Allegations of police brutality
during bar fight open old wounds
By Kenneth C. Crowe II
Tensions regarding racial
discrimination and police brutality received a public hearing Tuesday night, 11
days after a bar fight forced them to the surface.
Some demands, such as
suspending police officers without pay and an external investigation, were
repeated, while in other cases suggestions for reforming police department
operations were new.
The City Council Public Safety
Committee hearing grew from the melee on Jan. 25 at Kokopellis, 124 Fourth St.,
that was captured by surveillance and cellphone cameras and showed a police
officer striking a bar patron several times on the head with a baton.
The Troy African American
Pastoral Alliance has pushed the city government to respond growing criticisms
of police brutality, particularly in the city's minority community.
"I warned you this was
going to happen," Pastor Willie Bacote of the Missing Link A.M.E. Zion
Church told the committee.
Bacote said the city has to
change the way police act and that everyone has to take responsibility for
changing the community.
Anger and passion could be
heard from many of the 300 people in the audience at Christ Church United
Methodist Church as they reacted to comments about the police department and
actions of some officers.
"What we heard tonight is
telling of people's feelings. The issue is real. It can't be ignored
anymore," said the Rev. Eric Shaw, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church.
The hearing followed a march of
100 people led by the Troy African American Pastoral Alliance from Bethel
Baptist Church down Fifth Avenue to police headquarters and then to Christ
Church United Methodist.
Alice Green of the Center for
Law and Justice in Albany urged the committee to adopt true community policing
similar to what has been done in Albany.
Barry Glick, co-owner of
Kokopellis, blamed the police for the fight at the club.
"The police entered my
building looking for a fight," Glick stated.
Ben Brucato of the Community
Alliance Against Police Violence demanded the police drop changes against
anyone arrested that night, suspend without pay any police officer with a baton
and have an external investigation of the incident.
Officer Robert Fitzgerald,
president of the Troy Police Benevolent Association, said some recommendations
had merits, but that the demands were outlandish. Mayor Lou Rosamilia said his
administration and the police department have opened a dialogue with the
pastors but that it is in its early stages.
Shaw added that race is a
component of ongoing discussions and that it must be dealt with and not
ignored.
Councilman Robert Doherty, the
committee chairman, said the meeting was a good start, but that more
information has to be gathered to decide what actions to take.
Chief John Tedesco will speak
to the committee when it reconvenes at 6 p.m. Feb. 12 at Christ Church United
Methodist.
