Policing

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UNYAC2021.3 - Support New York Senate Bill S.2960/Assembly Bill A.4565, also known as “Residential Policing”

Book of Discipline (¶): 162A; 164H

Book of Resolutions paragraph (¶): 3379; 5031

Conference Committee/Agency that would be affected by/responsible for implementation if passed: Conference Secretary

Financial Implications: None

Brief Rationale: The people of the UMC support efforts to humanize the criminal justice system, which will be accomplished, in part, by the passage of S.2960/A.4565, which would allow the city of Rochester to require newly-hired officers of the Rochester Police Department to live in the community they serve.

Whereas the biblical view of the criminal justice system is one that should be characterized by accessibility to all (Deuteronomy 1:17; 16:18), impartiality (Exodus 22:1-3), honesty (Exodus 23:7), (Exodus 23:7), integrity (Exodus 23:6, 8), and fairness to all without regard to status (Leviticus 19:15); and

Whereas ¶162A of the 2016 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church names racism and the ways it manifests in both personal and institutional forms as sin and affirms the support of the United Methodist Church in efforts to “implement compensatory programs that redress long-standing, systemic social deprivation of racial and ethnic persons.”; and

Whereas ¶164H of the 2016 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church names the need for “positive interaction between law enforcement officials and members of the community at large,” and identifies that “most criminal justice systems around the world are retributive.”; and

Whereas Resolution 5031 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church identifies that “Systems of retribution breed only violence and isolation,” leading to “misinformed and biased public perceptions of racial and ethnic minorities,” that “justify excessively punitive policies.”; and

Whereas Resolution 5031 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church calls for the composition of police forces to “reflect the communities that they serve, including geographic residence, diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.”; and

Whereas Resolution 5031 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church urges police departments to “publicly establish standards of police conduct and policies for promotion that incorporate training in peacekeeping, life-protecting, other service roles, and law enforcement,” and that these “standards must include strict limits on the deadly use of force.”; and

Whereas Resolution 3379 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church states, “Overpolicing erodes community trust in law enforcement and sends a clear message to police that not all Americans are equal under law, as people in targeted communities do not have the same communities do not have the same constitutional protections other Americans enjoy.”; and

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49 Whereas Resolution 3379 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church calls on Annual Conferences to “Engage with churches and local communities in speaking out publicly for police accountability regarding racial profiling, misconduct, abuse, and killings.”; and

Whereas Resolution 3379 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church calls on local governments to “stop the criminalization of communities of color and the cacophony of ‘wars’ being waged against these communities” and to “make the enforcement and protection of international human rights law central to criminal justice and immigration policy.”; and

Whereas the 2016 Session of the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference unanimously affirmed a call to eradicate systemic racism in the Church and in the world; and

Whereas police brutality, especially perpetrated against Black communities and communities of color and including the extrajudicial killing of Black and Brown individuals by law enforcement officials, is a symptom of systemic racism that upholds white supremacy; and

Whereas on March 23, 2020, seven officers of the Rochester Police Department restrained Daniel Prude, an unarmed Black man experiencing a mental health crisis, using a mesh hood, commonly called a “spit hood” in the process; and

Whereas this interaction with law enforcement resulted in Daniel Prude being hospitalized; and

Whereas on March 30, 2020, Daniel Prude succumbed to his injuries after being taken off of life support; and

Whereas the Monroe County medical examiner ruled Daniel Prudes death to be a homicide caused by complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint; and

Whereas on Feb 23, 2021, New York State Attorney General, Letitia James announced that the empaneled grand jury declined to indict the seven Rochester police officers involved in the case on criminal charges; and

Whereas on Jan. 29, 2021, officers of the Rochester Police Department used pepper spray against a nineyear-old Black girl experiencing a mental health crisis in their attempt to detain her; and

Whereas trust in the Rochester Police Department from the community of Rochester has been shattered by these events; and

Whereas it is imperative that the people enforcing a community’s laws are members of that community; and

Whereas the city of Rochester cannot rectify with problem without permission from Albany; and

Whereas Bill S.2960/A.4565 will allow the city of Rochester to require newly hired officers of the Rochester Police Department to live in the community they serve; and

Whereas Bill S.2960/A.4565 will only apply to new hires of the Rochester Police Department and will not impact individuals who are already serving in the RPD prior to its passage; and

Whereas this problem is not unique to the city of Rochester; and

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Whereas police reform is a non-partisan issue; and

Whereas the 2021 legislative session for New York State legislature ended on June 10, 2021, prior to the convening of the 2021 Session of the Upper New York Annual Conference; and

Whereas Appendix B of this resolution is a memorandum of support that faithfully articulates the position of the Upper New York Annual Conference should S.2960/A.4565 be passed prior to the convening of the 2021 Session of the Upper New York Annual Conference; and

Whereas Appendix C of this resolution is a memorandum of support that faithfully articulates the position of the Upper New York Annual Conference should S.2960/A.4565 fail to pass or is not voted on during the 2021 session of the New York State legislature.

Therefore, be it resolved that the Upper New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, representing over 144,000 members in 956 faith communities across 49 counties in the state of New York, heartily and emphatically supports, as a matter of faith and conscious, New York Senate Bill S.2960 and Assembly Bill A.4565; and

Therefore, be it further resolved that the Upper New York Annual Conference calls on the leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly to enact similar legislation to S.2960/A.4565 for other municipalities in the state of New York; and

Therefore, be it further resolved that the Upper New York Annual Conference calls on faithful United Methodists in the State of New York to relentlessly petition their State Senators and Assembly Members in support of the passage of anti-racist legislation that will eradicate police brutality, akin to S.2960/A.4565, on a state-wide level; and

Therefore, be it further resolved that the Upper New York Annual Conference directs the Annual Conference Secretary to mail one of the attached memoranda of support for S.2960/A.4565, depending on the status of S.2960/A.4565 at the convening of the 2021 session of the Upper New York Annual Conference and affixed with the seal of the Upper New York Annual Conference, to the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Majority Leader of the Assembly, Majority Whip of the Assembly, Minority Leader of the Assembly, Minority Whip of the Assembly, President Pro Tempore of the New York State Senate, Majority Whip of the State Senate, Minority Leader of the State Senate, Minority Whip of the State Senate, and the Governor of New York State (contact information attached) no later than fifteen (15) days after the adjourning of the 2021 session of the Upper New York Annual Conference.

Date of Submission: March 15, 2021

Submitted by: Ian Carlos Urriola 140 Surrey Club Ln Stephens City, VA 22655 (585) 705-9334 i.urriola@yahoo.com Asbury First – Rochester

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78

Appendix A: Contact information for New York State legislative leaders and Governor

The Honorable Carl E. Heastie Speaker of the New York State Assembly Legislative Office Building Room 932 Albany, NY 12248

The Honorable Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes Majority Leader of the NYS Assembly Legislative Office Building Room 926 Albany, NY 12248

The Honorable William Colton Majority Whip of the NYS Assembly Legislative Office Building Room 733 Albany, NY 12248

The Honorable William A. Barclay Minority Leader of the NYS Assembly Legislative Office Building Room 933 Albany, NY 12248

The Honorable Michael Montesano Minority Whip of the NYS Assembly Legislative Office Building Room 437 Albany, NY 12248

79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 The Honorable Andrea Stewart-Cousin President Pro Tempore of the NYS Senate 188 State Street Legislative Office Building Room 907 Albany, NY 12247

The Honorable Kevin S. Parker Majority Whip of the New York State Senate 172 State Street Room 504, Capitol Building Room 504C Albany, NY 12247

The Honorable Robert G. Ortt Minority Leader of the NYS Senate Capitol Building, Room 315 Albany, NY 12247

The Honorable Patrick M. Gallivan Minority Whip of the New York State Senate Legislative Office Building Room 311 Albany, NY 12247

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224

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Appendix B: Memorandum of Support for S.2960/A.4565 to send to state lawmakers in the event of S.2960/A.4565 being passed prior to the convening of the 2021 session of the Upper New York Annual Conference

Memorandum of Support - S.2960 / A.4565

The Upper New York Annual Conference (UNYAC) of the United Methodist Church (UMC) is made up of over 144,000 members in 956 faith communities across 49 counties in the state of New York. Our mission is to “live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be God’s love with our neighbors in all places.” Racism in any form is an impediment to that mission, and therefore, we cannot remain silent.

We heartily and emphatically support, as a matter of faith and conscious, S.2960/A.4565, which allows the city of Rochester to require newly hired members of the Rochester Police Department to live in the community they serve, and we are immensely grateful to the leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly for prioritizing its passage during the 2021 legislative session. Furthermore, we call on the leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly to enact similar legislation to S.2960/A.4565 for other municipalities in the state of New York at the start of the next legislative session.

As a people of faith, we were outraged by news of the murder of Daniel Prude at the hands of the Rochester Police Department last year.1 Mr. Prude, an unarmed Black man, was experiencing a mental health crisis. Officers of the Rochester Police Department responded to the call, and, in their attempts to restrain him, used a mesh face covering commonly known as a spit hood. Mr. Prude was hospitalized as a result of this encounter and died seven days later. The Monroe County medical examiner ruled his death to be a homicide caused by complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint. In spite of this, in February of this year, an empaneled grand jury declined to indict the seven Rochester Police Department officers on criminal charges for the murder of Daniel Prude.2

While even one instance of police brutality is too much, we grieve that this is not an isolated incident. Earlier this year, officers of the Rochester Police Department responded to the call of a nine-year-old Black girl experiencing a mental health crisis.3 In their attempts to subdue her, they used pepper spray on this child. It is clear that our law enforcement agencies are not equipped to properly and safely respond to mental health and substance abuse crises. Trust in the Rochester Police Department from the community of Rochester has been shattered by these events.

Police brutality, especially perpetrated against Black communities and communities of color and including the extrajudicial killing of Black and Brown individuals by law enforcement officials, is a symptom of systemic racism that upholds white supremacy. The United Methodist Church names racism and the ways it manifests in both personal and institutional forms as sin.4 As United Methodists, we know that there is a deep need for positive interaction between law enforcement officials and members of the community at large.5 To this end, it is our official position as a denomination that the composition of police forces ought to reflect the communities that they serve, including geographic residence, diversity in race,

1 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/nyregion/rochester-daniel-prude.html 2 https://www.whec.com/rochester-new-york-news/ny-attorney-general-to-reveal-daniel-prude-death-grand-jurydecision/6021044/ 3 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/12/rochester-police-9-year-old/ 4 ¶162A of the 2016 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, https://www.umc.org/en/content/socialprinciples-the-social-community 5 ¶164H of the 2016 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church https://www.umc.org/en/content/socialprinciples-the-political-community

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41 42 ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.6 Over-policing erodes community trust in law enforcement and sends a clear message to police that not all Americans are equal under law, as people in targeted communities do not have the same constitutional protections other Americans enjoy, and so our denomination calls on local governments to stop the criminalization of communities of color and the cacophony of “wars” being waged against these communities and to make the enforcement and protection of international human rights law central to criminal justice and immigration policy.7

The laws of the state of New York must reflect the reality that trust a community’s trust in a police department is paramount to the well-being of the community and the efficaciousness of the police department. Police departments and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve mutually benefit when law enforcement officers are members of the communities they police. S.2960/A.4565 goes a long way towards restoring trust in the Rochester Police Department, but the New York State legislature must go further. If history is any indicator, it’s not a matter of if this conversation comes to another municipality, but rather a matter of when. Requiring new hires of any police department in the state of New York to live in the community they serve will aid in dismantling the retributive criminal justice system we have, which breeds only violence and isolation.8 Therefore, while we are exceedingly grateful to the New York Legislature and the Governor for the passage of S.2960/A.4565, which allows the city of Rochester to require new hires to the Rochester Police Department to live in the community they serve, we call on them to enact similar legislation for other municipalities across New York State at the start of the next legislative session.

[seal of the Upper New York Annual Conference goes here]

Appendix C: Memorandum of Support for S.2960/A.4565 to send to state lawmakers in the event S.2960/A.4565 is not passed prior to the convening of the 2021 session of the Upper New York Annual Conference

Memorandum of Support - S.2960 / A.4565

The Upper New York Annual Conference (UNYAC) of the United Methodist Church (UMC) is made up of over 144,000 members in 956 faith communities across 49 counties in the state of New York. Our mission is to “live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be God’s love with our neighbors in all places.” Racism in any form is an impediment to that mission, and therefore, we cannot remain silent.

We heartily and emphatically support, as a matter of faith and conscious, S.2960/A.4565, which would allow the city of Rochester to require newly hired members of the Rochester Police Department to live in the community they serve. We are disappointed in the leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly for failing to make the passage of S.2960/A.4565 priority during the most recent legislative session of the New York State Legislature, and we call on them to make the passage this bill—in addition to similar legislation relevant to other municipalities in the state of New York—a top legislative priority at the start of the next legislative session.

As a people of faith, we were outraged by news of the murder of Daniel Prude at the hands of the Rochester Police Department last year.9 Mr. Prude, an unarmed Black man, was experiencing a mental

6 ¶5031 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church https://www.umcjustice.org/who-weare/social-principles-and-resolutions/humanizing-criminal-justice-5031 7 ¶3379 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church https://www.umcjustice.org/who-weare/social-principles-and-resolutions/stop-criminalizing-communities-of-color-in-the-united-states-3379 8 ¶5031 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church 9 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/nyregion/rochester-daniel-prude.html

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 health crisis. Officers of the Rochester Police Department responded to the call, and, in their attempts to restrain him, used a mesh face covering commonly known as a spit hood. Mr. Prude was hospitalized as a result of this encounter and died seven days later. The Monroe County medical examiner ruled his death to be a homicide caused by complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint. In spite of this, in February of this year, an empaneled grand jury declined to indict the seven Rochester Police Department officers on criminal charges for the murder of Daniel Prude.10

While even one instance of police brutality is too much, we grieve that this is not an isolated incident. Earlier this year, officers of the Rochester Police Department responded to the call of a nine-year-old black girl experiencing a mental health crisis.11 In their attempts to subdue her, they used pepper spray on this child. It is clear that our law enforcement agencies are not equipped to properly and safely respond to mental health and substance abuse crises. Trust in the Rochester Police Department from the community of Rochester has been shattered by these events.

Police brutality especially perpetrated against black communities and communities of color and including the extrajudicial killing of Black and Brown individuals by law enforcement officials, is a symptom of systemic racism that upholds white supremacy. The United Methodist Church names racism and the ways it manifests in both personal and institutional forms as sin.12 As United Methodists, we know that there is a deep need for positive interaction between law enforcement officials and members of the community at large.13 To this end, it is our official position as a denomination that the composition of police forces ought to reflect the communities that they serve, including geographic residence, diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.14 Over-policing erodes community trust in law enforcement and sends a clear message to police that not all Americans are equal under law, as people in targeted communities do not have the same constitutional protections other Americans enjoy, and so our denomination calls on local governments to stop the criminalization of communities of color and the cacophony of “wars” being waged against these communities and to make the enforcement and protection of international human rights law central to criminal justice and immigration policy.15

The laws of the state of New York must reflect the reality that trust a community’s trust in a police department is paramount to the well-being of the community and the efficaciousness of the police department. Police departments and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve mutually benefit when law enforcement officers are members of the communities they police. S.2960/A.4565 would go a long way towards restoring trust in the Rochester Police Department, but the New York State legislature must go further. If history is any indicator, it’s not a matter of if this conversation comes to another municipality, but rather a matter of when. Requiring new hires of any police department in the state of New York to live in the community they serve will aid in dismantling the retributive criminal justice system we have, which breeds only violence and isolation.16 Therefore, we respectfully urge the New York Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign S.2960/A.4565, which would allow the city of Rochester to

10 https://www.whec.com/rochester-new-york-news/ny-attorney-general-to-reveal-daniel-prude-death-grandjury-decision/6021044/ 11 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/12/rochester-police-9-year-old/ 12 ¶162A of the 2016 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, https://www.umc.org/en/content/socialprinciples-the-social-community 13 ¶164H of the 2016 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church https://www.umc.org/en/content/socialprinciples-the-political-community 14 ¶5031 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church https://www.umcjustice.org/who-weare/social-principles-and-resolutions/humanizing-criminal-justice-5031 15 ¶3379 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church https://www.umcjustice.org/who-weare/social-principles-and-resolutions/stop-criminalizing-communities-of-color-in-the-united-states-3379 16 ¶5031 of the 2016 Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church

1 2 3 4 5 require new hires to the Rochester Police Department to live in the community they serve, as well as legislation similar to it pertaining to other municipalities across New York State, at the start of the next legislative session.

[seal of the Upper New York Annual Conference goes here]