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Police say they were actively searching for Lewis, a suspect they say was involved in at least 2 prior shooting incidents in the city. Saturday evening he was spotted on a blue light camera sitting in front of a home on Remington Street. Moments after officers approached him, Lewis, who police say was armed with a gun tucked in his waistband, tried to run, but the officers tackled him in the middle of the street where he resisted their efforts to arrest him. What if he had that gun when the officers approached him? Interim Rochester Police Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan asked. What if he elected to pull it out and use it? We could ve had another officer-involved shooting. We did not.
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This week marked a year since a white Minneapolis police officer put a knee on George Floyd s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes and killed him on a public street.
Advocates have asked the city and Monroe County to transform policing tactics and create a more equitable community that holistically serves all residents and respects Black lives.
In the year since the social justice movements spurred by Floyd s death began renewed calls for racial equality, what lessons have been learned? What has to change? The
Democrat and Chronicle posed those questions to local leaders.
All responses except two Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter and city council candidate Stanley Martin, a community organizer were collected via email questionnaire. (Baxter and Martin spoke with reporters in person .) The responses have been edited for clarity and length.
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Under Mayor Lovely Warren s 2021-22 budget proposal, the city of Rochester would reduce funding for the Rochester Police Department, increase spending on the newly formed Office of Crisis Intervention Services, and meet a request from the Police Accountability Board for $5 million.
Warren unveiled the the $560.8 million spending plan Friday morning at Rochester City Hall. The plan still requires City Council approval. Council, after three public hearings next month, is expected to vote on it on June 15.
According to Warren, the plan is 5.2% bigger than last year, but she said it will decrease property taxers for the average homeowner by $36. The plan is possible through keeping the tax levy and service fees flat with a combination of reserve funding; deferred capital projects; and better-than-expected revenue collections from such sources as sales taxes, according to a release.
Created: May 14, 2021 11:57 AM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) Rochester s Police Accountability Board will be fully funded at $5 million as part of the city s proposed 2021-22 budget, Mayor Lovely Warren announced Friday as part of her budget proposal, which sits at $560.8 million.
Warren said the move gives the board autonomy to hire staff and begin investigating allegations of officer misconduct.
Previously, the Police Accountability Board (PAB)
had requested the exact amount, saying funding would allow the board to hire 55 staff members, and the three bureaus would focus on officer accountability, systemic change, and a bureau of administration. This is a victory called for and created by so many Rochesterians, and we join with them in celebrating this historic moment, PAB Executive Director Conor Dwyer Reynolds said. “From Mayor Warren to Council President Scott to staff in the budget department, we are grateful to the City officials who joined together
PHOTO BY GINO FANELLI Mayor Lovely Warren introduced her 2021-22 budget on Friday, May 14. Mayor Lovely Warren on Friday unveiled a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that she called historic and would cut funding for the Rochester Police Department, expand the city s crisis intervention services, and provide the new Police Accountability Board with the full $5 million it had requested. The $561 million budget proposal, which the mayor presented to members of the media in City Council chambers, represents a 5.2-percent increase over last year s spending plan. Despite the jump, the average homeowner is expected to pay $36 a year less in property taxes, a decrease that would be offset by a $205 rise in taxes for businesses, according to the budget.