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Mayor Ben Walsh will provide a timeline within two weeks for addressing a police reform agenda that a coalition of Syracuse advocacy groups issued last month, the mayor said at a public forum Thursday.

The advocacy groups, including Last Chance for Change and Black Lives Matter Syracuse, presented nine demands to Walsh and the Syracuse Common Council in June to reform the Syracuse Police Department. The demands, entitled the People’s Agenda for Police Reform, include removing school resource officers from city schools and demilitarizing SPD.

At Thursday’s forum, Walsh said he would not commit to enacting the agenda as written but would release a timeline within two weeks for addressing the demands.

“This is what we as a community are demanding of our representatives. It’s not a request,” said Yusuf Abdul-Qadir, director of the central New York chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “We want to be explicit about that.”

One of the agenda’s demands includes reallocating resources from SPD to community development and youth programs. Abdul-Qadir and other community members in attendance pressed Walsh to commit to redistributing SPD funds.

Walsh also said he wouldn’t agree to defunding SPD without having a more concrete plan in place. SPD’s funding is based on the department’s current responsibilities, he said.

The mayor expects the city to identify areas where the police department is not the appropriate entity to perform certain duties, he said.

“(If) we are able to reassign those duties somewhere else, then I think it’s reasonable to expect –– and I intend –– to reallocate resources away from the police department to support that work being done by some other entity,” Walsh said.

SPD Chief Kenton Buckner said he agreed that officers should not be first responders to behavioral incidents in schools, mental health crises and homelessness. Buckner said he would be interested in outside agencies taking over those responsibilities.

Carol Baum, a member of the Syracuse Peace Council, said the militarization of SPD stems from its acquisition of used military equipment through grants and other programs, as well as its recruitment of former military personnel. SPD throughout the year visits Fort Drum, a United States Army military reservation, for recruitment.

The city must release its inventory of used military equipment and detail how much it costs to maintain, then return the equipment and commit to denying any future donations, Baum said.

Earlier in the meeting, Walsh said he had committed to conduct an inventory of military equipment and to develop standards on its procurement and use.

Students who spoke at the meeting also asked Katie Sojewicz, president of the Syracuse City School District’s board of education, whether she could commit to removing school resource officers from district schools. Sojewicz said she could not make a decision without the input of the entire school board, but that the board would reach a decision before August.

Community members further pressured the mayor to make the city’s use of surveillance technology more transparent. The city should disclose all the surveillance technology it uses, and citizens should review future technology before its implementation, Abdul-Qadir said. Some residents also asked Walsh whether the city employs facial recognition technology.

“To be clear, we do not use facial recognition technology in the city of Syracuse,” Walsh said.

Marissa Saunders, director of community engagement at the Center for Community Alternatives, said she did not call SPD after she was sexually assaulted because she did not trust the department to handle her situation.

After Saunders recounted her experience, she asked Walsh if he was committed to transforming the police department.

“Yes,” Walsh answered. “And I’m sorry for letting you down.”

“I don’t want your apologies. I just want your action,” Saunders replied.

Published on July 3, 2020 at 1:51 am

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