by Billy Kepner | Jul 15, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-7
Chairman of the Committee on Finance, Councilman John J. Iglozzi Esq. (Ward 7) announced today that the Committee will have a discussion tonight with representatives from the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) Program based in Denver, Colorado.
“After a nearly nine-hour long public hearing on the budget, our Committee heard loud and clear that their needs to be a new way of looking at policing in our community,” stated Chairman John J. Igliozzi Esq. “We heard calls to abolish the police and to defund the police, but in each of those refrains, it was centered on the need for the decriminalization of societal issues – like mental health, low-level drug offenses, public intoxication, and other issues that would not warrant an armed response. These are things that can and should be handled by trained medics and mental health professionals, and would allow individuals to receive social services rather than being confronted with the potential of an arrest.”
Last week, the Committee on Finance heard from representatives from Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) launched by the White Bird Clinic in 1989 in Eugene, Oregon. Their program addresses the social service needs that are better treated by trained counselors, medics, and crisis managers than the police. The program deploys teams of two unarmed civilian officers with a medic and trained crisis worker to calls that are nonviolent and do not require an armed response. According to their shared data, they handled 18% of the 133,000 911 calls in the City of Eugene last year and only needed to call for police backup 150 times. The program is operated on a $2-million budget and saved the city nearly $14-million in costs of ambulance transport and emergency room care in the past year.
The STAR program is funded through the Caring for Denver Foundation and began its pilot phase on June 1, 2020. The program has been in development for several years and was planned to launch in April but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The program, based on the CAHOOTS model, is different as it is not housed in the public safety division of the City but based out of the Mental Health Centers of Denver.
“These programs are not one size fits all. We need to find the right balance and the right kind of program that would address the needs that are specific to Providence. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to have these conversations and looking at ways we can integrate unarmed response teams to help serve our community and free up our police to do the work they are intended to do. I believe our Police Department is doing a great job and I applaud how they have been handling themselves throughout these difficult conversations. However, I believe that we can always do better. If creating specific programs to address these societal issues and alleviate the stress of our police force having to go to calls that would be better handled by trained medical and social service professionals, I think that is a great start to better community policing and intervention,” continued Chairman Igliozzi.
by Billy Kepner | Jul 15, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-11
As other Black Americans are intimately aware of, the Black experience is one riddled with broken promises, false hopes and dreams, violence, trauma, and systems and institutions that seek to benefit from the exploitation of our individual and collective anguish.
Black communities across this country are suffering exponentially more because of COVID-19, a stalled economy, and a defective criminal justice system. Except, we’re not only risking health, eviction, homelessness and joblessness; Black families are risking body and life to keep the exhaust of our nation’s engine away from our collective consciousness. Black Americans across this country are forced to send their children to failing school systems, are relegated to minimum wage jobs, and are forced to live in decaying neighborhoods to support the American dream of others.
Therefore, the debt owed to my Black brothers and sisters not only stems from historical transgressions against our freedom, but accumulates to this day because of the underclass conditions we are forced to live in and told to be grateful for.
We don’t need to look too far back to find examples of discriminative governmental polices. There are plenty of inequitable systems today that desperately need our attention and energy.
With two years left in our terms, I believe the right initiative to undertake would be a Crisis Mitigation Plan for Black Communities in light of COVID-19 and every other modern-day inequality my community has to endure and disproportionately suffer from.
While I agree that we as a society are overdue for tough conversations about our past, that conversation doesn’t necessarily have to be tied to restitution.
The word “reparations” is a special word, and like a well, elected officials should refrain from using it so much or risk diminishing its worth. For when I think of reparations, I think of a restitution that is intrinsically connected, dollar for dollar, to the value of the uncompensated services provided by generations of Black slaves. I think of the compensation owed to us for our physical, mental, and emotional trauma that we experienced when our families were torn apart at auction blocks and cotton fields: trauma that haunts our community to this day.
Therefore, when I think of what is due to the Black community when we utter the word “reparations” I’m thinking of a remedy so thoughtful, holistic, and valuable as to be able to make a dent in the debt owed to my community. Whatever the reparation is better be capable of generationally shifting the plight of an entire community.
While down payment assistance programs, and tax abatement programs for our Black communities are initiatives worthy of exploration, they do not meet the criteria that is collectively conjured when we think of what is owed to these families.
I look forward to conversations about these very important matters and applaud the Mayor for providing a forum for doing so.
Yet, 2020 is definitely not the year to overpromise and underdeliver. My people have been through enough.
Mary Kay Harris, Deputy Majority Leader
Providence City Council
Councilwoman – Ward 11
by Billy Kepner | Jul 14, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15
The subpoena would require the Commissioner to hand over all relative video footage regarding the of Sgt. Joseph Hanley to the Providence External Review Authority
At the formal request of PERA Executive Director Jose Batista, City Council President Sabina Matos (Ward 15) has called for the City Council to issue a subpoena to the Commissioner of Public Safety Steven Paré requiring him to hand over all body camera footage in the investigation of Sgt. Joseph Hanley to the Providence External Review Authority (PERA). The call for a subpoena will be voted on by the full council at Thursday’s meeting.
“Last week PERA held a meeting relative to the ongoing investigation into the alleged assault of a Rishod Gore, who was handcuffed at the time of the alleged assault, by Sgt. Joseph Hanley” stated Council President Sabina Matos. “The Public Safety Commissioner refused to allow PERA access to the body camera footage despite PERA being empowered by ordinance to oversee these types of internal investigations. This subpoena will now require that this footage be handed over to PERA so that they may do their due diligence as part of their review.”
On April 19, 2020, police were dispatched to a domestic dispute call on Knight Street that led to the arrest of Markese Davis and Rishod Gore. Once Gore was apprehended and handcuffed, it is alleged that Sgt. Hanley struck Mr. Gore several times. On July 8, 2020, Mayor Elorza released a statement that the City was working with the State’s Attorney General to charge Mr. Hanley and to terminate his employment with the City of Providence Police Department.
Section 18 ½ – 2 (h)(2) of the Providence Code of Ordinances establishes the procedure by which the Executive Director of the Providence External Review Authority may petition the City Council to issue a subpoena in order to assist in an investigation. Section 402 of the Providence Home Rule Charters allows for the Council President and the City Council to issue subpoenas, and in this case it allows for a subpoena for records in the possession of the Commissioner of Public Safety related to this ongoing matter.
by Abigail Appel | Jul 9, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-4
On Saturday, July 4, 2020, a two family home located at 108 Langdon Street caught on fire and was damaged beyond repair. Although the fire is still under investigation there is strong evidence to believe that an illegal firework may have landed on the house causing it to burn.
The two families have been placed in temporary housing and luckily no one was hurt. I want to personally thank the Providence Fire Department for their quick action, and ensuring the safety of the neighboring houses, and residents. Their actions speak volumes to the professionalism of our amazing men and women of the Providence Fire Department.
Thank you to all involved. It’s devastating when anyone loses a home, even more so when it may have been done so because of illegal behavior. If the Fire Marshal does declare that it was an illegal firework I will work with the Police Department and area neighbors to see if they have any video footage from their security cameras from that night.
Nicholas J. Narducci Jr., Senior Deputy Majority Leader
Providence City Council
Councilman – Ward 4
by Billy Kepner | Jul 6, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-4
I fully understand that we are living in extraordinary times; I don’t believe any person should be forced to the ground and have a knee held to their neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds. That’s incorrigible, and if that happened here in Providence, I would be joining the chorus of outraged voices. I too want justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the countless other lives that have been lost at the hands of police brutality.
That said, I firmly believe that Providence has one of the best Police Departments in the country, and our Providence Community Police Relations Act has become a benchmark for other municipalities around the United States. I strongly support proper and continued education and training for our officers, and would like to see a line item put in this year’s budget to achieve that end.
I am sure that there are members of our police force that have and will abuse their power, but I know that Chief Hugh Clements will do everything in his power to root that out whenever or wherever it may happen.
I want Chief Clements and the men and women of the Providence Police Department to know that I am thankful for the exemplary job they have continued to do under immense scrutiny and in a time of such turmoil.
Nicholas J. Narducci Jr., Senior Deputy Majority Leader
Providence City Council
Councilman – Ward 4
by Abigail Appel | Jul 6, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-5
Conley Stadium is returning to its glory days thanks to Majority Leader Jo-Ann Ryan (Ward 5) who secured precious CDBG and CIP Dollars for this project.
“Conley Stadium is a gem in the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood,” stated Majority Leader Jo-Ann Ryan. “We worked very hard to ensure that we could create a premier athletics facility in our City. I am thrilled that this project is almost complete and will be online in the very near future.”
The stadium will once again become an iconic state-wide multi-use athletic location. Because of the number of state-of-the-art fields, Conley Stadium will be able to hold several events happening simultaneously. It is unprecedented in the City of Providence, and the new score board will only enhance the experience for athletes and spectators alike.
They will now be able to host invitational track and field contests, and the facility is second to none. The stadium is right in line with other major athletic centers around the country. They will have the best throwing stadium, a state-of-the-art javelin throw, and with the fields being close yet spread out will make it easier for athletes that compete in multiple events.
Further planned facilities enhancements include a soccer field and tennis courts which will complement the already completed regulation baseball field, walking path and improvements to Mt Pleasant Park.
The Athletics Department is working with the historical society to create a museum underneath the stadium. Highlighting its historical significance and where we can celebrate the Providence Steam Rollers who won the NFL Championship in 1928. The franchise originally started at the Cycledome Stadium, where they played from 1925-1931. They moved to Conley Stadium in 1962 and plaid there until 1964 as part of the Atlantic Coast Football League.
In 1964 Jackie Robinson brought the franchise and renamed themselves the Rhode Island Indians where they played at Conley Stadium for one year until the team was disbanded.
