A troubling video of an Albany Police officer striking a woman pinned on the ground in front of the Albany Public Library is making the rounds on social media at a time when the city’s police oversight group is paralyzed.
The Community Police Review Board was scheduled to meet Thursday but could not because the board only has four members and lacks a quorum.
The Washington Avenue incident, captured on video last week depicts a white male Albany officer straddling a Black female civilian on the sidewalk in broad daylight while bystanders looked on.
The Albany Police Department acknowledged the altercation caught on video in a release Thursday, saying it understands the concerns raised by members of the community regarding the incident and contends the officers involved were responding to a “fight call”.
WAMC has since sent a FOIL request for a recording of the initial 911 call.
The Albany Public Information Officer, Megan Craft, said the officer in question is still on-duty and working normal hours and the department’s Office of Professional Standards will review the incident.
In a Thursday press release sent by Craft, the department also said the woman involved bit the officer’s leg, failed to comply with police and is now facing multiple charges including resisting arrest and harassment.
In a statement last week, the disjointed Community Police Review Board also acknowledged the video and said it has opened a complaint into the incident.
The CPRB – a police oversight committee – has had a challenging transition since it became a city-controlled entity at the beginning of this year.
In June, Chair Nairobi Vives resigned from the board, citing a conflict of interest brought on by a new professional opportunity.
An October letter by then-Vice Chair John Levendosky mentioned a contentious relationship between the Common Council and the CPRB.
In the letter, Levendosky said “CPRB members have attempted in vain to actively engage with the City and the Common Council to create and secure the board and its mission as an independent community-based body.”
Now, the board does not have a quorum and, according to reporting from the Times Union, that’s because three members of the board – Chair Antoinette Santos, Vice-Chair John Levendosky and Secretary Emily Sowek – resigned.
Malik Dare has been a member of the board for about a month, he joined when it still had a quorum.
“I can’t speak on why they resigned, I’m not sure, a lot of those members served on the board for a long time, so it wasn't like they just abruptly resigned but it’s no secret that there was turmoil between the Common Council and leadership of the board,” Dare said.
Dare says the board is limited in what actions it can take regarding the video.
“We can’t vote on that, we can receive complaints, APD can give us their report of that, they can upload the body cam footage, but we can’t recommend that the officer needs XYZ or the officer was at fault, or this or that, until we have a quorum, we can’t vote and make anything permanent,” Dare said.
Each board member must live in the city, and when it has full membership, has nine members. Five are necessary for a quorum.
The City’s Common Council is responsible for appointing five of those members and the mayor appoints four. Each member serves a three-year term.
Right now, the Council has three appointees and the mayor has one, meaning the board only has four total members.
At a mayoral transition press event Thursday, Mayor Kathy Sheehan said new appointees for the CPRB is one of the topics she and Mayor-elect Dorcey Applyrs will be discussing ahead of the new year.
“I think it’s an opportunity for us to talk about whether or not there are some individuals that the mayor-elect might be thinking about. Quite candidly, with respect to the police review board, it is not for lack of trying. I have asked at least half a dozen people to serve on that board and the answer has been no and in part, it’s because of the perception around how it’s currently operating, what the tone and tenure is on that board,” Sheehan said.
In regards to the video, Applyrs said she has reviewed the footage online.
“One - optically, it doesn’t look good and so I understand that residents and others feel, there are emotional reactions to what people are seeing and experiencing and so I want to be very sensitive to that and I acknowledge that and there is a formal process underway to investigate what all of the facts surrounding what happened,” Applyrs said.
The Common Council’s public safety committee – chaired by Tom Hoey – plans to interview two applicants on Monday and said the CPRB is currently accepting applications.
Hoey did not respond to a request for comment.
As for Dare, he still believes in the mission of the board and says members are working toward improving its relationship with the Common Council.
“I think accountability is everything, and anything you do, you need accountability and I think with police oversight that’s one of the most important things, and I think in order for Albany to thrive and flourish and be successful we, we need the police department, we need the community to trust the police, we need the community to have good relationships with the police.” Dare said.
