Albany to open police forums

Reform group reverses decision to close out media

Following criticism over plans to block public viewing of forums meant to gather community input as part of its police reform efforts, leaders of the community effort announced Friday they will continue to livestream the meetings and all comments will be public.

The working group chairs of the Policing Reform and Reinvention Collaborative initially had decided to make meetings open only to residents looking to offer comments on possible reforms, including those who may not feel comfortable having their experiences broadcast to the public.

After hearing feedback from the community, the group decided to keep the forums open for public and media viewing, according to a news release.

The issue was first raised by public broadcaster WAMC. The station also questioned the city on whether the general public and media should be able to watch the meetings and if the city was violating the state’s open meetings law. In an advisory, the Committee on Open Government told the station the meetings can be closed because the police policy review task forces are not public bodies.

The city has reached out to multiple media outlets, trying to make the public aware of the meetings and gather more

input.

The public’s comments are part of the city ’s work as its considers possible reforms to its police department. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued an executive order earlier this year that requires all local governments with police departments to pass legislation with a series of reforms by April 1. The governor’s order required local governments to speak with activists and local leaders as part of their effort reinvent their police agencies. Failure to carry out the order comes with the risk of losing state funding for law enforcement.

The public input sessions now will continue to be held virtually on Zoom from 6 to 8 p.m. on the following scheduled days: A Friday, Dec. 11: Police Department Functions

Tuesday, Dec. 15: Re

cruitment & Retention

Wednesday, Dec. 16: Community Safety

Monday, Jan. 4: General session beginning at 6:45 p.m. following a meeting closed to the public

Wednesday, Jan. 6: Police standard operating procedures

Monday, Jan. 11: Civilian Oversight

Residents can still submit comments via text or phone at 518-618-2268. They can email written comments at coareform1@gmail.com or mail them to 24 Eagle St. Room 102, Albany, NY 12207.

To register to speak at one of the meetings or for more information on the collaborative, go to https://www.albanyny.gov/government/mayorsoffice/policereformCollaborative.aspx.

To view the livestream of these meetings, visit the City of Albany Facebook page at: https:// www.facebook.com/albanymayorkathysheehan/.