UPDATED: April 11, 2018 at 4:59 p.m.

Residents got a chance to voice their opinions on the city’s search for a new police chief at a public forum Tuesday night.

Syracuse Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens hosted a Q&A session in the City Hall Atrium, allowing residents to raise questions about the Syracuse Police Department and explain what characteristics they are looking for in a new police chief.

The search to replace current Police Chief Frank Fowler is in its beginning stages. Fowler on Tuesday during a city budget hearing endorsed current Deputy Chief Joe Cecile for the job, but Mayor Ben Walsh has the final decision on Syracuse’s new hire. About 25 people attended the event. There are eight scheduled public forums on the chief search, and each of the events are being planned by Owens.

Event attendees were handed an anonymous survey to mark down the three most important qualifications and experiences they are looking for in a new chief. Owens said the mayor’s office would select a consulting firm who specializes in finding chief candidates this month. The search will identify finalists by September, and the new chief will be chosen by November, Owens said.

South Side resident Joanne Stevens expressed her support for transparency and a change from current policing practices in minority communities.

“I want a chief that we can go to, sit down with and tell them what’s going on in our communities,” Stevens said. “Before, we had no input.”

Two members of Syracuse’s Citizen Review Board were in attendance, and they said they want a police chief who can prove they are willing to hold police officers accountable. The CRB takes complaints from other Syracuse residents and investigates alleged wrongdoing in the police department.

Owens said the new chief must have “experience in urban policing and diverse communities.”

Ranette Releford, a volunteer administrator for the review board, said the new chief must demonstrate that they have worked with an organization similar to the CRB in prior experiences.

Mark Jackson, Syracuse University’s executive director for community engagement, stressed de-escalation training as a focal point for any new officers. He added that “it would be really good” if the next police chief “understood and believed in” unconscious bias.

Owens and Joe Driscoll, common councilor of the 5th district, emphasized local hiring of police officers as a top priority. He said that 93 percent of all SPD officers live outside the city, due to an exemption in New York state that doesn’t mandate that police live in the communities they serve in.

The city is working to recruit new officers in North Syracuse, where more than 22 languages are spoken, Owens said. She spoke about what she said were the difficulties of policing in such a diverse community, especially when many officers do not live in the community.

She added that SPD has issues with promotions in the police force. As of now, she said there’s one lieutenant of color, and after a recent retirement, zero sergeants of color in the force.

Owens said Syracuse will look outside of the city for a new chief, trying to find someone who has had success in other cities. She said Syracuse is open to following other successful policies in reducing violent police encounters and increasing accountability.

Multiple Syracuse residents were relieved by this statement, including Andrew Croom, who attended the Tuesday forum.

“Police culture in Syracuse needs to change,” Croom said. “There needs to be more accountability. I’m here so that the new police chief is someone willing to change the culture.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, Mark Jackson was misquoted. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on April 10, 2018 at 10:11 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo