City Council plans to cut incoming RPD class size, change police funding

Posted By: finleys
June 15, 2020 @ 1:13 pm
Rochester

“We need not just to look at where we have been, but where we would like to go.”

With these opening words, Rochester City Council President Loretta Scott and other members of the council outlined a series of proposals Monday morning that are related to the Black Lives Matter movement and changing how the Rochester Police Department functions within the community.

One of the proposals would reducing size of the incoming Rochester Police Department class by 50 percent – a savings of $750,000. There would have been 38 incoming recruits.

“We would like to see this money used in ways that support black and brown communities and benefit the community by addressing public safety using alternative methods to policing,” Councilmember Malik Evans said.Other plans in the proposed 2021 budget would remove School Resource Officers (SROs) from all Rochester City School District schools, fund an appeal to Judge Ark’s decision, cut the Rochester Police Department budget by $3.6 million, reallocating $130,000 from police overtime and special events budget to Recreation and Youth Services and hire two more community center managers.

Members of city council began the meeting Monday morning by discussing some of the ways it has worked with people in the community to fight for transparency and accountability. That included an effort described by Councilmember Mitch Gruber surrounding the Police Accountability Board, which had most of its teeth taken away in a ruling by Judge Ark.

Other measures passed in the past by City Council included the approval of police body worn cameras, banning chokeholds by police officers within the Rochester Police Department, requiring de-escalation training and verbalized warnings, and making police policies public online.

“It is time to declare racism a public health crisis,” said LaShay Harris, City Councilmember for the South District.

“Structural and institutional racism is not just in the police department,” Lightfoot added. “It’s in every system – embedded in every system that we can see. Education, healthcare, public safety, jobs, housing – all of the things.”

All members of City Council who were present took a knee and held a moment of silence in honor of George Floyd for 8 minutes, 46 seconds.

Patterson says state laws make it difficult to fire police, says they only have so much power. Says if they had power, locally, things might different. Conversation heated between activists and Patterson.

— Tanner (@T_Jubenville) June 15, 2020