READ FULL REPORT TO COUNTY BOARD

Citizen Review Board

Among Ideas Suggested

By Policing Task Force

COOPERSTOWN – Recommendations ranged from “an outside entity to review complaints against officers” to “implicit bias awareness training,” as the county’s Law Enforcement Review Task Force reported this morning to the county Board of Representatives.

The public has until 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, to read the report and email comments to comments@otsegocounty.com.    The county reps will meet at 9 p.m. Thursday, March 25, to approve the report, which is due in Albany by April 1.

Hartwick Professor Ari Tobi-Aiyemo emceed the hour-long presentation of findings produced by a 15-member task force that has been meeting for the past several months after Governor Cuomo order citizen reviews of all 330 local police forces in the state after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last May 25.

The report also detailed committee member Sheriff’s Richard J. Devlin Jr.’s recommendations, which included “advanced reality-based training”, crowd management training, and seeking “less lethal” equipment.

No discussion followed, although county Rep. Jill Basile and Clark Oliver briefly praised the committee for its recommendations.

The Village of Cooperstown has already approved and sent its report to the Governor’s Office.  The City of Oneonta is still developing its report, and the committee meets next Tuesday.