“The Right To Know All” is What’s Truly Needed!

At the last City Council meeting, on July 13th, they passed “The Local Law On Police Identification” which was originally Councilman Omari Shakur’s “The Right To Know Act” but the wording of it was changed. Being that the city government feels that the citizens have the “Right To Know”, let me start with this question to the city of Newburgh’s residents: “Do you “KNOW” about the “Matrix Report” which is “An Assessment of the Culture, Community Relations, Use of Force, Training, & Disciplinary Practices” of the city of Newburgh’s Police Department?” That “FINAL REPORT” was presented to the city council by the “MATRIX” consulting group on August 1, 2013. WOW! Even though this “REPORT” was done seven years ago, the present city council and city manager should be aware of its existence. If not, why not?? If so, do they know if the police department has implemented any of the recommendations. If so, the city council should have made the community aware of this. The Matrix Consulting Group began the project to conduct an organizational effectiveness and efficiency study of the Newburgh Police Department. Introductory meetings, interviews, data collection, analysis, and review of interim deliverables occurred in February throughout 2013. After the initial meeting with the City Project Committee, the Matrix Consulting Group project team conducted interviews with 31 members of the Police Department and several other City officials, collected data relevant to this study to facilitate the analysis of all services provided by the Department, including patrol, investigations, records, training and technology.

Additionally, an anonymous employee survey was distributed to regular members of the Department and the project team received 35 responses, only a 41% response rate, which is somewhat lower than typically seen in other police department studies conducted by the project team throughout the United States. The survey results served to provide a snapshot of employees’ beliefs and perceptions, and also served to supplement the project teams’ understanding of the Department.

The question to this is: How many of our present city council members or our city manager have viewed this “REPORT” or are even aware of it? If not the city’s attorney should have been the one to make sure that “ALL” of the city council members were aware of this study. Accolades are due to former city councilman Curlie Dillard because in 2012 he encouraged his colleagues on the city council to work with him to hire an independent auditor to investigate the City of Newburgh police department as it relates to policy and procedures regarding the following:
1. use of excessive force
2.use of weapons
3. overtime scheduling
4. Community Relations
5. training/minority hiring
6. internal/external review and controls. Former Councilman Dillard was basing this request due in part to the reports that were presented to the Mayor and City Council by the Democratic Alliance who conducted the research and documented their findings. It’s so nice that Attorney Sussman is still in the arena of this fight for justice, as he held an event on “Police Abuse.” Quite a few people attended that event and shared their concerns.

I just stumbled upon an article dated 6/8/2007 with the headline “City of Newburgh to revive police Community Relations Advisory Council!” The article stated:”the board, which the City Council hopes to appoint in July, will not have any powers over police-only an advisory role to the city council. Chief Paolilli said there is a chance the advisory council’s meetings could be less of the dialogue he hopes for and more a forum for wholesale critiques of police.” WOW! This is the mentality of most but not “ALL” of the police even today. Seven years later in an article dated 9/26/2014 with the headline “Justice Dep’t To Conduct Broad Review Of Police Tactics”, it reads “The Justice Department is leading a broad review of police tactics, including the kind of deadly force that prompted recent protests in Missouri and New York, a federal law enforcement official said Tuesday. It just goes on and on and on.

On July 14, 2014 the city of Newburgh’s city council created the city of Newburgh’s “Police Community Relations Review Board” and I went to that first meeting at which the late Mayor Judy Kennedy and Councilwoman Mejia were also present. After listening to what was shared re: what the “Review Board” was going to be all about, I stood up and told them that judging from what they had just shared, this board was not going to have any real power. I then shared with them that this city needed to create a “Civilian Complaint Review Board” because that type of Board has the power to issue subpoenas. As I was talking, Councilwoman Mejia went into her laptop and evidently pulled up some information re: this and then said that this type of board would be too costly, financial wise. Corey Allen who is the chairperson of the PCRRB expressed interest in what I had shared.

The bottom line to “ALL” of this is the city of Newburgh’s City Council has to get “SERIOUS” about this issue and create a “Civilian Review Board” that has some “REAL” power. If not, this madness of police abuse and misuse is going to continue on and on and on. Also, each city council person needs to give some “REAL” attention and study of that 2013 “Matrix Study Review” so they can see what the recommendations were and also see if the police department has implemented any of those recommendations.

Last, but most definitely not least, you should Google these three most important articles:
1) “A Brief History of Slavery and the Origins of American Policing!”
2) “The Racist Roots of American Policing:From Slave Patrols to Traffic Stops!”
3) “Slavery and the Origins of the American Police State!”

The three presentations makes one aware of the hard, cold reality that many, but not “all”, policemen have very strong “racist” attitudes against “African Americans!”But, why?
Give this some “real” serious thought!

This is “Lillie’s Point of View” and I’m just having my say! Now you can have yours!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email