“There’s Still Much Work To Be Done”. Little Agreement As Town Council Considers Complaints About Police Harassment Of BIPOC Youth 

Report On The Meeting Of the Amherst Town Council, August 16, 2022. Part I of 2

This meeting was held in Town Hall and on Zoom, and was recorded. 

Present
In Town Hall: Lynn Griesemer (President, District 2), Andy Steinberg (at large), Cathy Schoen (District 1), Jennifer Taub (District 3), Pam Rooney (District 4), Shalini Bahl-Milne and Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5)

On Zoom: Mandi Jo Hanneke and Ellisha Walker (at large), Michele Miller (District 1), Pat DeAngelis (District 2), Dorothy Pam (District 3), and Anika Lopes (District 4)

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager), Angela Mills (Executive Assistant to the Town Manager), Dave Ziomek (Assistant Town Manager), Scott Livingstone (Police Chief), Pamela Nolan Young (Director of Department of Equity and Inclusion), and Earl Miller (Director of CRESS program)

The first four hours of this meeting were devoted to analysis and reactions to an incident between two Amherst police officers and nine young people shortly after midnight on July 5. A 54-second video of the incident has been widely shared on social media.

The town’s official response to the incident was prepared by DEI Director Pamela Young, who began in that job after the event. The incident occurred when police responded to a noise complaint at an apartment complex on Main Street at 12:32 a.m. The two officers found nine youths and two cars, one of which had a flat tire. The youths stated that they were waiting for AAA. 

A confrontation between the police and the youths occurred during which one officer told the young people they had no rights and could not call their parents because they were being detained. According to Young’s report, at least three of the youths identified as BIPOC. Because drivers under age 18 are considered “junior operators”, they are not permitted to drive after midnight according to Massachusetts state law. Therefore, the police held all nine teens for almost an hour until they could be released to their parents or guardians. 

Young noted that no physical force, profanity, property damage, citations, summons, or arrests occurred with the incident. Although the statement that the youths did not have rights was incorrect, she did not see it as an abuse of power. 

This view was not shared by the Human Rights Commission, which filed a complaint on July 21, and the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC), which submitted a letter of condemnation on July 29. Several town councilors also voiced their concerns at the July 18 council meeting and requested that the council receive a report on the incident.

Police Chief Scott Livingstone said the department has done a review of the incident, but has not finalized its report because it is hoping to contact the parents or young people involved. No parent has filed a complaint with the department. He justified the officers holding the youth until the parents and guardians arrived, because once the noise complaint was filed, the officers were responsible for the well-being of the young people, and they were not permitted to drive home according to state law. There is no curfew in Amherst, and Livingstone said that if there had not been an initial complaint, there would have been no reason to detain the youths. He also said that the officer involved realized he was wrong in telling the youths they had no rights. He added that one parent had requested that all communication be directed through her, so the department has not yet reached out individually to the other families involved.

Several councilors praised Young’s report, but Dorothy Pam (District 3) was upset that it was not released until six weeks after the incident. Michele Miller (District 1) was disappointed that the council did not issue its own response and that it did not work with the CSSJC, which is set up as an advisory committee to the council, appointed by the town manager. Ellisha Walker (at large) agreed with Miller and said the police missed a chance to build relationships with the community by not contacting the families involved as part of their investigation. She noted that it is not only BIPOC people who are afraid of the police.

It was generally agreed that the town needs to be more proactive in communicating the status of investigations to the council and the public. Andy Steinberg (at large) suggested taking up the question of the council’s role as representatives to the community during one of the council retreats. 

Earl Miller gave a summary of the training CRESS responders have been undergoing over the past six weeks. He said the program will go live on September 6. The training has involved working with the APD and the fire department, as well as communication with the schools, the senior center, and the Amherst Survival Center. He said all departments have been very supportive. Of the 11 people in the program, nine have lived, worked, or attended school in Amherst, so there is a familiarity with the town and its needs.

As of now, Miller said the CRESS responders will not issue fines. He was also unclear about the relation of the CRESS program to UMass. He said he is meeting with the UMass Police Department this week. Walker worried that too much of the responders’ time would be taken up with dealing with UMass student behavior, and, if that were the case, UMass should contribute to the support of the program.

Young said the DEI Department is working with the state and legal advisors to establish the Residents’ Oversight Board to provide an independent review of complaints against the police. 

CSSJC Takes Issue With DEI Report 
Several members of CSSJC were present at the meeting. Co-Chair Allegra Clarke gave a presentation on the role of the committee in furthering Amherst’s goal to combat structural racism. Several committee members took issue with the DEI report on the incident. 

Pat Ononibaku said she has communicated with the young people and families involved in the incident and noted some incorrect information in the report. She said that there were six BIPOC youth and three white teens and all but one are Amherst residents. She added that no complaint from those involved has been filed because there is no one the community can trust, adding that if it had been white, middle-class youth involved, the investigation would not have taken six weeks. She is embarrassed for the town because this type of incident happens regularly, she said.

Debora Ferreira was upset that the report did not address the abuse of power by the police, who intimidated, traumatized, and embarrassed the youths instead of helping them deal with the flat tire. Philip Avila was also disappointed in the report for failing to point out the abuse of power by the police.

CSSJC Co-Chair Dee Shabazz said the incident and its investigation indicates the need for a Resident Oversight Board (ROB) for the police in order to restore public trust in the APD. She asked for a timeline for the creation of the ROB, and wants the CCSJC to be part of the discussion in the formation of the Board. She pointed out that the state has established guidelines for police interaction with youth (Peace Officer Standards and Training) and wanted to know if the APD was being trained in these guidelines.

Ononibaku pointed to a need for a Victim’s Compensation Fund to help families heal from the trauma of mistreatment by the police. She suggested using American Rescue Plan funds or money from the APD budget to pay for help for victims of police mistreatment.

Public Comment
John Bonifaz felt the CSSJC should have been involved much earlier in the process of investigating the incident. He asked for accountability for the police officers who behaved inappropriately, and thought it should not have required a complaint from the Human Rights Commission to initiate an investigation. 

Brianna Owen commended the town manager for organizing a review of the incident outside of the APD and stressed the need for more police oversight. 

Two Sunrise Amherst members, Amrita Rudder and Marisol Pierce Bonifaz, pointed out the fear and distrust that many teenagers have for the police.

Ash Hartwell, speaking for the Racial Justice Committee of the League of Women Voters of Amherst, noted that the town is making changes in how it deals with racism, but an incident such as the one on July 5 undermines trust. He called the behavior of the police officers reprehensible, causing considerable distress. He hoped the town would take this as a learning experience, acknowledging the inappropriate police behavior and the delayed response of the town in order to improve communication and repair the harm done to those involved.

Jane Doe, a victim of domestic violence, had another perspective. She said the “lies from the CSSJC about the police are divisive” and were making her feel unsafe. She added, “For me, the police are heroes.” She is frightened by threats to defund the police. 

Councilor Discussion
President Lynn Griesemer noted that this discussion is just a beginning to confronting police problems with the BIPOC population, and that steps have been taken to remedy the problem with CRESS and the DEI, but the council can’t solve it all at this meeting.

Walker replied that these conversations have been in front of the council for a year and the council needs to take some of the actions recommended by the Community Safety Working Group. 

Pam said that this is the second time that a committee in charge of a topic has had to sit and listen to the council discussion before they are allowed to speak . Griesemer pointed out that the original request for an update on the incident arose from the council.

Town Manager Bockelman said that it is appropriate to call people to account, but not to attack them, which shuts people down. He said the town should recognize that we have a strong police department, and we are building something in public safety that exists in very few other places.

Michele Miller raised concerns that the observations of the CSSJC seem to be in opposition to those of the DEI report, leading her to believe that the response to this incident has not been adequate, and it is not enough. She suggested that Young’s report be built upon utilizing some of the other facts that we have learned tonight and that she work with the CSSJC so that all feel they have been heard, even if it takes some time. 

Shalini Bahl-Milne (District 5) said she appreciates the work of the CSSJC but has heard from unnamed Black people who don’t share the same experiences with police as described by the committee members and also from unnamed white people who are supportive of CSSJC, but don’t feel comfortable speaking up.

The discussion ended at 10:20 p.m. with Griesemer concluding, “We do care. This has been a difficult but productive discussion. The proof will be in what we do from here on.”