The following was sent to the Ithaca Common Council, Ithaca Community Police Board & Tompkins County Legislature July 7th-15th, 2021. – Ed.
I would like to outline some concerns I have regarding the newly appointed Reimagining Public Safety Working Group and the fitness of some of the individuals selected to serve.
It first must be stated that whatever the original intent of the Reimagining process, the effort is already objectively a failure. According to WENY, IPD staffing numbers are literally the lowest they have ever been. Both the TC Sheriff and IPD are seeing their staff being actively recruited by surrounding agencies. The flow of officers out of the county is a direct response to the Reimagining process. Tompkins County is no longer an attractive place for police officers to work.
I have looked into the individuals chosen to serve on the Reimagining Public Safety Working Group. The inclusion of the three IPD officers & three Council members is understandable, though Ducson Nguyen can safely be considered to be an ally of the Ithaca far left community, going so far as to diminish the significance of the desecration of the American flag at the Ithaca Police Department headquarters on the day Ithaca Patheras was founded on September 27th of last year. Travis Brooks, as the newly elected member of the Tompkins County Legislature, GIAC director & LEAD program participant, also makes sense. Similarly John Guttridge’s appointment, as a local entrepreneur, is also easy to understand. So too with Luca Maurer, owing to the Mayor’s desire to include representation for the LGBTQ community; his participation in the committee could be understood.
Mar’Quon Frederick is a Cornell Sophomore. According to his LinkedIn he is planning to “pursue public office to dismantle systems that further mass incarceration and inequality.” His bio states he is also political action chair of the “Cornell Black Student’s Union”, though this article indicates the group he is involved with is called Black Student’s United. Amir Tazi is an Ithaca College student and IC Black Student Union member who appears to have expressed sentiments critical of the police on social media. Savannah Gonzalez is a New Roots Charter School student and a member of Decarcerate Tompkins County. Decarcerate Tompkins advocates on behalf of Nagee Green, who was convicted of murder. The organization is opposed to the idea of police and prison in general, and Savannah’s statements that “Black and brown people are criminalized just because we have melanin in our skin. We are seen as everything but who we are,” & “The prison system is slavery but evolved through time.” lead me to believe she would be incapable of unbiased participation in the committee’s proceedings.
These individuals are hostage to the extremist political views of their various organizations. Their biases preclude them from being able to participate in the Reimagining process in good faith.
Thaddeus McClain is listed in the City of Ithaca announcement as a Community Activist. What little documentation of a Thaddeus McClain in Ithaca I can find leads back to news articles about various arrests for home invasion robbery and assault, with the latter article noting “McClain allegedly also struck a young toddler while trying to hit the woman.” It is my understanding this is the same Thaddeus McClain that has been appointed to the committee. Expecting the public to take a domestically violent armed robber’s contributions to the committee seriously is a disgusting absurdity. If I have misidentified Mr. McClain I invite correction.
Yasmin Rashid has personally participated in roadblocks organized by Ithaca Black Lives Matter and Ithaca Pantheras. She is intimately connected to various agitators in the community who have been harassing the police for at least a year. I invite you to watch this coverage from WENY featuring Yasmin Rashid. I was able to find videos the “activists” themselves recorded showing what they were actually saying to the police. Yasmin was not only present, but participated in and coordinated the illegal roadblock. She is an open antagonist of the Ithaca Police Department. Expecting the IPD to sit down at a table with her on equal footing and take her contributions seriously is insane. Please watch the WENY story and then the other videos I have included, in addition to her statements at previous council meetings where her biases against IPD and police in general are incredibly clear.
The Amos Malone appointed to the committee is a child of Cecil Malone and a preacher. He appears to work or have worked with Second Chance Ministries in Ithaca, NY as well as the Tompkins County Human Rights Coalition. He also serves on the South Side Community Center board of directors. While looking into him I found this record of an appeal for an Amos Malone of Tompkins County. In 2002 this Amos Malone was charged with attempted rape in the first degree, aggravated criminal contempt, two counts of criminal contempt in the first degree, assault in the second degree, two counts of assault in the third degree and unlawful imprisonment. The jury acquitted defendant of the attempted rape charge but convicted him of aggravated criminal contempt, two counts of criminal contempt in the first degree, assault in the second degree and unlawful imprisonment. While siding with this Amos Malone’s claim for appeal the court made note of “the brutal nature of defendant’s crime and the injuries he inflicted on his wife, along with his initial attempts to blame her for the incident.”
My question is, if the Amos Malone that is being appointed to the Reimagining Public Safety Working Group committee is the same Amos Malone who was charged with attempted rape and convicted in the assault against his wife. I am unable to form an opinion on his fitness for the committee until I am certain if they are the same person or not.
The assertion that “three police officers represent the largest delegation from a single demographic” is simply not the case. The committee has been packed with individuals representing groups that have an axe to grind against the IPD and the concept of policing itself. There is no representation from mental health professionals, victim advocates, or anyone calling for more law enforcement. The Reimagining process is a dangerous misadventure that will get people killed. The idea that Ithaca will serve as a model for reform anywhere else is terrifying.
[…] Farady also noted a forthcoming update about the Working Group at the the August 4th Common Council meeting. It was at that meeting that Ithaca Community Police Board & Common Council member Graham Kerslick briefly addressed concerns regarding the make up of the Reimagining Public Safety Working Group committee. […]