after divinity school rescinds invite

Photos by Linc Spaulding: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Photos by Mara Ahmed: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Photos by Al Brundage: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Photos by T. Forsyth 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Rochester Indymedia is also selling DVD copies of the talk (both the introduction, talk, and Q & A on 2 discs) for a suggested donation of $10. All proceeds go to Rochester Indymedia. For more information, please contact Ted at Knight0440@yahoo.com.

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