FREE
MONDAY
april 25, 2022 high 77°, low 51°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
dailyorange.com
S • Continuing a tradition
N • Campus construction
Vice President and Chief Campus Facilities Officer Pete Sala outlined upcoming projects and renovations starting over the summer. Page 3
Following his father, Alf Jacques has been lacrosse sticks out of hickory wood for over 50 years on the Onondaga Nation Reservation. Page 12
Earth Day Guide see pages 8 and 9
Breaking the cycle
The protest was in response to an incident where three SPD officers physically restrained and berated an 8-year-old Black child for stealing a bag of chips. danny amron asst. news editor
Members of the community gathered outside SPD headquarters to protest local governance and policing after a Black child was restrained by officers
By Danny Amron and Jana Seal the daily orange
A
crowd of roughly 40 protesters gathered outside Syracuse Police Department headquarters Saturday afternoon to protest police and local government in the wake of a video showing SPD officers forcibly putting an 8-year-old Black child in the back of a police car. Organizers for Black Lives Matter Syracuse, Mothers for Justice, the Syracuse Police Abolition and Radical Revisioning Coalition, and Victory Temple Fellowship Church joined Rebirth SYR organizers in advocating for various aspects of police, government and racial justice reform and shared their experiences
with systems of oppression at the protest. Hasahn Bloodworth, a co-founder of Rebirth SYR, opened the series of speakers with a discussion about the organization’s mission and dedication to the boys involved in the incident, as well as systemic issues in Syracuse spanning from community, law enforcement and governmental levels. “We are trying to make a difference in the troubled youths’ lives. And we don’t do that by kicking their back in. We don’t do that by trying to criminalize them,” Bloodworth said. “By trying to make it look like they’re some of the worst human beings in the world. We don’t do that by snatching them, in trying to humiliate them in front of a bunch of people. These are children, they should be treated as such.” see protest page 4
city
Buckner resigns, SPD announces Cecile as new chief By Francis Tang asst. news editor
Kenton Buckner, the chief of Syracuse Police Department, resigned from his position on Friday afternoon. First Deputy Chief Joseph Cecile will take over as the chief of police effective immediately, Mayor Ben Walsh announced in a press conference later in the day. Cecile, who has served as first
deputy police chief for 12 years and has been with SPD for a total of 37 years, graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1984. Buckner, who was sworn in as SPD chief in December 2018, entered the search process for a chief of police position in Olympia, Washington, earlier this year. In a press release Friday, he stated he withdrew from the process, citing personal reasons.
On Thursday, SPD held a press conference to address the recent video showing three SPD officers physically restraining a child that was circulated online. Buckner was absent while Walsh and Cecile both spoke. Buckner was not present at the Friday press conference, either. During the press conference, Walsh told The Daily Orange that the decision to appoint Cecile was made
before Buckner’s resignation as the transition was expected because of Buckner’s potential job offer in Olympia. He also said that Buckner’s resignation is not related to the video. “I can say definitively that Chief Buckner’s resignation had nothing to do with that specific incident or anything that transpired here over the past week,” Walsh said. Walsh also declined to comment
further on the reason for Buckner’s decision, saying he respects Buckner’s “personal reasons”. At Friday’s press conference, Walsh praised Buckner’s contribution over the past three years. “Chief Buckner leaves on the best of terms. He did exactly what I asked him to do three years ago when I swore him in in this very room,” Walsh said. “One of the hallmarks see chief page 4