Ithaca, N.Y. — What does it take to mend community-police relations in Ithaca?
Why I shop downtown — Carmen
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Local leaders have publicly wrestled with some big ideas: body cameras on cops; a police residency requirement; a new Ithaca police satellite on the west side.
But at a meeting in Ithaca Monday night that lasted over three hours, it was the unglamorous, everyday work — not just the sweeping and headline-worthy — that became clear as being equally essential.
“It’s the small things that can make the big things productive,” said Marcia Fort, director of the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, which hosted the meeting in its gym.
“It’s the logistics that can make it successful — the locations, the food, the hours, the child care.”
Consider the heavy lifting required to put on just one event:
— Six trays of hot food, donated by volunteers, so attendees wouldn’t have to pick between dinner and the meeting; dozens of folding tables covered with tablecloths.
— Two people to provide daycare in the “peewee room” of GIAC, so parents could attend while having their kids looked after.
— Dozens of hours from unpaid volunteers like Ithaca resident Jaimi Hendrix and the time of officials like Fort; planning meetings from city leaders; countless email exchanges and phone calls.
— Sacrificed weeknights from nearly 100 local residents, city officials and a group of Ithaca police officers during the quiet stretch between Christmas and New Year’s.
“I think there are people who think, ‘We can do a little hop-scotch and get to where we need to be,’” Fort says. “But we didn’t get to where we are quickly; these are long-standing problems (created) over a long period, and it’s going to take time.”
The primary purpose of the meeting held Monday was modest by the organizers’ own admission: To get community members’ input of their “vision of community and police relations” — plans that can then be passed on to the mayor and police chief.
“This is one meeting. This is one initiative of a lot that are taking place,” Fort said.
Fort said that an Aug. 10 incident in which two unarmed Ithaca teens had a weapon pulled on them by a sergeant spurred an increase in interest in police-community relations.
Protests over that incident drew on anger over national events — particularly the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner — and led to several expressions of frustration with police over the last few months.
Earlier this month, an official with the Department of Justice held a meeting in downtown Ithaca to discuss similar topics. But that process was criticized by some for a variety of reasons, leading others in Ithaca to seek to restart the process.
The event Monday began with an information session before the large group of nearly 100 people dispersed into smaller “working groups” of about 10 people. After nearly three hours of the meeting, community members then took turns sharing what their working groups had found.
Some suggested new rituals to get community and police to interact more frequently. One person said all officers should have to read Michelle Alexander’s book “The New Jim Crow.” Many called for giving a community or civilian police board far greater powers — including, potentially, the ability to issue subpoenas.
Others spoke of the difficulty of fixing what they see as an irredeemably oppressive institution, in particular emphasizing decades- or centuries-old tensions and perceived racial animus of police.
But despite the magnitude of the task, the meeting should leave Ithacans hopeful, Fort said.
Fort noted that Police Chief John Barber was in attendance, as was Mayor Svante Myrick and at least five Ithaca Common Council members (Ellen McCollister; Graham Kerslick; Cynthia Brock; Seph Murtagh; and JR Clairborne). There were also at least three other Ithaca police officers at the event, according to Fort.
Before the last part of the meeting began, Fort noted that it had run over-time and apologized. But nobody got up to leave; the crowd had barely thinned since the meeting began.
“People have made a conscious decision that they care about what is happening in their community,” Fort says, “I think we are seeing progress-in-action.”
Other Ithaca Voice coverage of Ithaca’s community-police relations:
Is more lenient residency requirement for Ithaca cops worth passing? – In Ithaca, lawmakers are considering a five-year, county-wide residency requirement after police opposed an initial, more stringent plan to make officers live within the city’s limits for their whole careers. Ithaca Voice
Understand the uproar between Mayor Myrick and the Ithaca police – An apparent paradox has been at the root of arguments over Ithaca’s cops for several years. Ithaca Voice
Ithaca police org. slams mayor, calls statement ‘slap in the face’ – The Ithaca Police Benevolent Association has issued several sharp criticisms of Mayor Svante Myrick’s proposed police reforms. The Ithaca Voice
5 key points made by Ithaca police chief in department’s defense – Ithaca police officers receive a small number of complaints a year despite substantial budget cuts and innumerable interactions with the public, Chief John Barber said in a recent speech. The Ithaca Voice
Editorial: Mayor Myrick’s proposed police reforms are bold, innovative and meaningful – They could make a meaningful difference in the everyday lives of some of Ithaca’s most disadvantaged citizens. The Ithaca Voice
Ithaca police, call records differ on key timing in incident involving unarmed teens – Police have released a statement of “clarification regarding the timeline of events” during the incident. The Ithaca Voice
Mothers say Ithaca police sergeant should not have pulled gun on their teenage sons – Four friends were riding their bicycles to Short Stop Deli on a recent summer’s night when they noticed they were being followed. The Ithaca Voice