ITHACA, NY Ithacaâs Common Council officially passed the Reimagining Public Safety resolution that includes creating a new department that would comprise armed and unarmed workers. There were a handful of language tweaks from the initial resolution, but the recommendation to create a new department was the one that gathered the most discussion.
Alderperson Donna Fleming proposed an amendment to the language nixed the language that said âcreate a departmentâ because she said that implied an elimination of the current department. She was supported by Alderperson Cynthia Brock who agreed that it would make more sense to change the language to say create a task force to evaluate building a new department.Â
ITHACA, NY Ithacaâs Common Council unanimously voted to approve the Reimagining Public Safety resolution on March 31. The resolution was due to the governorâs office on April 1 after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed executive order 203 last summer, whichrequired municipalities to reexamine their law enforcement agencies through the lens of marginalized communities in an effort to reduce unequitable policing toward Black and brown communities.
The monumental vote came after six weeks of meetings and public forums in which everyone from council members, residents, parents of college students and Ithaca police officers had the chance to share their opinions.Â
Department of Public Safety
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