This is a book review of Cedric Alexander's The New Guardians: Policing in America's Communities for the Twenty-first Century. Alexander was Rochester's Interim Chief of Police in 2005 and recently became Rochester's deputy mayor.
The Good: I appreciate the fact that one of Rochester’s former police chiefs and the current deputy mayor wrote an autobiography. It gave me some insight into his career in Rochester (and elsewhere). Some of the highlights for me were: 1) he introduced Tasers into the Rochester Police Department; 2) he crafted the Disturbed Person Emergency Response Team (now called the Emotionally Disturbed Person Response Team (EDPRT) in Rochester); 3) he offered a snap shot in time of the politics between the department and the decision-makers in Rochester; 4) he offered clear definitions of police legitimacy and community policing; and 5) he tells a good story and offers plenty of anecdotes. Honestly, his own progression through his law enforcement career was kind of interesting reading. It’s the other stuff that was disconcerting about his book.
The Bad: I’ve selected four issues that need unpacking: Alexander’s treatment of Plato’s Republic, individual experience vs. systemic patterns and practices of abuse, trust the state, and war / no war.
On March 19, 2018, members of the Police Accountability Board transition team, members of the PAB Alliance, and supporting organizations held a community forum meant to update the public as well as offer actions to take in support of the campaign.
Submitted by Rochester Indymedia (feature photo: RYAN WILLIAMSON/City Newspaper) on Sun, 2018-02-25 07:36
Enough Is Enough held a press conference on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 to once again call on the City of Rochester to pass the Police Accountability Board and end a 50-year demand for community control and give civilians the power to independently investigate, adjudicate, and discipline Rochester Police Department officers for misconduct.
Submitted by Rochester Indymedia on Sat, 2018-02-24 15:22
Attached is the Enough Is Enough response to the Center for Governmental Research paper that reviewed the civilian oversight of police processes in Rochester, NY. Achieving Police Accountability in Rochester Clarifying: misconceptions and adding commentary to the report on police oversight commissioned by City Council was released publicaly at a press conference held by the group and its allies on February 20, 2018.
1 Introduction
In February of 2017, Enough Is Enough (EIE) and the Rochester Coalition for Police Reform, jointly released The Case for an Independent Police Accountability System: Transforming the Civilian Review Process in Rochester, New York (hereafter “PAB report”). The report, authored by Barbara Lacker-Ware and Theodore Forsyth, reviewed the process for civil- ians to make complaints regarding police misconduct. The researchers looked at annual reports from the Professional Standards Section (PSS, the Rochester Police Department’s internal affairs division) and the Civilian Review Board (CRB) administered by the Center for Dispute Settlement (CDS) as well as reports of racial profiling and police misconduct by members of the community. According to CRB annual reports (2001-16), of the 929 civilian- generated allegations of force over 16 years, the Chief of Police sustained only 16 of them (1.7%). According to PSS annual reports (2002-16), there were only 13 instances of officer discipline stemming from such allegations. Of those, the harshest were six suspensions.1
The PAB report as well as several high-profile cases of police brutality in the news, prompted City Council to thoroughly investigate the process used by civilians who have experienced police misconduct. City Council contracted with the Center for Governmental Research
(CGR) to conduct an independent review. Simultaneously, City Council used its subpoena power for the first time to review the PSS investigation of the claims made by Rickey Bryant Jr., a minor who was brutalized by over a dozen officers in a case of apparent mistaken identity as he was riding his bike in the summer of 2016. Although Mr. Bryant was never charged with a crime, he sustained severe injuries, for which the police were not held accountable.
On June 20, 2017, Rochester City Council approved a contract with CGR specifically to review “the functioning and outcomes related to civilian complaints about police conduct, and how they have been handled/disposed of by PSS, CRB, and the Chief of Police,” as well as “information on best practices and options to consider for civilian oversight of police, based on a review of practices in other New York cities.”
A draft of CGR’s report, Police Oversight In Rochester: An Examination of Outcomes and Other Models (hereafter “CGR report”), was completed by the end of September 2017, whereupon City Council requested more information. CGR then presented their report to City Council on November 30, 2017. The report was released to the public that night by the city of Rochester on their website.
Members of EIE have reviewed the CGR report and found several issues that warrant a response. Specifically:
Contrary to common misconceptions, state law does not preclude the proposed Police Accountability Board from disciplining officers.
Analysis of the data concerning the current civilian review process needs to focus specifically on the most serious allegations: those filed by civilians concerning use of force.
The relevant outcomes must go beyond sustain rates and include whether al- legations of misconduct ultimately result in discipline for the officers involved. Presently, civilian-initiated allegations of force rarely result in discipline (only 13 instances over the period 2002-16). Disciplinary power needs to be an essential feature of the proposed PAB.
The Syracuse Citizen Review Board, which has independent power of investi- gation, sustained significantly more civilian-initiated allegations of force than Rochester’s CRB (four times more often over the period 2013-16). Independent investigatory authority needs to be an essential feature of the proposed PAB.
We are hopeful that City Council will evaluate and prioritize these concerns in the legislation that is ultimately enacted.
1The PAB report analyzed CRB reports over the period 2001-15 and PSS reports over the period 2002-16. Here we have also included the data for 2016, which has since become available.
One year after the inauguration of the 45th President, Rochester again rallied in Washington Square to protest his policies. Earlier that same day the Federal Government was shut down over a financial impasse with the White House and a dispute over immigration. While expressing their displeasure many of those who spoke also offered a path forward. Let us hope that those in DC will listen.
Submitted by PABOC Ordinance Revision Committee on Sat, 2017-12-09 08:42
The Ordinance Revision Committee of the Police Accountability Board Organizing Committe spent the month of October in 2017 revising and strengthening the ordinance found in the second half of the report "The Case for an Independent Police Accountability System: Transforming the Civilian Review Process in Rochester, New York" co-authored by Barbara Lacker-Ware and Theodore Forsyth. The ordinance below should be replace the ordinance in the February 2017 report.
Submitted by David C. Perry on Tue, 2017-12-05 08:15
This is a report examining the Police Advisory Board of 1963. From the introduction:
As racial tension peaked in numerous cities in the past five yearS/ continual cries of "police brutality" were heardo Few cities were more embroiled with charges of brutality than Rochester, New York. This study investigates the formal (govern mental and procedural) and informal (citizen) reactions of the Rochester community to the allegations of police brutality and to the subsequent creation of a Police Advisory Board»
The study is presented in five sections: first, a discus sion of the cases of alleged police brutality; second, the formal apparatus for evaluating such charges before the creation of the Board; third, the creation of the Police Advisory Board; fourth, the operation and implications of the Board; and fifth, the author's evaluation.
A crowd of 150 or more turned out on Sunday, December 3 2017 to protest the Republican tax bill, or Tax Scam as many referred to it. The bill will raise taxes on working families in order to give massive tax cuts to large corporations and the wealthy. The bill was passed during the wee hours of Saturday morning, Dec 2 by senators who hadn't even had time to read it. A similar bill passed the House of Representatives earlier in November. This event was organized on hardly 24 hours notice. "They did this to us in the middle of the night." Video of the entire event follows.
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