Resolution aimed at ‘past due’ police reform, racial equality efforts proposed in State College
On the heels of local protests that have drawn thousands and a list of demands from a group of community activists, the State College Borough Council took steps Monday to support calls for racial justice, equity and action.
Councilman Dan Murphy, who last week penned an open letter to the State College community addressing his plan for police reform and desire for more emphasis on racial equality in the community, followed up with a resolution proposed to the rest of the council. It’s set to be voted on June 23, after gathering public input.
The resolution would commit the council to police reforms including an emphasis on de-escalation training, provide public access to officer misconduct information and disciplinary history when death results and to discuss the re-allocation of funds from the police department.
The proposed resolution also includes implementation of a community advisory board to “address discrimination, bias and racism in our local government and police” no later than Aug. 1 as well as the creation of a borough equity officer position.
“It is impossible to undo in one resolution what has taken centuries to build, but that doesn’t mean we can’t lay a framework for action and education that begins to move us in the direction of dismantling systems that benefit power on privilege, that reinforce systemic racism and limit accountability,” Murphy said.
The council unanimously approved a motion to hold a work session on June 29 to discuss current police training procedures and future training needs.
The proposed resolution also demands that all body cam footage of situations where officers are accused of “misuse of force and race-based policing” be publicly released, and asks for a report to council on July 6 on the implementation of body cams within the State College Police Department.
Murphy, who was sworn in to the council in December 2018, said while there’s only so much the council can do within the limits of its legislative authority, these efforts are “past due.”
“I have spent the better part of two and a half years on council bumping up against a series of challenges for which the solutions lie outside of our control. That very well might be the case for many of the efforts on which we hope to affect change,” Murphy said. “But I can no longer let that fear lead me to inaction.”
Council members Deanna Behring, Evan Myers and council president Jesse Barlow all spoke in support of Murphy’s resolution.
Myers said he believes that State College and the nation as a whole are “at a crossroad” in terms of whether or not the country will “move toward true justice and freedom” or “go back to the status quo of oppression.”
Public hour later in the evening saw many community members speak virtually via Zoom to the council, many identifying themselves as part of the 3/20 Coalition, which formed after 29-year-old Black man Osaze Osagie was fatally shot in March 2019 while State College police officers attempted to serve a mental health warrant.
While some of the demands outlined by the coalition are addressed in the proposed resolution, members stressed that a major demand the group has made since last year is absent: The public release of the name of the officers involved in Osagie’s shooting. All officers were cleared of wrongdoing by the Centre County District Attorney’s Office, and have only been publicly identified as officers No. 1, 2 and 3.
“We will leave the charging to the DA, but we still want the revelation of the names of those three officers. They are public servants and wear a badge, we deserve to know who they are,” said Leslie Laing of Ferguson Township, noting that the identities of officers involved in the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have been released. “The decision to shield those officers from accountability and protect your department rather than provide transparency is unfair to the victims and community members.”
But community member Chris Potalivo said that while there are challenges when it comes to racial inequality in the community and nationwide, he does not believe that releasing the names of the officers involved or punishing them would not be the right thing to do.
“This fixation on race versus mental health must stop. It should be a balance. Absolutely race is interwoven in this, but I’m asking the 3/20 Coalition not to continue this all-obsessive drive in their demands to have this police officer fired,” Potalivo said.
Geoffrey Landers-Nolan, a member of the 3/20 Coalition, said that the decision to “shield these officers from accountability and protect the department” shows an innate lack of trust between the police department and the public.
“(It) shows a clear priority to put the SCPD’s prerogative to act as they will above the public’s trust and rely on the services our tax dollars pay for,” Landers-Nolan said. “If our community is truly remorseful for Osagie’s death, only action can show it.”
And for Laing, the fact that there is still not an advocacy board set up or equity position within the department even over a year after Osagie’s shooting and that none of the coalition’s demands have been met means one thing: “justice delayed is justice denied.”
State College Borough is inviting public comment on the proposed resolution at www.statecollegepa.us/resolution1258 through noon on June 22. The special meeting to discuss and potentially take action on the resolution will be at 6 p.m. June 23, and community members can register to attend the virtual meeting.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 9:32 AM.