AUGUST 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 9
IN THE NEWS
RACIAL JUSTICE
MARCHES SPARK REFORMS
BY DANA CHIUEH
As racial justice protests continue
across Long Island, police and lawmakers
are debating how best to address
the issue of police brutality without
handcuffing officers’ ability to effectively
protect communities they serve.
There have been more than 100
protests against police brutality on
LI since a Minneapolis police officer
allegedly murdered George Floyd in
May, triggering nationwide demonstrations
that have been dubbed the
largest-scale civil rights movement
in American history. New York
State, Nassau and Suffolk counties,
and some villages have all proposed,
and in some cases enacted, police reforms
in response — prompting some
soul-searching along the way.
“As someone that has always been
law-abiding … I've been called ‘boy,’ I've
had guns drawn, I've had a gun held up
to me, and it's from law enforcement,”
said Suffolk County Legislator Dr.
William Spencer (D-Centerport), one
of two Black members of the county
legislature. “So when I get pulled over,
even in Suffolk County, until the point
where that officer recognizes who I
am, I'm terrified.”
The national reckoning on race relations
has prompted nationwide calls
to defund police departments and reallocate
the taxpayer money to social
services programs as was enacted in
New York City, but local leaders have
resisted the idea.
Some measures have been more symbolic,
such as the Village of Hempstead,
the municipality with the highest density
of Black residents on the Island,
renaming its Main Street “Black Lives
Matter Way.”
STATEWIDE REFORMS
New York State lawmakers passed police
reforms in June. Gov. Andrew Cuomo
signed into law a 10-bill legislative
package that included a ban on police
using chokeholds, mandated that New
York State Police wear body cameras,
and repealed a law that shields police
disciplinary records from scrutiny.
Black Lives Matter demonstrators march in Huntington. (Photo by Mira Lerner)
Cuomo also created the New York
State Police Reform and Reinvention
Collaborative in which 500 local
governments and police departments
statewide are mandated to reform with
community input by April 1, 2021 or
risk losing state funding.
“We’re not going to be, as a state government,
subsidizing improper police
tactics,” Cuomo said.
REBUILDING TRUST
Officials recognize the need for improving
relations between police and
the communities.
“We have to change the culture in policing,”
Suffolk County Police Commissioner
Geraldine Hart said. “Making
sure that every police officer is involved
with the community… that has
to be in the DNA of our department.”
In Nassau, County Executive Laura
Curran announced the creation of the
Police and Community Trust (PACT)
initiative that will have community
activists meet with police officials
for discussions on how to improve
Nassau’s community policing model.
“As a young Black woman from this
community I’m excited to have and
push these conversations forward,”
said Blair Baker, one of four community
activists represented in PACT.
Another Nassau bill seeks to create
an alternative reporting option for
community members to reach a specialized
mental health crisis response
unit without calling 911.
BODY CAMERAS
Nassau and Suffolk lawmakers are
also searching for vendors in anticipation
of expanding police body-worn
camera systems on Long Island. Suffolk
previously experimented with a
pilot program in 2017, while a $150,000
pilot in Nassau stalled in 2015 after
objections from police unions.
“Suffolk County, New York State, and
the entire nation are entering a new
phase of understanding and advocacy
with respect to the use of force by
police and ensuring accurate monitoring
of police activity,” Suffolk
County Legislator Jason Richberg
(D-West Babylon) wrote in a recent
resolution.
Body cams not only provide a record
in case of police misconduct, but may
also protect officers from being
falsely accused, according to local
police chiefs. While body cameras
are an important tool for maintaining
objective records, clear protocols
regarding when officers must turn
the cameras on and when they are
allowed to turn them off are needed,
lawmakers said.
As legislators are deciding how to
pay for an expensive new program
amid a pandemic-induced budget
crisis, some local villages are taking
matters into their own hands.
The Village of Head of the Harbor
announced June 18 that it would
equip all officers with body cams.
In 2015, the Village of Freeport was
the first municipality in New York
State to equip all 95 officers with
body cameras.
Reform advocates remain cautiously
optimistic that real progress will be
made.
“Governments at every level need to
address the structural racism that
underpins police brutality,” said
Elaine Gross, president of ERASE
Racism, a nonprofit that investigates
housing discrimination. “Only then
will the African American community
be treated fairly by the police.”
“We have to change the culture in policing,”
Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said.
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