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The Way Forward: Police Accountability in Rochester (August 1, 2018) published by the Police Accountability Board Alliance (see PDF link below) is their response and way forward to the City establishing a Police Accountability Board. The document reviews the recent history, offers a legal analysis of the both the Harris Beach legal opinion on the question of discipline and the Rebuttal from the City's attorney.
Submitted by Rochester Indymedia / videography: Travis Lewis on Wed, 2018-09-19 13:37
On August 22, 2017, the Police Accountability Board Organizing Committee and the Rochester Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority presented a city council candidate forum. The forum will gave community members a chance to ask questions about each candidate's stance on the proposed independent Police Accountability Board as the election season approached.
Statement from City Council President Loretta C. Scott Regarding the Police Accountability Board
The City Council has been performing a continuous evaluation of the process for reviewing citizen complaints against members of the Rochester Police Department. This review is not to be taken lightly, and the process is not one that can be rushed. We are committed to implementing a real solution that addresses the community’s call for increased trust, accountability and transparency.
In the spirit of transparency, I will continue to update the community periodically. I want folks to know where we are in the process and where we are going. Earlier this year the City Council issued a Request for Proposals to obtain a legal opinion that would answer the critical question of whether or not a Police Accountability Board could be legally empowered to discipline police officers. Harris Beach, PLLC was selected to review this question and provided Council with their opinion. The City of Rochester’s Law Department reviewed this opinion and provided a differing perspective. (Both documents are attached).
Below is the PDF of Corporation Counsel Tim Curtin's rebuttal to the Harris Beach legal opinion. Rochester City Council hired Harris Beach to weigh in on the question of "May the proposed PAB be legally empowered to discipline police officers of the Rochester Police Department?"
The rebuttal was dated May 9, 2018. The Harris Beach opinion was issued on May 3, 2018. Both documents were attached to a statement released by Rochester City Council President Loretta Scott on June 21, 2018.
Below is the PDF of the Harris Beach legal opinion, solicited by Rochester City Council, regarding the question of "May the proposed PAB be legally empowered to discipline police officers of the Rochester Police Department?"
The opinion was dated May 3, 2018. The Corporation Counsel for the City of Rochester issued his rebuttal on May 9, 2018. Both documents were attached to a statement released by Rochester City Council President Loretta Scott on June 21, 2018.
Residents of Rochester NY held a candlelight vigil on July 18 2018 against corruption in business and government. The action was in solidarity with over 60 other cities nationwide.
Rochester Police Department (RPD) officers Matthew Drake, Steven Mitchell, and Jeffrey Kester were caught on store surveillance cameras brutalizing David Vann and are named in a federal civil rights lawsuit along with the city of Rochester and several other officers, investigators and supervisors alleging police brutality, violations of Mr. Vann’s constitutional rights, and a police cover-up. Mr. Vann is represented by Elliot Dolby-Shields, Esq. of Roth & Roth LLP; the lawsuit was filed on May 16, 2018.
The anti-police brutality group Enough Is Enough (EIE) recently released to Rochester Indymedia an edited video of the incident as well as the convenience store surveillance camera footage. The group screened the edited video at the Intersections of Rebellion and Accountability panel discussion held in late May. Members of Enough Is Enough were present at Mr. Vann’s criminal trial and received the footage directly from him at that time. You can watch the edited clip below and the raw surveillance camera footage at the bottom of the article.
Submitted by Black Lives Matter ROC on Tue, 2018-07-10 05:34
(July 9th, 2018) Rochester, NY- Saturday, July 7th, 2018, 16 people were arrested while peacefully declaring the mantra, “Black Lives Matter”. The protesters were making a statement against the harsh reality that black lives aren’t valued or held in the same regard as white lives. Black Lives Matter Roc organized a demonstration in Downtown Rochester that concluded with an act of civil disobedience on the intersection of Woodbury and S. Clinton Avenue. Rochester Police Department deployed a contingent of riot police equipped with less-lethal weapons around 7:15pm disrupting the peaceful demonstration. Organizers decided to forego interviews with the media, bearing in mind that mainstream media has historically acted to distort the narratives of those in the struggle for black lives, equality, and equity, as they saw fit. We are not without the guidance of our mighty ancestor, Frederick Douglass.
On June 15, 2018, Catherine Bonner was in state Supreme Court Justice Charles Schiano Jr.'s court regarding a menacing a police officer charge stemming from the allegation that she pointed a gun out of a broken window of her home at an officer–after the officer told her ex that it was OK to break into the house.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Bezer began the proceeding by telling the judge that after review of the case against Ms. Bonner, the Monroe County District Attorney's Office was submitting a motion to withdraw and dismiss the charge.
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.
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