Police group pans Prop 7

Albany ballot measure would heighten oversight

The future of how police misconduct cases in Albany will be handled is just days away.

A proposition on the ballot in the city Tuesday comes down to this: Will citizens be given more oversight over bad actors on the police force, or will the discipline process continue to be meted out in what critics contend is an often-opaque process?

The Albany Police Supervisors Association is pushing back against a measure that, if approved by voters, would allow the city’s Community Police Review Board to conduct independent investigations of police misconduct.

Union representatives are asking residents to vote “no” on Proposal 7, claiming the measure will be divisive and cast a “chilling effect” over the department.

“It continues to drive a wedge between us and the community when they falsely demonize us as bad actors,” said Detective Lt. Josiah Jones, president of the Police Supervisors Association.

For nearly a week, residents have already been casting early votes on Prop 7, also known as Local Law J, which requires approval at the ballot box after the measure was unanimously approved by Common Council in March with backing by city Mayor Kathy Sheehan.

Currently, the Community Police Review Board can only review the department’s own internal investigations and make policy recommendations to the city and the department.

Approval of Prop 7 would further cement the panel’s independence by giving the board subpoena power and the ability to establish a “disciplinary matrix” with the police chief.

While reformers contend the fixes are a critical step in restoring a sense of a longeroded trust between residents of overly policed neighborhoods and cops, Jones said the measure will have the opposite effect.

“It’s nebulous, not comprehensive, and really leaves up in the air how our due process will be preserved,” Jones said. “This is a power grab that is funneling a lot of power to people who are not subject matter ex