Latest news with #RochesterPoliceAccountabilityBoard
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Survey: 70% of Rochester residents seek police accountability
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — New data surveyed by the Rochester Police Accountability Board showed nearly 70 percent of people say the city is not doing enough to hold police accountable and they want to see the board hold disciplinary authority. The responses were collected throughout the past few months. Executive Director Dr. Lesli Myers-Small said the survey was initiated to gauge community perceptions on the Police Accountability Board's practices and discipline powers. The 21-page report includes both quantitative and qualitative analyses, leading to action plans the board said they want to implement. 'This is about the accountability, the transparency, and making sure that we follow up on concerns,' Dr. Myers-Small said. Dr. Myers-Small said the community's input is valued — wanting to make sure every voice is uplifted as the entity was created by the community. 'We had naysayers, people who don't believe in what I do, in what we do as an agency, people who might not like the concept of a police accountability board. So, we wanted to look at that,' Dr. Myers-Small said. Out of 212 responses, the majority said they want to see investigative reports administered by the board published and would like to be better informed in how to file complaints. Respondents also noted underrepresentation from Hispanic, youth, and non-English speaking communities. 'We know that we might not change hearts, we might not change minds, but we want to make sure that people have the correct information about what we do,' Dr. Myers-Small said. Dr. Myers-Small said the board will re-engage the Police Accountability Board Alliance to strengthen accountability, as well as share investigative findings with policy makers and host forums to build deeper trust with the community. Dr. Myers-Small also emphasized her relationship with Rochester Police Chief David Smith. 'We meet monthly, and we have really robust conversations about the work that we are doing. I get to have a better understanding from him what's going on, and it's a very collaborative, mutual, respectful relationship,' Dr. Myers-Small said. News 8 asked Dr. Myers-Small about the Board's reaction to the body-worn camera footage released of the controversial ICE arrest in Rochester at the end of March. She said the board had been reviewing the City's General Order 502 before the incident occurred. 'We really try to make sure that we're keeping our ear to the ground relative to things that are going on in the community. And we knew with the, you know, the new administration, that this is something that certainly is a priority for them, you know, immigration and ICE,' Dr. Myers-Small said. 'We actually make recommendations to the chief or to city council on police matters. So that's that was a very contemporary issue that we took a look at.' Dr. Myers-Small also said she feels the board is heading in the right direction and spotlighted the collaboration between the collaboration between her and Chief David Smith and said that will continue at a meeting next month to invite the board to see how viewing footage from the blue light cameras around the city operate to ensure public safety. A full version of the PAB's survey can be found on its website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Yahoo
Beating death of Marcy prison inmate Robert Brooks ruled a homicide
The death of a man brutally beaten by corrections officers at an upstate New York prison late last year has been ruled a homicide in an autopsy, lawyers for his family said Wednesday. Robert Brooks, a 43-year-old Black man, was punched, kicked, choked and manhandled by multiple officers while he was handcuffed on a medical examination table at Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9, body camera video shows. He was pronounced dead the next morning at a hospital in Utica. According to a report issued by the Onondaga Medical Examiner's Office last week, the cause of death was compression of the neck and multiple blunt impact injuries. The manner of death was determined to be a homicide, the family's lawyers said. 'I think what this does is rule out any argument that there was some other cause of death other than what we saw on video,' family attorney Stephen Schwarz said. In a statement released through Elizabeth Mazur, who's part of the team representing the family, Brooks' loved ones added that the 'autopsy report [confirmed] what was already clear: Robert Brooks's violent death was a homicide.' Early in January, Attorney General Letitia James recused herself from the case and named Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick as a special prosecutor to investigate Brooks' death. A grand jury will hear evidence in the case. On Tuesday, the Rochester Police Accountability Board organized an event at East High School in Rochester designed to highlight the need for police accountability and transparency. The event — 'How Many More? A Call for Change, Action, and Accountability' — brought together dozens of community members, including Brooks' father, Robert Ricks, according to local NBC affiliate WHEC. 'My hope is [people] can go to jail and come out better than they were when they went in,' he said at the meeting. Brooks was serving a 12-year sentence for stabbing his girlfriend in 2016. Marcy Correctional, a medium-security facility housing just over 800 inmates, is located in Oneida County, about seven miles west of Utica. With News Wire Services
