NEWBURGH – The Newburgh City Council, last Monday night, approved spending $297,000 over a two-year period to continue funding the Shot Spotter program that instantly identifies where gunfire has taken place, adding a tool for the police department to fight crime.
Councilman Omari Shakur, who is a community activist, voted against the funding.
“It’s not about defunding our police department, it’s about restructuring our police department, giving back money for education to the community,” he said. “You’re giving too many toys for the police to play with for reactive methods, but nothing pro-active. They are not stopping crime; the crime is getting worser.”
The long-time critic of the police department disputed the way the reimaging task force is being handled and he was critical of Chief Arnold Amthor.
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