After the George Zimmerman verdict, disbelief and despair and anger gripped those who yearned to believe that we had entered a "post-racial" period with the election of an African-American president. The verdict confirmed what many already knew to be true: that our criminal justice system is not fair to African-Americans.
Peaceful demonstrations and demands for systemic change were heard all across the country. At 8 a.m. that Monday, nearly 100 people of all colors attended a vigil on the steps of the Capitol in Albany, singing "We who believe in freedom cannot rest, we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes." At the vigil's conclusion, fliers were distributed inviting people to a previously scheduled Forum on Community Policing to be held the next evening.
On that sweltering Tuesday evening in July, Albany Police Chief Steven Krokoff and about a dozen police officers (nearly all of them white), a dozen members of the Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee (a mix of white and black), and scores of community members (predominantly black) held a forum. And against the national backdrop of disbelief and despair and anger over the injustice of a "not guilty" verdict for the killing of an African-American boy in the 21st century in America, the people gathered at the public library calmly, candidly and respectfully engaged in a dialogue about police/community relations.
On Sept. 5, the Center for Law and Justice released "Pathway to Change: African Americans and Community Policing in Albany," to serve as a starting point for constructive conversations about community policing. The report assesses the extent to which Krokoff (whose predecessor retired abruptly after being accused of uttering a racial epithet) has delivered on his promise to institute true community policing in a city characterized by racial tensions both before and after the 1984 police killing of Jesse Davis, an unarmed, mentally ill black man.
Based on information from media reports, interviews with Krokoff, concerns raised at community meetings, and a review of Albany Citizens' Police Review Board minutes, CFLJ concludes that although Krokoff has put Albany on a palpable path to a mutually respectful police/community partnership in Albany, much work remains.
The APD must improve its mechanisms for engaging the community, and should immediately release to the public its policies regarding racial profiling, stop-and-frisk, the use of Tasers, the deployment of police personnel at cultural events, and police officer display of weapons.
All APD audio/video equipment must be deployed properly, to ensure that police treat citizens in a lawful and respectful manner.
The chief should provide an annual "State of the Albany Police Department" report to the Common Council, including a racial impact analysis of each new policy, program and practice implemented during the year.
City government leaders should declare that in Albany the proliferation of drugs is to be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue; that pre-arrest diversion is the preferred intervention for all initial police encounters; and that city government is committed to the successful re-entry of people returning to our community from a period of incarceration. What emerged from that Community Policing Forum on a scorching summer evening in a city plagued by decades of racial tensions between the police department and the community it serves could never have been predicted a mere four years ago: mutual respect, tentative trust and, most importantly: hope. Adoption of the recommendations in "Pathway to Change: African-Americans and Community Policing in Albany" (available at www.cflj.org) will help realize the vision of true community policing in Albany.