Tinti wants to extend increased patrolling
Chief cites decline in shootings
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Police Chief Egidio Tinti says the city’s current law-enforcement partnerships and increased patrols have led to the near elimination of shootings in Kingston and he would like the policing initiative to continue beyond the initial 10-week evaluation period.
Tinti told the Common Council’s Public Safety/General Government Committee during a virtual meeting Wednesday that since the initiative began Aug. 6, about 800 traffic stops have been made in the city by members of his officers, along with members of the state police and Ulster County Sheriff’s Office. Tinto said of those stops, about 700 have resulted in the drivers being let go with warnings. There also have been about 400 tickets issued as a result of the traffic stops, with some drivers receiving multiple tickets during a single stop, the chief said.
Tinti acknowledged concerns voiced by lo
cal residents about the increased police presence in Kingston, but he said he also has received comments of support for the initiative. He said he does not believe anyone who has seen what has been going on the past few weeks could argue the facts.
“There’s been a substantial reduction, almost an elimination, of any shootings and whatnots in
Kingston since we started this,” Tinti told the committee. He also said that, based on the number of warnings issued, the public can see that the focus of the initiative is talking to people and getting information that can lead to a reduction of violence.
In response to questions from the committee, Tinti said commanders from participating lawenforcement agencies have been evaluating the initiative almost every week. He said they’ve been reviewing their options and that the 10-week time frame, initially announced as initial evaluation period, provided the opportunity to assess available manpower and see if the effort could be extended.
“I would like to see it continue,” Tinti said.
He said currently there are three or four officers from his department working with four to five state troopers and up to three deputies from the Sheriff’s Office. That level of staffing might be reduced if the initiative continues, Tinti said, though he added proactive policing is necessary to monitor any violence that might occur in the city.
What was happening before could not be allowed to continue, the chief said.
The increased patrols are a response to recent gun violence in the city, including four fatal shootings between October 2019 and July 2020. Only one of those has resulted in an arrest. There also have been numerous incidents of shots being fired and no one being struck. In early July, though, two teens suffered leg wounds in a shooting at the Birchwood Village apartment complex.
Council Majority Leader Reynolds Scott-Childress, D-Ward 3, said city lawmakers have, anecdotally, heard from people that they had poor experiences with police in the city. He asked whether there was any way to determine if those complaints were about city officers or others.
Tinti said he has seen some posts on social media about what is happening in the city but that no complaints have been filed with this office. The chief said he tries to follow up on social media as best he can but that some reports are “skewed.”
Some people have posted that his officers did not conduct themselves in a professional manner during the traffic stops, Tinti said. He said, though, that he has reviewed footage from officer’s body cameras and patrol car cameras and found his officers were being professional.