Martinez asked that the following disclosures be included:
*I am decidedly biased in that I have a favorite candidate (Florsheim). I am the Florsheim campaign Treasurer, and hope he can win your support on Tuesday.
*I am also decidedly unsure what I’m going to do with myself if another candidate wins on Tuesday.
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I remember learning in high school history that our federal system of checks and balances is what makes our form of government fair and effective.Theoretically, in our local government, our Council checks the Mayor, and vice-versa. In theory, we have some systems to protect employees reporting harassment; a process for assessing department goals and triaging department needs; and some enforceable policies around unacceptable behavior in the workplace. We can debate the efficacy of these processes, we can argue how well they’re communicated, or how easy they are to find--but they theoretically exist to ensure that no one employee, official, department, or area of local government abuses their power, or unfairly or unnecessarily has access to or control over resources. That’s a function of good government. Folks I know have been wondering though, who polices the police?
Our Police Department is one of the few city departments that is empowered to interact with any resident anywhere in our town and yet, we have no system to independently check their power or to hold them publicly accountable. If you wish to file a complaint against an Officer, you can fill out a Civilian Complaint Form that’s available in English and Spanish. However, the Form Policy--the document that defines misconduct, explains the process, and details your rights--is only available in English. Your complaint is received and processed internally, by an MPD Officer, who then transfers it to either a Supervisor, an Internal Affairs officer, and/or the Chief of Police for review or investigation. Officers within the same department take your complaint, review it, and decide whether to act on it. The power to refer your complaint to an outside agency lies at the discretion of the Chief. As far as I can tell from our city website, there is no MPD report produced for the public that can provide information on the number or types of complaints that are submitted annually, on how many complaints are substantiated, on how many are referred out, or on how many officers are reprimanded based on those complaints. Where are the checks? Where is the balance?
Over the course of the months leading up to Tuesdays’ Democratic Primary, candidates have had the chance to answer these questions a few times. They are important questions. We are living in a national climate where police violence, particularly violence done to Black folks, is making the news more than ever before. Almost everyone has a camera phone they can quickly pull out to share negative interactions with police officers. And this ease of connectivity means people across the country are quickly noticing, confirming, and tracking trends. One trend is clear: police departments nationwide are rarely equipped with the kind of training and support they need to deescalate conflict, or to work with people of color, disabled folks, young people, queer people, or immigrants. The intersectionality of race and ability, age, gender, sexuality, and/or immigration status often compounds negative outcomes, proving fatal for too many, and heightening the fear of police amongst marginalized communities. Another disturbing nationwide trend is an uptick in the number of officers caught sharing vile, derogatory content amongst other officers, on social media, or in private groups. Every time a story like that goes viral, public trust in our officers decays. It’s our responsibility to be proactive (and not reactive) about community policing and police accountability.
Three of the four Democratic candidates on the ballot on Tuesday have expressed interest in supporting the creation of a Civilian Review Board. None of these candidates can claim credit for the idea, though. From my understanding, community residents and organizers in Middletown have long been pushing for the creation of a CRB, with no luck to date. Here’s what I’ve learned from the forums I’ve attended and what I could dig up on our city website (if you have more info to offer, please share):
- Bill Russo has declared, at the two public forums he attended, that he would not support the creation of a Civilian Review Board. He believes our existing internal complaint system is sufficient. Perhaps he has some insight into MPD complaint reports and outcomes that we don’t? He’s also made mention of the Public Safety Commission as an avenue by which to air complaints. Our Public Safety Commission is made up of 5 Common Council Members. The charge or powers of the Commission are not detailed on their website, but their agendas and notes indicate they hear reports from the PD and Fire Department. Agendas occasionally make mention of purchase considerations, or public ordinances, and it is well within the scope of a Council Member to act to vote on expenditures or ordinances as they come up at Council Meetings. Council Members, I guess, could perhaps consult with the Chief of Police about a complaint, but they do not have the power, as far as I understand MPD policy, to intervene or make recommendations in the Civilian Complaint Process. Russo has not said he would modify this Commission in any way that would give it any additional authority, he is simply saying the status quo is fine for him.
- Geen Thazhampallath has pledged to create a CRB and to fund additional training on de-escalation tactics and cultural sensitivity for police officers--trainings he says have been a long time coming. As the Parking Director, Thazhampallath has no role in the current state of our police force. However, in his time as Chief of Staff for Mayor Seb Giuliano, he had the visibility and connectivity necessary to get some of those conversations started. To my knowledge, the creation of a CRB was not a priority or goal of Mayor Giuliano’s administration. Perhaps his recent change in party affiliation, or the growing notability of police violence videos has triggered the desire to get the ball rolling on this for Thazhampallath. I’m thankful he’s willing to start a conversation now, but I also can’t help but wonder how much further along to getting there we might be if conversations on the handling of complaints were started back when he had more direct access to decision makers.
- Mary Bartolotta has also committed to creating a CRB. At the one public forum she attended, she indicated interest in additional mental health support for officers in addition to increased cultural training. She also mentioned having worked on introducing the concept of a CRB during her time on Council. Although our Council notes are admittedly difficult to search, I have found no mention of the creation of a Civilian Review Board by Council Member Bartolotta in any notes dating back to at least 2015. Bartolotta is a member of the Public Safety Commission. A search of all the agendas and minutes for that Commission dating back to 2015 also does not bring up any mention on her part on the creation of a CRB. In fact, our City website indicates the Public Safety Commission has met 4 times in 2019--they’ve held meetings both while she was presumably deliberating a run for Mayor and after she declared. Bartolotta has missed all but 1 of those meetings. The notes for the one meeting she did attend this year indicate no mention of what is now a key talking point of her campaign. I wish she was more specific about where, when, and to who she introduced the idea of a CRB or provided some documentation to back her claims up. A general month or year would help to narrow down a search. As a long standing Council member and now Deputy Majority Leader, I imagine it’s not incredibly difficult to get items added to a Council or Commission agenda, but it is possible I’m looking in the wrong places or missing some information.
- Ben Florsheim has also affirmed that the creation of a CRB is well past due. As the only candidate on the ballot on Tuesday with no experience working in Middletown City Hall, it’s a little difficult to judge him in relation to the others. I can say that Florsheim is the only White candidate who has acknowledged publicly at any forum that his experiences with police and that of a Black resident are vastly different. As a woman of color, that acknowledgement for me equates a certain consciousness--an understanding that his worldview is not the only one there is, and that it is not just possible, but absolutely certain in a town as racially diverse as Middletown, that multiple truths and perspectives exist at once. He has expressed knowledge about how other cities and municipalities are working to create similar boards and how we might look to them or to other states to share best practices or modify techniques to suit our needs. And he has committed to making sure any board we create has real teeth in the form of subpoena power and other investigative/decision making powers. I trust him to keep his commitment to this more than I trust any other candidate. That doesn’t mean you have to, though, you should draw your own conclusions. For me, the fact that he’s the candidate least entrenched in City Hall politics means that his default is not the old way of doing things. His experience with community outreach across the state for Senator Murphy tells me he’s more inclined than most to seek input from constituent bases and to be held accountable to them. I think that’s the kind of leadership we need on this issue, and in general, in the Mayor’s Office.
I welcome an opportunity to receive information from any of you on any candidates’ history with police accountability. I recognize I have only been living in Middletown for 13 years, have not been engaged politically for very long, and I know I’m missing an Encyclopedia set worth of Middletown political history. My email is diana.martinez0225@gmail.com, feel free to inbox me and make sure you get to the polls on Tuesday!
Thank you for highlighting this issue and for making it clear that it is written from the standpoint of a committed Ben supporter. I also believe this is a very important issue, but believe Geen is the best choice on our town. He is dedicated, trained for the job, and loyal to his home town. I believe him when says serving is a privilege and that he just wants to serve his community. Geen openly talked about the police force social media issues,and the reality that town officials and paid officers of the town need to behave to a clear standard in their on and off duty time. He also proposes to more creatively recruit our police officers from communities whose representation we lack in our town government.
ReplyDeleteDiana, thank you for getting involved in Middletown politics. We need more voices from different perspectives and your work on this is appreciated, as is the way that you leave yourself open to new information. Its refreshing!
ReplyDeleteBy far thee best insight on a CRB!!! Loved this!!! We all know who the clear choice for Mayor is.
ReplyDeleteA civilian review board would have no authority over the police union. Therein lies the problem.
ReplyDeleteI think Geen is a genuinely good person. I think his supporters are good folks, too. I have a few concerns about Geen, as I do with any new convert to the party post-Trump. While I welcome these folks into the Democratic fold, and commend their commitment to think beyond party politics, I'm not sure I trust them to go from 0 to 100 on the progressive meter in a year or so. His long history as a Republican party member and as Chief of Staff for a Republican Mayor; his failure to respond to questions around how he'd address Crisis Pregnancy Centers in our city; and a few of his responses around the LGBTQ+ community are lacking for me. As Chief of Staff and the Union President for some of our staff, Geen has had an opportunity to really push our HR departments to push for more racial bias training for all our staff and I haven't really seen evidence of his doing that. Again, good guy, just not progressive enough for me.
ReplyDeleteDiane, Looks to me like you have created a problem with how the police department handles things for the sake of politics. Give me an example of when the Middletown Police have mishandled a civilian complaint and have been found to have violated a citizens rights where that officer was either not disciplined or terminated. Who do you want to sit on this review board? will these individuals have any training in what an officer goes through when he encounters a combative person? Will they have training in firearms and be put through a simulated shooting experience where they can see how quickly a life and death decision has to be made? Or will it be professional activists who have made it their quest in life to make those who don't agree with them miserable? Civilian Review boards historically do not work like you think they would. There is a reason more departments don't have and utilize them. Again if there isn't an established problem why are you attempting to make it one?
ReplyDeleteFor the record I to am bias. I'm a retired Middletown police officer and a candidate for common council on the Republican Ticket.
Mike, my name is Diana. Nice to meet you. My very point is that tI cannot tell you if or how complaints are handled because that is not information the PD is required to provide the public it serves. That problem was created solely by our inability as a to city create a process for public review of the department. Maybe some folks are ok with that, but I think most are not. We have a number of commissions in existence that have mechanisms for ensuring membership is in line with our party demographics and that elements of all our constituent bases are represented. I believe with the right leadership, we can welcome police officers to that table. It's my belief that they, more than anyone else, should want to be invested in any collaboration that results in increased public trust and that weeds out the few folks who shouldn't be employed by our city.
ReplyDeleteAs a retired firefighter with the City of Middletown and my father a retired police officer within the the city, I feel compelled to ask why the issue of an independent police review (civilian) board has even come to the political stage? Or nationwide, are all the civil lawsuits and recently police brutality cases given our officers a bad name and for this reason maybe their is a shortage of such police officers nationwide. All city employees including the police department are and should be held accountable for their actions and that usually starts at the top with effective leadership within the departments. I am fully in favor how complaints are being filed and how they are handled but fairly within all not just police officers.
ReplyDeleteRespectively Submitted,
Candidate for Republican Common Council
Hi Matt! I agree that all city departments should have strong leadership that sets the tone for how they interact with the public. The reason I think the PD in particular needs additional oversight is that no other city officials are granted the authority to determine when and how to use lethal force on residents. That kind of authority should have some additional oversight. If an employee in, for instance, the tax department has a bad interaction with a community member, that interaction is statistically much less likely to escalate to use of force than a PD interaction. Arrests and police interactions have rippling effects on entire families and communities. The city has a responsibility to make sure their officials are carrying that their duties responsibly and that they are well equipped to do their job. I think folks' perceptions of a CRB center around punitive measures. I think this is much more about making sure our residents feel there's an unbiased recourse for them to go to if they fear retribution, that as a municipality we're doing the best we can to keep the best data possible, that the Chief is receiving feedback from community members that's untethered from the pressure community residents may feel in speaking to an authority figure, that we're giving our PD officers access to the resources they need to best employ the tools at their disposal, and about centering restorative processes that repair any breach of trust between community members and our officers. I've heard from folks that our PD and our department is functioning at top notch levels, I think if that's the case then there should be no anxiety about creating avenues for people to feel even more secure. In fact, if we had a team like a CRB responsible for creating a rubric by which to demonstrate how well we're doing, we could use that as an opportunity to model effective policing for our neighboring PDs.
ReplyDeleteDiana, seems to me that the creation of a Civilian Review Board is meant for you to hold some sort of power over the Police Department. The comments you make point to an issue within MPD yet no issue exists. The checks and balances already exist is local government, especially Middletown. The Police Chief currently has to answer to both the Mayor and Common Council. If an issue arises within the department and the Police Chief does not address it, the Mayor and Council step in. You may not like how that works, but it is a check and balance system. If the politicians don’t address the needs of the community, they are held responsible to the citizens by way of elections. Seems to me in Middletown, the community does a good job of holding the elected representatives accountable.
ReplyDeleteCitizen Review Boards have their plus and minuses. If used correctly and set up properly they can be beneficial. In this case it seems to be a knee jerk reaction to force the Police into addressing problems that just do not exist. Granted nothing is perfect, and some may feel the PD is rogue. However knowing the Middletown PD and the officers themselves, they have always been an agency that is very professional. You talk about training our officers on what you see fit with the establishment of this board when in reality those are just buzzwords to attempt to force control over the policing agencies. The use of force you mention has been established by federal, state and local laws which govern police conduct. The system is designed to hold them accountable. In Middletown there is no issue currently. They are a well trained police department and quite frankly, the professionals seem to be doing their jobs.
If a civilian review board is what Middletown wants, then attempting to have the political leaders put this in place is disturbing. The PD MUST be free of political influence in order to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. God help us if politicians or citizens are left to run rogue on the department in order to gain an edge for political favor later on. I suggest letting the citizens decide through a ballot measure whether they want a CRB or not. Since it is important to establish a fair and impartial board that’s the only way to see this brought forward. The taxpayers will be liable for the costs and setup of any board and should be the determining voice, not a few individuals who may have a vested interest in controlling the policing agency.
Creating a rubric to determine how well we are doing for use in surrounding PD’s shows exactly your intentions. From my point of view you’re attempting to place these agencies under the thumb of how you want them to do their jobs. Leave them alone, no problem exists, they’re doing a fantastic job.
Steven, thank you for your comments, I am glad to have your perspective as part of the discussion. I'd like to respond to a couiple of points.
ReplyDeleteNo one can say, "In Middletown there is no issue currently," one can only say, "In Middletown no issue is currently known". An experience from earlier this year showed me that I cannot say with any authority that "no problem exists." When the city was planning to sell the Green Street building to St. Vincent de Paul, the residents near Green Street were very concerned that it would degrade their neighborhood. They felt helpless to influence the decision, because they felt that nobody in City Hall would listen. I met with them and encouraged them to consider requesting specific changes what would reduce the problems they anticipated. Spitballing, I threw out a dozen ideas: Better Lighting? Restrictions on the hours of operation? Community access to the garden? Community access to rooms in the building? Better street cleaning by Public Works? Blight enforcement? None of those seemed to alleviate their concerns. Finally I tossed out something that I thought was probably less easily achievable, "How about a police substation?" Universally, they tearfully recoiled in terror at the thought of bringing the police into their neighborhood, and one of them said, "YOU WANT TO GET US KILLED!?" This response shook me to the core.
You and I don't fear the police. You and I cannot even imagine that the police would ever be a threat to our safety, quite the opposite. But not all parts of our community feel the same way, and as long as that is true, I cannot agree that "no problem exists."
You suggest, "The PD MUST be free of political influence..." I agree, and a Civilian Review Board would REDUCE that political influence from the current situation, in which the only oversight is by political leaders (Mayor and Council). A good Civilian Review Board would include individuals who are NOT currently represented by those with political power. A good Civilian Review Board would include individuals from communities who are most impacted by police decisions. A good Civilian Review Board, doing its job, could identify problems (if there are any that we don't know about), and prevent problems from occurring in the future.
And a good Civilian Review Board could provide substantive support for all of your statements.