The Woodstock police department has faced recent controversies including a settled harassment lawsuit involving allegations of racially and sexually inappropriate conduct, and a dismissed disability discrimination case, raising community concerns about accountability and transparency.
During a Sept. 23 presentation of a 35-page report to the town board, a Woodstock police task force made a series of recommendations while avoiding direct mentions of any lawsuit or scandal.
The eight-member panel left it up to the town board to implement the recommendations and figure out where there are deficiencies. The town board must now appoint someone familiar with police department operations to oversee implementation of the recommendations.
“The purpose is not to address the current issues,” Chair Jeff DeLisio said.
“We took the historical view of it, and the plan that we have moving forward would address those issues so those issues would not be issues in the future,” he said.
“So we’re going to provide a template for what we think the department could be, review the issue’s history, and we did that with the current department to provide a plan that, if instituted, would address issues and concerns through a forward-looking vision.”
“The Woodstock police department strives to foster a safe, fair, and transparent environment by incorporating community policing and mental health awareness into all aspects of its operation and working toward solving the problems that create crime through a partnership with the community and the department,” DeLisio said, quoting the vision statement.
Task force member Bob Nuzzo stressed that accreditation is a top priority. The process involves 112 standards reviewed by the state division of criminal justice services.
“They’re formalized policies and procedures for operations, for training, and for administration of the police department. They improve professionalism in the department,” Nuzzo said.
“They improve the efficiency of the department and ensure that the department here is operating in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies in the area that are also accredited and also following similar standards. It also reduces the liability for the town.”
While the majority of small police departments in the state are not accredited, most in Ulster County are, Nuzzo said.
The task force recommended appointing a police commissioner, or ombudsman, to oversee complaints and interact with the public.
“Their responsibility is to oversee the policies, any allegations, enhance the public trust, provide input to policy and operational planning, and enforce compliance of the policies,” DeLisio said.
“They’re a policy person, not an operational person. They want to make sure that everything that’s under accreditation is being done. Any issues that pop up, they’re there,” DeLisio said.
“They’re nonpolitical. And that really helps out in the role of making sure that everybody understands what they should be doing.”
The task force recommended a public information officer to be shared between the police and fire departments.
“The biggest liability to any town now is the public information that’s put out,” he said. “Whether it’s through the fire department or through the police, there’s certain things that have to be controlled, whether it be pictures or Facebook or whatever it might be, that can put a town, police officers, firefighters, and others—especially first responders—in jeopardy, not only in legal jeopardy, but physical jeopardy.”
The survey says…
The task force touted a survey of 159 Woodstock residents in which 109, or 68.6%, said they felt safe in their neighborhood.
The vast majority of respondents said they seldom see patrols in the area, or not very often, but DeLisio said that’s not discouraging.
“It’s very funny that people don’t actually see patrols. For the most part, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m the chairman of the board of fire commissioners, and if people aren’t complaining about the fire department, that’s a good thing,” he said.
Around 66% of respondents rank the overall quality of police services in Woodstock highly.
More than three-quarters of respondents say they feel very comfortable approaching or talking to Woodstock officers.
Respondents were also asked to give freeform answers to a number of questions, including: “How important is it for the police to engage in community outreach activities, such as neighborhood watch meetings and community events?”
One respondent suggested “coffee with cops” settings where people could meet police in an informal setting. They also suggested more police on bicycle patrol. DeLisio said police need to be trained for that, and equipment needs to be updated.
“Outreach is a very important part of police training, and it’s something that we are looking at getting additional training to come in, because the community is who we serve,” DeLisio said.
“Having that communication with the community is vital, and as you’ll see in the overall plan, it’s a very big part of it.”
Nearly two-thirds, or 65%, of respondents ranked the importance of police collaboration with residents, organizations and leaders very highly.
Transparency and communication could use improvement, some respondents noted.
“I feel like there is a disconnect between the department perhaps speaking to leadership and that translating out to citizens,” said one respondent.
The police department has been plagued by scandals, including a federal lawsuit brought by four officers and a former dispatcher over sexually and racially charged comments made by part-time officer Phil Sinagra. The personnel alleged the department and the town retaliated against those who complained. The town settled the lawsuit for $70,000. Sinagra, still paid by the town, has been relegated to desk duty in an office on the mostly empty second floor of town offices on Comeau Drive on Fridays while a lawsuit blocking his disciplinary hearing is pending.
On Sept. 23, the Northern District Court dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by Officer Anthony Schleuderer, who alleged the town and police department discriminated against him because he has Parkinson’s disease. The town said he was no longer physically able to perform the duties of a police officer.
The Town Board will meet with Police Chief Clayton Keefe on Oct. 7 to review the task force’s recommendations.
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