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Little substance offered at police reform meeting

Oct 19, 2020 6:00 am
Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greene County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative met and heard comment offered by the public during a meeting October 14. The collaborative was formed in compliance with a state executive order issued in June, requiring a review of all police policies and procedures in municipalities statewide and formulating a plan to improve those policies and procedures as a way to respond to community needs. The Greene County group is focused on matters related to the county Sheriff’s Office only. At the meeting, two local attorneys spoke, expressing no concerns about the Sheriff's Office. Durham resident Bernard Rivers commented on the lack of diversity in the department. “There’s only one member that’s not white and I think that’s a pity,” he said. Tannersville resident Stephen Nash-Webber asked if a tragedy like Daniel Prude’s death that occurred in Rochester could be prevented. “I hope there’s no chance of that happening, but can I be 100 percent positive? I don’t know,” Greene County Sheriff Pete Kusminsky said. The department has not had an excessive force complaint in seven years, collaborative member and Greene County Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Friedman said. According to statistics collected by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, in 2019, Greene County law-enforcement agencies arrested 847 men and 354 women; the gender of two of the people arrested that year was not reported. The sheriff's office is one of three law enforcement agencies in the county, including the state police and the Catskill Police Department. Sheriff's deputies do not wear body cameras, but, according to County Administrator Shaun Groden, the addition of camera will be part of budget discussions next year. The collaborative will next meet at 6 p.m., October 28, most likely at the Greene County 911 Center in Cairo, Groden said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.