HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021_01_25 Racial Equity Taskforce Minutes
Minutes of the Racial Equity Task Force of the Town of Mamaroneck
Held January 25, 2021 at 7:00 pm, via Zoom
Present: Sabrina Fiddelman, Jeffery King, Chief Paul Creazzo, Andrew Tannenbaum,
Diana Lovett, Helen Horsham-Bertels, Gonzalo Zeballos, Lindsay Luft, Lynne Murphy-Rivera
Sabrina Fiddelman called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm.
New Business
Review Recommendations: going through recommendations by the Town of Mamaroneck Racial Equity
Task Force provided on shared Google Docs.
Bias-Free Policing
Andrew Tannenbaum - New Era of Public Safety Report, bias-free policing is a
core component.
Chief Paul Creazzo - Statement 1 and 2 tie into each other - this is the bar that
we are starting from as explained in the Obama report on police reform
Diana Lovett is not sure how to connect or implement policies that are bias free
into the Town’s arcane laws
Helen Horsham Bertels - agrees with Diana. There is reference to training that is
available to address bias free policies. Training may be available from the
Academy.This is more of a mission statement. The work ahead is how to
execute it.
Andrew Tannenbaum - there are good examples and statements out there on
how to execute against these goals.
Diana Lovett: A1531B - this law has passed already. It is a civil law. This is the
law that enables an aggrieved person to file a civil complaint against bias-based
complaints. This is about building awareness within our community.
Sabrina Fiddelman - thinks that it should not be a police function but more of a
community function.
Jeffery King - sees A1531B - as community awareness. This is the next step in
racial awareness. This is well placed on the list of issues to be addressed by the
Racial Equity Task Force.
Andrew Tannenbaum - the police should have their own stated policy for the
department.
Chief Paul Creazzo - policy training is extensive - a policy is not needed for
everything. However, this is an issue that should be addressed by the Racial
Equity Task Force.
Helen Horsham Bertels - based on what we know from the data that has been
collected the Town of Mamaroneck Police Force is going to be more aware.
Using information to educate.
Recommend up the line to change hiring practices
Jeffery King - Westchester County has still not issued their recommendations
which will filter down to the municipalities. At the very least we can reference
them. Sabrina Fiddelman advised that it is a State of NY matter, not
Westchester County.
Use of Force/Methods of Engagement
Diana Lovett recommended that Town of Mamaroneck Police Officers when
making a stop could provide a business card with his/her name; badge number
so that if the person being stopped wanted to make a complaint, he/she would
have all of the necessary information to make the complaint.
Chief Paul Creazzo offered that the Officer’s name, badge number is on the
ticket - when you are pulled over. The officer's job is to ensure that a person
who is in violation of a law is advised and perhaps issued a ticket.
Jeffery King - filing a complaint may be going too far. A card could be
counterproductive. Changing the initial approach is in order. There is anxiety
and stress during a stop. If an Officer changed his/her approach (that is, offered
his/her name and badge number and why the person was pulled over) could
help to de-escalate what could be a difficult situation. This is at the core of
transparency. It is critical in building levels of trust and transparency.
Procedural Justice takes out the ambiguity in policing. Most of the Town of
Mamaroneck officers in our community are following these guidelines but it
would be good to have these guidelines in writing .
Gonzalo Zeballo agrees that as long as the officer speaks up with their name and
badge number and if the person wants to write down the information and if the
officer will allow the person to write down the information - the card would not
be necessary. The card seems awkward and counter protective to humanizing
the policy.
Helen Horsham-Bertels - if it is a best practice in other municipalities to hand
out cards, the Racial Equity Task Force should revisit it.
Update use of force policy - required by NY State Law according to Chief Paul Creazzo:
The response with the ambulance service in the Town of Mamaroneck is about
5 minutes or less.
The use of force policy will be expanded and clarified.
Officers use the least force necessary which is required by the situation - you
cannot put in writing every situation .
Gonzalo Zebello asked whether there was a policy for use of force for mentally
ill persons.
Jeffery King - this is a complex discussion. We are looking at incidents that have
not occurred in our community but have occurred within NY State. In this
environment we have to put this in the forefront - particularly victims suffering
from drug abuse or mental illness. Jeffery King recounted what happened in
March 2020 in Rochester, NY with Daniel Prude who was mentally ill and
suggested that we keep this in the recommendations.
Training
Chief Paul Creazzo advised that there is a significant amount of training on many
issues and is not sure that we can accomplish the recommended training on an
annual basis and would have to be budgeting for.
Usually, a minimum of 5 days is required to get training accomplishment.
Racial Equity Task Force agrees that we should keep the recommendation for
anti-bias training to at least an annual basis. Helen said that the Police Academy
already has some of this training on deck which the Town of Mamaroneck can
leverage.
Jeffery King agrees that we have to be cognizant of the costs of training. Also
that many respondents believe that our police are doing a great job. He is
fearful of the reaction to the training recommendations and that we may get
push back.
Gonzalo Zebello agrees that we should prioritize the training recommendations
and have a separate conversation.
Next Step: Helen Horsham Bertels will draft creative ways that the Town of
Mamaroneck can address training. Suggested that Helen Horsham Bertels focus
on the type of training as opposed to specific training .
Diana Lovett asked whether we should discuss some of the anecdotal responses
from the survey; Chief Paul recommends that we table until after the survey; Helen
Horsham Bertels recommends that we discuss on the agenda for Feb. 1. Andrew
Tannenbaum recommends that we continue to press thru the document and add
the review of the anecdotal feedback.
We have 499 Survey Responses to date. We will close survey on February 1
Next Meetings:
February 1 and 8