Head of Greater Springfield NAACP calls for creation of municipal civil rights policy, in wake of Ferguson.
The Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Greater Springfield Chapter of the NAACP, has sent an Aug. 22 follow-up letter to Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, suggesting the mayor reactivate the city's human rights commission, and also raised the possibility of a municipal civil rights policy.
Earlier in the week, Swan sent letters to both Sarno and Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse requesting the establishment of commissions, in both Springfield and Holyoke, to prevent the civil unrest that resulted in Ferguson, Mo., in the wake of a fatal police shooting of an unarmed, black teen, from potentially happening here in the future.
Morse responded that he would keep the recommendation under advisement, while Sarno noted he has already established a number of committees to address a range of issues, such as domestic and gang violence and those specific to neighborhoods.
"When reading the mayor's letter, I got the sense the mayor is focusing administration efforts on curbing gang violence in Springfield, which they need to do and I commend them on those efforts," Swan said. "However, the situation of civil unrest in Ferguson has to do with historic distrust between police and the community. If there had been trust there, we might have seen a different response."
"In the African American community," he added, "there is often a rush to judgment that something is an act of police violence and, in the white community, the default is that the police officer was justified in shooting a young black male for aggression. This happens because of the tenuous relationship between the African American community and police. That is what I am attempting to get the mayor to focus on. What can his administration do to increase trust. "
Swan added "there needs to be greater transparency in terms of police investigations."
"There also needs to be a more representative police department that reflects the community they police," he said.
He also added that involving "African Americans and others of color in making recommendations about police and procedures regrading civil rights polices" is "not addressed by an anti-violence commission, or by lunches and public gatherings, or the Mason Square initiative (to reduce gang numbers), or any of the other entities that have come into creation under this administration."
He said he would like to see a more "transparent process" in terms of the police complaint review board, and for that board to have "statutory authority and not just the ability to make recommendations to the mayor and police commission."
"There are a lot of pieces of the puzzle missing in Springfield to foster the creation of trust between the police and community," Swan said.
"The police complaint review board is a mystery. No one seems to know what they are doing. They issue an annual report with some numbers that only deal with the cases before them. There are a number of cases that never come before them. There is no process by which the members are vetted. They are not approved by the City Council. There is no city input. They are appointed by the mayor."
Swan said he would like to see a municipal civil rights policy that "clearly defines the civil rights of the individual, has an element of training about diversity and inclusion and culture competency, and dictates how police investigations are handled, so they are clear and transparent."
"Municipalities across America have civil rights polices in place," Swan said.
He said the human relations commission he would like to see reactivated came into being under Mayor Charles Ryan in the 1960s.
"This works toward the same goals (as a municipal civil rights policy), and was active under several administrations, but is defunct under Sarno."
"The city determines how such a policy is enforced, and it goes beyond any one department. It gives a clear understanding of what occurs when a citizen's civil rights are violated. I understand we have federal and state laws, and often cities defer to them, as opposed to having a municipal civil rights policy. Having to mitigate civil rights violations through state and federal courts can take a long time, however, where a municipality with enforcement in place can handle them much quicker at a local level."
Swan said he has not sent a follow-up letter to Mayor Morse, as he and Morse have talked.
"I am working with Mayor Morse on some things that could potentially happen in Holyoke, so I have not responded to his letter. We are in conversation."
The text of the Rev. Talbert Swan II's Aug. 22 letter to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is below:
August 22, 2014
Mayor Domenic Sarno
City of Springfield
36 Court Street
Springfield, MA 01103
Dear Mayor Sarno,
Thank you for your response to my letter requesting the establishment of commission
to identify, analyze and make recommendations regarding the underlying issues,
which may potentially cause civil unrest in the city of Springfield. I had the
opportunity to read your letter online and can well appreciate the efforts you
detailed, which concentrate on tackling “the persistent scourge of urban America,
street gang violence.” These efforts are commendable, however, while gang
violence is a scourge on our society, efforts toward curbing police misconduct and
abuse and improving police community relations must also be engaged to avoid a
potential “Ferguson” from occurring in our beloved city.
I am in full support of assisting the new police commissioner in actualizing his vision
toward improving relations, however, to do so, we must focus on rebuilding trust
between the community and law enforcement. This can best be done through
engaging law enforcement officials, members from the legal, business and faith
communities, and community residents and leaders in a collaborative effort toward
identifying problems and proactively employing strategies to solve them. Such
strategies include, establishing a municipal civil rights policy, establishing a protocol
when there are police officer involved shootings that foster transparency in the
investigative process, and addressing the issues of respect between law
enforcement and diverse communities.
Notwithstanding the commendable efforts you noted in your letter, I remind you
that the city has expended over $1 million in settlements to residents for police
misconduct since your tenure began. This number does not include legal and other
costs, all at the expense of the taxpayers. The figure also only includes four high
profile cases involving Melvin Jones, Douglas Greer, Louis Giles and Nicole Jones. It
would be interesting for the public to know what the bottom line is on all such cases
over the past few years.
In addition to the enormous financial burden of such cases, the continued mistrust
between residents and police creates a dangerous atmosphere in our city, where
some residents are unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement and some police
continue to disrespect residents and abuse their authority.
I remind you that the city established a human relations commission man years ago,
which served as an advisory body that promoted equal rights and better
understanding amongst residents by addressing issues that could potentially
increase the likelihood of civil unrest. This commission, while very active in previous
administrations, has been inactive during yours. Perhaps reactivating this important
commission will serve the concerns of my request.
As I stated in my previous letter, the conditions in Ferguson were a “perfect storm” that may have been foreseen. I am certain that Mayor James Knowles of Ferguson, who publicly stated, that there was “no racial divide” in his city, thought that efforts already employed by his administration were sufficient to avoid civil unrest. The past ten days have proven otherwise. We now have the opportunity to act in a proactive manner to prevent disquieting events by tapping into the genius of our
best resources, our residents. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely
GREATER SPRINGFIELD NAACP
Rev. Talbert W. Swan, II
President