[UPDATED] City Council is preparing to start public review of draft legislation changing the way Rochester handles complaints about police conduct. The draft legislation calls for the creation of a separate, independent Police Accountability Board with the power to conduct its own investigations into complaints. The draft has been circulated among police-reform activists, the police union, […]
Rochester Civilian Review Board
Posted inNews & Opinion
Urban Action 5/23
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Police oversight is topic of Saturday event The social justice activist group Enough Is Enough will present a panel discussion, “Intersections of Rebellion and Accountability,” on Saturday, May 26. The program will focus […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Is real reform coming for police oversight?
There seems to be a good chance that this time, Rochester will do more than tweak things as it assesses police oversight.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Perspectives: Cedric Alexander on police and the community
Cedric Alexander’s office is sparse and uncluttered. There are the usual mementos, awards, and framed diplomas you find in most executive offices. The American flag stands behind his desk, and a black and white photo of him sitting near President Obama is strategically placed on a shelf, as if to oversee what goes on in […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Council prepares to tackle police oversight system
A new report notes that Rochester’s police oversight process “was part of the first wave of civilian oversight in the first half of the 20th century” and that “many communities have moved beyond or enhanced this approach with other forms of monitoring.”
Posted inNews & Opinion
Feedback 7/5
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources; those of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we edit selections for publication in print. ‘Policing’ the police Frank […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Feedback 6/28
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources; those of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. No more studies […]
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Police and community: The path to real reform
Police-community relations in Rochester have been under stress for decades. And that stress probably increased a notch this past weekend, when a Rochester police officer was shot while he was responding to an unrelated 911 call. The shooting is a tragedy, and it underscores the depth of the violence plaguing some neighborhoods in this city. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Police-review leaders want change
Leaders of the Center for Dispute Settlement, which operates Rochester’s current police oversight process, say they would support having a neutral, trained, outside investigator or agency handle investigations of civilian complaints against police involving shootings or personal injuries.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Support’s growing for reform of police oversight
Concerns over police conduct aren’t new, in Rochester or many other cities. Nor is the public push for reform. But in Rochester this year, support for reform has been gaining strength. On the heels of 18-year-old Ricky Bryant’s lawsuit charging police with using excessive force and a citizens-group report calling for an independent review board, […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
City Council prepares to investigate police handling of the Ricky Bryant case
City Council has taken the first step in what could be an extensive reassessment of how the city handles citizen complaints about police actions. In an 8-0 vote Tuesday night, Council authorized investigating how police handled an incident involving 18-year-old Ricky Bryant Jr. The teenager’s family says he was beaten and seriously injured by police […]
