POUGHKEEPSIE – The Poughkeepsie Common Council held the second public hearing before they vote on the creation of a controversial Civilian Review Board that was recently drafted.
On Monday night, a handful of participants, including members of the city’s police force, called into the Zoom-cast to speak on the plan. Members of the city’s police force, including Lieutenant Sean McCarthy, expressed displeasure at the way the council has addressed the board’s creation. The police union (PBA) has argued that the plan, which excludes police officers from serving is discriminatory and biased.
McCarthy, addressing the few members of the council that were present, said in part, “The writer was clearly not neutral in the writing. This review board that paints the picture of a rouge department that requires extreme oversight. The law is not respectful to the police, as it paints them with a national brush of policing issues. And lastly, neither the writer nor the council was not transparent in the law. They have not explained the process nor why they think this specific law is necessary. They also failed to even give a copy to the PBA after it was written. I would ask the council to disregard this current draft of the civilian review board and utilize the principles of procedural justice, as they expect from the police, in drafting new legislation that is fiscally responsible and works for all of the stakeholders involved.”
Laurie Sandow, a critic of the common council, noted during her remarks that many members of the council were absent and others were not paying attention to the remarks being offered. Sandow called the initiative “An act of opportunism,” by certain members of the council while adding remarks related to Council Chair Sarah Salem’s history of run-ins with the police, including a February DWI. Salem is due back in court on Wednesday to answer those charges.
Participant John Way expressed the need for the Civilian Review Board, repeatedly referencing the arrests of two young sisters who were involved in an altercation with police. He said the acts of “excessive force” that have been deemed untrue, a reason for the board to be created. Way, a relative newcomer to Poughkeepsie, admitted “I know nothing about Poughkeepsie police and their workload,” when calling for the passage of the legislation.
