Onondaga County lawmakers are optimistic that there will be more trust between the police and residents as communities begin working under their respective police reform plans. The county approved its own this week to meet the governor’s executive order to have a plan approved and sent to Albany by April 1.
County legislator Mary Kuhn is hopeful that this long-awaited progress will continue.
“This document is the result of something that’s long overdue. I see this and the reports from other police departments across the county as living documents and something that will serve as a framework for ongoing review and continued improvement.”
Kuhn says it’s only the first step in police reform. Legislator Linda Ervin served as a sub-committee chair, and agrees this is only the beginning.
“We don’t want this strategic plan that we put together and then they sit on a shelf and nobody looks at them again. That’s not the intent of this. The intent is to make some real substantive changes going forward and I look forward to that process happening.”
The reform plan passed unanimously, with lawmakers praising the collaboration and time that went into the sometimes difficult process. The approval comes after police from three agencies shot and killed 17-yearold Judson Albahm in Jamesville last week while he was having a mental health crisis. Authorities say he had aimed an air gun at officers that looked like a handgun. The state attorney general’s office is conducting an investigation. County district attorney Bill Fitzpatrick says there’s a pattern of these incidents involving mental illness or drug addiction.
“It’s now eight officers involved in fatal shootings in Onondaga County in the last less than two years. That’s an extraordinary number for this community. I have been your DA for 30 years and maybe we have one a year. But to have that many is something that needs to be addressed to see how we can do things smarter and better.”
He says the county is far ahead of its colleagues across the state, partially because the city of Syracuse served as a springboard by tightening up policies on no-knock warrants and use of force. The city of Syracuse is getting closer to approving its reform plan…councilors held another committee meeting this week and made some changes. A vote could come Monday. The Town of DeWitt held its final public meeting this week, and could vote on their plan at the next board meeting.