The City of Syracuse officially has a police reform plan in place after unanimous approval Monday by common councilors. The Walsh administration began working toward reform last summer when protests here and nationwide called for more police accountability following the death of George Floyd. Governor Cuomo later made the plans mandatory. Councilor Ronnie White says this version is an improvement, and is glad benchmarks were included.
“The true determination of any success that this plan will have will come down to implementation and oversight. That is to say that both things that are included in this plan actually happen, and how will they happen. And I challenge all of us sitting on this body to ensure that this document doesn’t become just another hollow promise and that we hold the police department and the administration accountable. “
White says he prefers council oversight versus the administration’s promise of a committee. Meanwhile, councilor Khalid Bey expressed concerns about a lack of enforcement. He says there doesn’t appear to be any penalty from the state if the administration or police don’t follow the new rules.
“What is it that obligates the performance of this document and its full execution, I don’t know. And I am certainly not satisfied with what we have going forward. I can appreciate the fact that it was stated to be a live document but have some any real impact on state laws and state rules, I don’t know what it does for us.”
In a statement, Mayor Ben Walsh thanked the council and the community for their input. He says the reform plan will be implemented with transparency and involve the partnership with the community. Walsh says Chief Kenton Buckner and his officers have been and will continue to make changes every day.
For his part, Buckner says in a statement that SPD has worked for months with internal and external stakeholders to draft a reform plan.
"This endeavor comes on the heels of a national and local call from citizens for police departments to implement reform efforts into their agencies. This included but is not limited to changes to policy, training, delivery of services, and accountability. With this in mind, SPD will continue our efforts by delivering on the promises made during this process," Buckner concluded.
The council’s action follows a unanimous vote last week by the Onondaga County Legislature.