By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
In the wake of high-profile incidents of police brutality and racism across the nation, such as the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 203 on June 12. The order, titled New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, requires municipalities and law enforcement agencies across the state to review their policies and develop a reform plan in order to remain eligible for state funding. Municipalities must ratify or adopt their plans by April 1, 2021.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick put together a county-wide committee to make sure local departments are complying with the governor’s directive. While local law enforcement agencies are contributing to the county’s plan, many municipal departments are creating their own plans as well.
Under Chief Steve Rotunno, the Cicero Police Department has spent the last six months developing what he calls a response plan, rather than a reform plan. Rotunno shared many of the details of that plan in a recent interview with the Star-Review.
“We’re in really, really good shape,” said Rotunno, who became Cicero’s police chief in 2019.
Since CPD is a New York State-accredited law enforcement agency, the department already meets many of the standards the governor wants agencies to meet, Rotunno said. According to data.ny.gov, only 160 out of the state’s roughly 500 law enforcement agencies are accredited.
Between August and September, the Cicero PD solicited the participation of residents and business owners in an advisory committee. The members of the committee took part in ride-alongs to see what a day in the life of a Cicero police officer is like.
“We also purchased SurveyMonkey and created a citizen satisfaction survey to put on our website to see what the residents want from the police department and how their interactions are,” Rotunno said.
Committee member Bridget Lichtinger, assistant director of the Career Development Center within Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, compiled survey results and demographic data about the department.
According to Rotunno, Cicero residents’ top law enforcement concerns are traffic, quality of life and the size of the department relative to the population of the town. The national average is one police officer per 1,000 residents. Cicero has just under 31,000 residents and 16 police officers. To compare, the town of Manlius has 32,000 residents and 40 police officers.
CPD has made its use of force policies available on its website, ciceropd.us. The Onondaga County DA’s office has reviewed the policies as well. Rotunno said he would like to create a table of contents so residents can look up which general orders and policies relate to certain topics.
“I’m a big believer in transparency,” he said.
In addition, the department has converted its riot shotguns into “less-lethal” kinetic energy impact weapons — in other words, firearms that use rubber bullets, beanbag projectiles or pepperballs rather than traditional lethal ammunition.
While CPD has completed much of its response plan, there is room for improvement, Rotunno said.
“We need additional training. A lot of people were surprised at how low our training budget was,” Rotunno said. “Since I’ve become police chief I’ve gradually increased our training budget … because training lowers liability for the town.”
Rotunno said the department has received few complaints about its officers, but implicit bias training, body-worn cameras and focusing on mental health all contribute to a functional police department.
On Dec. 9, the Cicero Town Board approved a memorandum of understanding between the Cicero Police Department and Liberty Resources “to facilitate access to mobile crisis services for individuals identified in need of intervention.” CPD officers can facilitate a response from Liberty Resources’ mobile crisis team to connect individuals and families in need of mental health resources, reducing unnecessary hospitalizations, arrests and even injury or death.
Rotunno has sent 12 officers to crisis intervention training and implicit bias training.
“I plan to send all of the officers to crisis intervention training. Unfortunately, COVID has messed that up a bit,” Rotunno said.
Crisis intervention training and the partnership with Liberty Resources could prevent incidents such as the 2015 death of Anthony Hill, a U.S. Air Force veteran who lived in Chamblee, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta. When Hill, who suffered from bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, was witnessed running naked around his apartment complex and slurring his words, apartment staff called 911 and requested medical help for Hill. DeKalb County Police Officer Robert “Chip” Olsen responded to the call and fatally shot Hill, who was unarmed. Olsen was convicted in 2019 of one count of aggravated assault, two counts of violating his oath of office and one count of making a false statement, but the jury acquitted him of felony murder. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and eight years of probation.
While protecting citizens in mental health crises is vital, Rotunno said the mental health of officers is important too. In November, the department instituted an officer wellness program, led by police chaplain Terry Bish and Officer Daniel Leneker. The New York State Association of Chiefs of Police has recognized CPD for the program.
The wellness program and debriefing officers after difficult calls foster a mentally healthy working environment, Rotunno said.
“An open-door policy is key to that. I want the officers to want to come to work and if they need to talk to someone, they can,” he said.
On Dec. 16, the Cicero Town Board approved the purchase of 10 WatchGuard body-worn cameras and associated server equipment at a cost of $28,000. Since law enforcement agencies across the country are clamoring for body cams, there is a lengthy backlog, Rotunno said.
The Green Bay Packers recently contributed $926,000 in direct support and in-kind discounts to the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, to purchase body cams for the Green Bay Police Department.
“I wish the Buffalo Bills would hook me up,” Rotunno said.
The town will work with the Cicero Police Benevolent Association on incorporating regulations for the body cams into the next union contract.
As 2021 approaches, Rotunno said he is looking forward to continue CPD’s community policing and building relationships with citizens.
“I expect the police officers to treat people the way they expect people to treat their family,” he said. “We’ll continue to build on deescalation training.”
