“On June 11, 2020, I participated in a conversation with Save Our Streets founder William Rivas. The conversation was held at Proctors Theater and was moderated by WNYT News Channel 13 journalist Chris Onorato. Local filmmaker Noah Friedman hosted the event and is now releasing the conversation to the public for viewing.
“On behalf of the Schenectady Police Department, we would like to thank Noah and his professional staff for hosting this conversation, Wil Rivas for participating, Chris Onorato for moderating, and Proctors Theater for donating their space for the event.
“The Schenectady Police Department has been participating in community conversations for years. The death of George Floyd and the resulting protests were immediately met with more conversations, some by Chief Clifford, and others by members of the Office of Neighborhood Engagement. The Schenectady Police Department will continue to participate in these community conversations. We are committed to considering evidence-based policing strategies, including but not limited to, use of force policies, procedural justice, training regarding systemic racial bias and racial justice in policing, implicit bias awareness training, de-escalation training and practices, law enforcement assisted diversion programs, restorative justice practices, community based outreach and conflict resolution, problem oriented policing, hot spots policing, focused deterrence, crime prevention through environmental design, violence prevention and reduction interventions, body worn cameras, and traffic enforcement.
“In compliance with Executive Order 203 issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Schenectady Police Department has created a Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Task Force (PRRCTF). This task force is co-led by Mayor Gary McCarthy and Chief Eric Clifford, and includes Dr. Odo Butler of the Schenectady Chapter of the NAACP, Ravi Ishmael of the Schenectady Guyanese Community Center, and members of the Schenectady Clergy Against Hate. The task force is in the process of establishing a structure, timeline, discussion points, and selecting a moderator for the conversations. It will be focused on reaching actionable outcomes and seeking police reforms where appropriate.
“It is our hope that the creation of this task force in conjunction with other community involvement strategies will continue to produce meaningful and constructive conversations on policing strategies and improvements.”
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Link to video: www.facebook.com/SchenectadyPD/videos/664748117447221