POUGHKEEPSIE – The Poughkeepsie Common Council agreed to an Inter-municipal Agreement with Dutchess County on Monday night. The agreement will allow two city police lieutenants to teach procedural justice and implicit bias programs to all Dutchess County police agencies under the county’s Police Reform and Modernization Collaborative.
The City of Poughkeepsie Police Department has two state master instructors for the courses – Lieutenant Sean McCarthy and Lieutenant John Zeltman.
The training developed by the ranking officers is being used across the state for police reform initiatives. The two will be the instructors for all Dutchess County training and in exchange, the county will cover up to $50,000 of associated overtime costs for the two men.
Councilmember Yvonne Flowers is the co-chair of the city’s Procedural Justice Committee and expressed her support for the agreement. “I’m glad that the City of Poughkeepsie Police are taking the lead on this,” she said, noting that it’s “very important training.”
Mayor Rob Rolison, who unveiled the procedural justice program when the city first developed it said, “The City of Poughkeepsie Police Department has been a leader in police training and embraced procedural justice along with implicit bias as an important part of how we interact with our community. I appreciate Dutchess County’s commitment to helping that go countywide. Lt. Sean McCarthy and Lt. John Zeltman are to be commended for this important aspect in policing.”
The council unanimously approved the city’s participation in the agreement with the county. During the discussion period, councilmembers Natasha Cherry, Evan Menist, Randall Johnson, and Sarah Brannen all responded with “No comment.”
