KINGSTON – The Kingston City Police Commission approved a resolution Wednesday to adopt a new system for dealing with police complaints.
The complaints fall into one of four categories: unfounded, meaning the claim was false; exonerated, meaning the complaint was reviewed and cleared with no finding of misconduct; unsustained, where there is not enough evidence to prove misconduct; and sustained, meaning the officer in question was found to have committed wrongdoing.
Mayor Steve Noble said this system will help organize and expedite the complaint process.
“What this does for us is allows us to have clear categories for complaints so that, as we’re reporting annually as to the complaints received and the status of those complaints that we are being consistent,” said Noble.
A more detailed outline of the new complaint system is available on the city’s website.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Egidio Tinti said the department is expecting a grant of approximately $375,000 that will go toward the installment of license plate reading technology in the city.
Currently, a department lieutenant has been consulting with NDI to acquire the technology, which automatically scans and reads plates, then sends them to a server, in this case, one of the county’s. There is also the possibility this technology can communicate with onboard computers in the police cruisers.
Referencing an afternoon shots-fired incident earlier in the week on Smith Avenue, Tinti said the technology could drastically improve the ability to identify criminal vehicles and would be able to cover a large portion of the city.
“This would help essentially cover most, if not all, of the intersections leading in and out to the city, which is a great technological resource for us,” said Tinti. “LPR technology is being used all over the state and frankly, you really can’t drive too many places, at least on state highways, without having your plate recorded,” he said.
No one has been arrested in the latest incident of gun violence.
