State College councilman outlines plan for police reforms aimed at ‘meaningful and sustainable change’
A State College councilman whose hallmark has been advocating for underrepresented populations became the first Thursday to publicly announce a plan in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Dan Murphy, who was sworn in to Borough Council in January 2018, said he plans to work toward “meaningful and sustainable” change with a six-part plan that includes reallocating funds from the State College Police Department.
The plan comes less than three weeks after George Floyd’s death in Minnesota, which prompted worldwide protests in support of Black Lives Matter.
“In my own journey, I’ve come to a space where I can no longer remain quiet on the things I think are important,” Murphy said. “... I felt it was important to stand in solidarity, support and allyship with my neighbors and community members of color to make sure that we’re doing everything we could to begin to change this narrative that has existed for far too long.”
His plan includes:
- Responding in direct and meaningful ways to the demands presented by peaceful protesters and demonstrators in the borough
- Moving forward a plan to establish a citizen review board with independent investigative authority for the State College Police Department
- Reallocating current funds from the State College Police Department budget to support the development of a mental health response team, enhanced community engagement efforts in the borough and funding other community services that reduce the need for police intervention
- Prioritizing funding for the hiring of a community equity officer on the borough’s leadership team
- Codifying the borough’s commitment to deescalation training and banning chokeholds and kneeholds
- Offering his time and resources to community members interested in running for Borough Council in the next election to assure ongoing commitment to similar issues
Murphy’s letter to the community referenced the fatal March 2019 State College police shooting of Osaze Osagie, whose death kick-started a series of protests that later calmed, only to reignite after Floyd’s death in May.
About 12 protesters shared Thursday a list of 10 demands with interim Mayor Ron Filippelli, something Murphy said the borough has “made little progress to address.”
Filippelli on Thursday guaranteed a response “within a week,” while Murphy wrote his six initiatives will require conversations with the borough police department’s union.
Potentially reallocating police funds is among the most drastic measures Murphy suggested, but he was quick Friday to say he did not want to “defund the police.”
Necessary expenditures would not be reduced, though he hopes to review opportunities where discretionary spending may be reallocated to support services and programs, outreach efforts and reviewing how unfilled positions are filled.
“To be clear, I have no interest in living in a community without police,” Murphy wrote. “At the same time, I can no longer standby and continue to live in and lead a community where my neighbors of color live in fear of the police. Nor can I continue to be part of a system that reinforces the systematic oppression of my neighbors.”
Borough police Lt. Greg Brauser declined to comment Friday specifically on Murphy’s proposal, but said the department’s budget goes through an expansive vetting process and lacks a meaningful amount of discretionary funds.
The department implemented years ago the eight policies outlined in Campaign Zero’s “8 Can’t Wait” initiative, including a prohibition on chokeholds or strangleholds, Brauser said.
Murphy believes he has the support of other Borough Council members for some of the proposals, and plans to introduce some of the items as early as Monday.
“It is because I believe that Black Lives Matter that I commit to investing in new ways to make sure our police have the best training and appropriate equipment to serve our community,” Murphy wrote. “If the training that our police force participate in is as good and our department as understanding and empathetic to issues of diversity and inclusion as we have been told over the past year, these efforts to affect change should be applauded.”
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 3:41 PM.