Announcing New Podcast From A Little Beacon Blog: "Wait, What Is That?"

Hello!

The inspiration for A Little Beacon Blog came from not knowing about things in Beacon. Could  be the timing of a Spring Egg Hunt, or it could be why the Spirit of Beacon Day started (answer: after youth inspired racial riots decades ago!).

As the City of Beacon began growing with development of apartment buildings, a reader lamented one day: "A Little Beacon Blog isn't going to be so little anymore." And here's the truth: A Little Beacon Blog has the word "little" in it for 2 reasons:

1. The assumption was that there would be a lot of blogs about Beacon. Turns out, that manifested in the form of Instagram accounts, which are awesome.

2. ALBB always focuses on the little details. Could be a rose, could be a tree, could be an honoree, could be a bench, could a wrench.

In The Beginning...

At the beginning of the pandemic, people starting recording more videos. Disconnect people from each other, and we break out of comfort zones into new mediums in order to connect. This happened at A Little Beacon Blog too, in the form of a podcast. We set up a studio in Katie's shed, which is ventilated with 2 doors, a fan and an air conditioner, and we wear masks during interviews. Plexiglass is next.
 

About The Co-Hosts...

Brandon Lillard is the co-host of this podcast, and the recording producer. Raised in the City of Beacon, some of you may remember him from that time he attended Beacon High School and created a character for himself: Mr. Beacon High. This was his way of working with many different people. Brandon went on to become a community organizer, youth mentor and podcast producer with Youth Podcast Program, and is a board member for I Am Beacon. Brandon had nudged ALBB's publisher Katie for a while (ok, 5 years) to start a podcast. When in a pandemic, she said yes.

We are so excited to announce to you today the start of the podcast extension of A Little Beacon Blog, called "Wait, What Is That?" It's a podcast dedicated to finding out the answers behind simple and hard questions. Sometimes during our interviews, we discover more questions, and pursue new topics to dig deeper. This could be about donuts made in Connecticut but named after Brooklyn, or the Federal Investigation of the Beacon Police Department many years ago.

We have 5 episodes to start you out with. Do carve the time out of your day during your commute to nowhere, or your gardening time, or your outdoor fitness time.

Many of these episodes will serve you well in your homework for issues going on right now in Beacon.

EPISODE 1: The Beginning
Brandon and Katie record their first podcast. Not sure what they were going to talk about. And then Brandon brought the Brooklyn Baking Company Donuts. Which are from Connecticut. And go…

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EPISODE 2: Let's Do This
Because sometimes you just need a cup of coffee and a Popsicle. In discovering their voices, Brandon and Katie take a deep dive into that house on the corner of Cross Street that is a storefront window. Brandon remembers when it was a deli and he went there daily on his way to and from the old Beacon High School.

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EPISODE 3: Former Mayor Randy Casale
Well HELLO. Our first interview is with the former Mayor of Beacon for 2 terms: Randy Casale. A born and bread Beaconite who knows everything about everything Beacon. Everything.

We interviewed Randy when he was fresh out of his political silence, during the debate about his stepson's bench and if it should be removed or moved. The original interview was 3 hours.

At the recommendation of his attorney, the podcast was edited down to 39 minutes. The bench issue has been settled for now, so he did not want to reignite.

We talk to him about his experience with the Beacon Police Department, his insistence on and fight for body cameras, and the Federal Investigation of the Beacon PD years ago.

He also discusses with us about the demotion of a Highway Superintendent, Reuben Simmons, who was demoted back down to a worker position, how a mysterious letter dis-crediting Reuben was hand-delivered to a council person's porch, how Civil Service rules worked to legally let it all happen, and if the City of Beacon had an opportunity to keep Reuben in his job, but did not take that route. Even though Randy voted for the appointment of the current Highway Superintendent, Randy said Reuben having the position be taken from him was one of his biggest regrets.

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EPISODE 4: Mayor Lee Kyriacou
BAM. Our next interview was with current Mayor Lee Kyriacou. During Randy’s interview, and during the 1st biggest BLM protest in Beacon, we learned that Lee spearheaded the look-see into Beacon’s Police Department in the early 2000s, which resulted in a Federal Investigation. We wanted to learn more about that.

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EPISODE 5: Reuben Simmons
Following up on what we learned earlier, we interviewed Reuben about how and why he no longer has the position of Highway Superintendent, after 1 year of serving in it. Katie worked with Reuben when he created the Rock Out For Mental Health music event last year. Many service agencies came together at one community event, which impacted a lot of people.

When Katie wrote the article about Reuben's inspiration for the event, she went to confirm his job title, which had been Highway Superintendent. Reuben worked for the Highway Department since 2002, and she was proud of his promotion. But LinkedIn showed a job descension: where he once was the Highway Superintendent, he was now Maintenance Worker. What happened?

Reuben couldn't answer at the time, as he was filing a complaint about the experience. One year later, at the first BLM sound stage, Reuben spoke out about it. Reuben walks us through the chess match of Civil Service rules which determine how a city can hire, fire, demote, and discipline employees.

Reuben says he did not know about the mystery letter until much later. A Little Beacon Blog has a copy of it, and published it with this podcast so that you can read it. Additionally, we have published the City Council Meeting from February 2019 where each City Council Member voted to appoint Reuben's co-worker to the job under a technicality. During that meeting, many from the Highway Department were in the audience (except for the 3 Black workers in the Highway Department, including Reuben, who say they were not told about the date of the appointment). The staff from the Highway Department can be heard hooting and hollering during the vote. Many on the Council laughed with them.

Reuben continues his work every day for the City, but has this to say on why he speaks out now: "I have experienced unfair treatment, harassment, and retaliation in the Highway Department that has continued after my efforts to bring a number of issues to the attention of city management and leadership. I share my story as a response to the many narratives and rumors spread by childish individuals and because I don’t want it happening to anyone else."

The letter, the public City Council meeting with the laughter, and a timeline of events have been published with this podcast. A Little Beacon Blog reached out to the City Administrator for confirmation of the timeline, and was responded to with an invitation to talk to the City's labor lawyer. While we don't need a conversation, we are awaiting an email response to our questions.

If you're following Police news with any hiring of positions, you'll want to listen to this podcast to get familiar with Civil Service chess. If you want to learn about how someone gets safely removed from a job without legal ramifications, you'll want to listen to this podcast.

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EPISODE 6: Ali T. Muhammad
Ali T. Muhammad was born and raised in Beacon, NY, walking every day down a literal pathway between prison and public school, as his home was on the grounds. He walked the “school to prison pipeline” (and tells us about what that means on this podcast). His father was incarcerated for 12 years, and upon getting released, became the Chaplin for Fishkill Correctional Facility. Ali’s mother was a teacher at Rombout Middle School (and was Brandon’s teacher!).

Ali lived the life of a Black youth in Beacon, and continues to as a Black man in America. As a way to keep himself occupied and on a straight path, he began getting involved with local politics, getting elected as a Council Member for Ward 4 at an early age.

Ali served on Beacon's City Council years ago, and after a period bucking his own Democratic party, wasn't elected back. He was known to stay focused on issues of inequality for Black and poor communities, but was often dismissed. His concerns are coming back to make sense now to more people during this racial revolution. Katie and Brandon talk to Ali about those issues, including how to build a WeePlay Tot Park at Davies Terrace and other low income housing projects that are owned by private, large, wealthy real estate companies. Lots of times kids in the low income housing projects don't have access to transportation to get to city parks, and depend on taxis to get to the Beacon Pool - if they can afford the ride. We discuss this and more.

Next Up: We interview Katie's son, Cole, who wanted to talk about his feelings upon hearing that Paw Patrol might be canceled, and then fact checking the White House who in late July said it was canceled, but was in fact not. Cole tells us what he values about Paw Patrol.

Then: We'll meet our sometimes 3rd co-host, Blake Daniel Leslie, a musician, artist, actor and podcaster. And Brandon's best friend. You might recognize Blake from his days with the cover-band Skin and Bones who used to play around town.

And a few more: We have a few more interviews on deck. We interview on Wednesdays, and will release as they are produced.

Reuben Simmons Speaks Out On Racial Identification In Elementary School; Mixed Race; Seeing Racial Inequality From Within Beacon

This speaker is sharing during the 3rd protest march on Beacon that happened on June 6, 2020. The march started at Pohill Park, wound all the way down Wolcott, taking a right toward the river, over the bridge above the train track, and ending at the land stage at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park.

To bring this story out of the video and into words for more to access, A Little Beacon Blog has transcribed this story as best we can, as close to the spoken word as possible. To give you context, we indicate where different actions took place, like applause or movement. We highly encourage you to watch this spoken in the video, so that you can feel the moment and the words and remember it forever as it helps you make future decisions. You can listen and watch this story in our Instagram here.

BEGIN

Good afternoon, everybody.

Malcolm X said: “My accomplishments will outweigh all my personal and human weaknesses.” Please keep that in mind as I speak to you.

I feel obligated to share my story. My name is Reuben Simmons, known by most people in this community as Yogi. Coach Yogi. I coach Beacon Pop Warner. I coach Beacon Hoops. I see some of my players out here. I went to South Avenue, Rombout, and graduated from the OLD High School. I got my Associates degree from Dutchess Community College in Criminal Justice. I got my Bachelors Degree in Sociology from the Catholic University of America located in Washington DC.

I wanna thank the organizers for the protest on Monday and this protest today. Two peaceful protests that I’m proud to have in my city. I didn’t see pictures of looting or any broken windows or anything that caused any destruction.

I also wanna give a thanks to all the police officers. I see the City of Beacon, I see possibly state troopers, and I see also the Town of Fishkill. They helped block the roads for us to have that peaceful march and I know that we’re having this battle with the officers. It’s not all officers so I would like to thank them also.

I wanna share a story with you. Which means I’m gonna have to get real with you. Everything I announced, that all sounds good. I got kicked out of Beacon Hoops. I had a bad attitude. I went to Albany for a semester. Just like my brother Ali talked about. Albany wasn’t a place for people who came from Beacon. Beacon was a great place.

Beacon was so unique and I always say that. Albany taught me something that I was taught at South Avenue that I just didn’t know. I am mixed race. My mom is Italian-Irish and my dad is Black. South Avenue, they wanted to send me to a school called Beta, and I wanted to go. I fought every day. They said that’s what you can do at Beta. It was Mr. Vorbach (crowd sourced spell check needed), my principal. A white man. An older white man, who said: “He’s not goin’. And I was upset. I thank him.

In 1st grade, we had the school staff come in each classroom and count every kid by their race. Miss Kim Faison, she saunters in my classroom. Everybody feared Kim Faison…Great lady. She asked all the white kids to stand up. I go to stand up. But I’m halfway standing up. She looks at me and says “Not you.” She asked all the black kids to stand up, then she looks at me and said, “Now you.”

I didn’t pay attention to these two lessons in elementary school but it caught up to me when I went to Albany. I was walking with one of my best friends, a white guy. He was drinking a beer. I wasn’t into beer then, not drinking. Cops pull over. Tell us to stop. I ain’t doin’ nothin’. I keep walking. He’s talking to me and my friend. My friend tells the officer, “Oh officer, I apologize.” He said, “I’m not taking to you.” Grabs me by the back, puts a baton to me.

Now I knew I had something illegal in my pocket, so I knew I shoulda ran, but I wasn’t doing anything. Whatever, I’ll take the consequences. I get to the station. They asked me “What’s your name?” Reuben Simmons. “Where you from?” I’m from Beacon. “What’s your race?” I studied criminal justice. I knew white people get lesser charges. And I am white. I’m just as white as I am black. I’m white. That officer tells me, HE tells ME, “You’re either Black or Hispanic.” I said, ‘What does that mean?’ He said, “Don’t tell me you’re white.”

I grew up in a single parent household. My mother. How you gonna tell me I ain’t white, besides the fact that I’m labeled that way in society? In a community that I wasn’t even accepted in the black community. I wasn’t accepted in a white community. By the time I got to high school, I had to find my own lane. And it just so happens DMX dropped that same year, so, self explanatory. So I’m a let anyone who’s mixed race in here, in the eyes of the law, in the eyes of society, you ain’t white. You black. And that is wrong. That’s why I’m proud to be here today and see this mixture of races here today. Because I know different races go through it, and different religions go through it.

I started an organization called I AM BEACON. Today it’s a 501-c3 non-profit organization established in the state of New York. One of my biggest supporters is the Key Food grocery store. And they get the same thing because they’re Muslim. It hurts my heart to speak to you at this time because of the circumstances that brought us all together. People who did not have to die. But this will be an opportunity that I think that we should not fold or let stop. That’s why I keep thanking the organizers of this protest because they’re young. I was young. Relatively still am.

I was labeled a leader in the community and in a union. I was blackballed Colin Kaepernick’d out of my union because I’m young and I got my own mind and my own vision. Because older people wanna tell you what to do, when to do it and how to do it and that’s not gonna happen, not in the generation of the new millennium. So the only thing I wanna offer to the young is to share my experience, to share my story, and just together put everything in a collaborative effort.

“My parents, they were raised in the racial riots in this city. The 50s, 60s, and the race riots in 1970. If you were born and raised up in the mountains, you didn’t mess with the Blacks down in the city. As this city had started to grow, I started to see where the problem was. it wasn’t old Beacon and new Beacon. it was certain people in Beacon who were upset that they weren’t getting the way that they had for the last 10, 20, 30, 40 damn years. ”

— Reuben Simmons

I’m gonna wrap it up. I was born in Beacon before the hospital closed. I was raised in Beacon in the 80s and the 90s when nobody wanted to be IN Beacon. I worked for this city, so I see the racial inequality from within. I already told you I was a union leader. I served 18 months as a Superintendent in the Highway [Department]. Union management. And for the last 3 years, I’ve been taking on a personal battle that I’m not gonna give up on. Because it’s affecting me. I see it affecting other people. I wanted to stand up for other people but one thing you can’t do, you can’t fight for other people that don’t want to fight for themselves.

I’ve seen white workers bring guns into the workplace, knowing that we have racial tension and nothin’ get done. I seen white workers get upset about supervisor referring to the black workers as “the nigger” and they get transferred and put in another department to where they feel comfortable. I’ve been in meetings with the city, with 100% of the black workers there telling them their issues, and nothing getting done but more harassment, more retaliation, and more disciplines in their goddamn file.

I ain’t putting up with it no more. And as I look out in this crowd, if the support is there for what’s going on in this city, I’ll stand with you and I’ll stand with any organizers who’s willing to fight that battle.

Another thing I’m gonna take this opportunity to clear up: when I started I AM BEACON, there was all this hoopla on “Well I’m from Beacon because I’ve lived here.” “You’re not from Beacon, you’re from Brooklyn, you just moved here.” Understand my philosophy for I AM BEACON. The Why and the I is self accountability and self responsibility. I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, what you do, if you’re in this city, if you’re in this community, if you wanna volunteer, if you wanna get involved, I AM BEACON’s doors is open to you.

“There’s “Coffee With Cops,” there’s workshops. We wanna talk with cops. We wanna build a community relations. I’m glad that conversation is coming up because I was there 4 years ago. I AM BEACON had a separate committee called BEACON SPEAKS OUT when Trayvon Martin and the Ferguson rallies were going on. We did it. We sent the recommendations in to the police.

The #1: Community Policing. Get the out the goddamn car and start walking these streets. It barely happened. So no, I’m not interested in sitting down again. I’m a man of action. So if we’re gonna do it again, let’s just make sure our voices are really heard but that we hold them accountable. ”

— Reuben Simmons

Last 3 years, the fights that I’ve been having internally, it ain’t from people who just got to Beacon. Let me give you a little bit of history. I was born in the 80s and 90s. Hip hop culture. Sex money and drugs. My parents, they were raised in the racial riots in this city. The 50s, 60s, and the race riots in 1970. If you were born and raised up in the mountains, you didn’t mess with the Blacks down in the city.

As this city had started to grow, I started to see where the problem was. it wasn’t old Beacon and new Beacon. it was certain people in Beacon who were upset that they weren’t getting the way that they had for the last 10, 20, 30, 40 damn years. And I don’t see a different Beacon. I see a built up Beacon, but I don’t see a different Beacon. Maybe I changed with the times. There is no old Beacon, new Beacon. There’s only one Beacon. For the action steps. Mayor Lee Kyriacou is here today. Somewhere…there he is. Monday night, he’s gonna have a council workshop talking about police policies. Tune in. Give them recommendations.

If there’s one thing that is a must, it’s a must, especially if you think you’re gonna get down with I AM BEACON. It’s action. Don’t tell somebody else what they need to be doin’. Stand right there next to them and do it with them. Second, register to vote. There’s people here that are gonna help you with that. And I stress it because that night in Albany, I lost my right to vote. So I never thought I could vote. It wasn’t till I got involved with the union. It wasn’t until I educated myself. My first time voting wasn’t until 2009 because I came through a generation of ‘my vote don’t matter.’ Oh, now that I’ve got a criminal record, I can’t vote. So now that’s my scapegoat.

You can vote, as long as you ain’t on papers. I don’t care what your past is because I got the same past as some of you. So I’m the example. I can vote now, and I do. and don’t get me wrong, sometimes I put in a blank ballot but I’m showing up.

Three: I heard at the last protest and I’m sure I’m gonna hear it today. There’s “Coffee With Cops,” there’s workshops. We wanna talk with cops. We wanna build a community relations. I’m glad that conversation is coming up because I was there 4 years ago. I AM BEACON had a separate committee called BEACON SPEAKS OUT when Trayvon Martin and the Ferguson rallies were going on. We did it. We sent the recommendations in to the police.

“I’m a believer it starts on the local level. Once you have your foundation, you can build from there. Are you guys ready to build? (Crowd cheers) Are you guys ready to build? (Crowd cheers) I’ll stand for anybody who’s willing to put in the footwork. ”

— Reuben Simmons

The #1: Community Policing. Get the out the goddamn car and start walking these streets. It barely happened. So no, I’m not interested in sitting down again. I’m a man of action. So if we’re gonna do it again, let’s just make sure our voices are really heard but that we hold them accountable.

I’ve seen a lot. I’ve learned a lot. I went through the process. I’m willing to be a resource. As I look at the council, there are new faces that I’ve never seen before, that I’ve never talked to before. This will be that opportunity. ‘Cuz too many times people just pass judgement on what the hell they read on Facebook and that is bullshit. I know we come to a generation of social media and social gangsters and ‘say whatever you want and you don’t get touched.’ That wasn’t my era. That’s why people didn’t talk the way they talk in the 80s and 90s.

But I understand. We gotta grow from that. This is a different style, it’s a different fight. When I came into the union, my street mentality was like ‘yeah, I need the numbers. I slap you, you come out your face.’ You can’t do that in politics, are you crazy, kid? But the philosophy the same, ‘where’s your numbers at?’ Your right to vote - that’s your handgun. Goin’ to the polls is what’s pulling the trigger. But nobody wants to go to the polls because they wanna stay online for new iPhones and Jordans, c’mon man, ya gotta say with me on this.

(interruption)

I wanted to meet with the organizers in private. But I couldn’t let you guys leave without letting you know what’s going on. I’m a big believer we can make change. I’m a believer it starts on the local level. Once you have your foundation, you can build from there. Are you guys ready to build? (Crowd cheers) Are you guys ready to build? (Crowd cheers) I’ll stand for anybody who’s willing to put in the footwork. Thank you. Once again, my name is Reuben Simmons, they call me Yogi.

The 2015 Community Response To Federally Investigated Beacon Police Was "Beacon Speaks Out" (Now Dormant) - City of Beacon Silent About Reopening It - Seeks New Initiative

In 2015, when Beacon’s police department was under an investigation by the Justice Department that started in or before 2010, and ended in 2016, Beacon community members got together to form a community-based line of communications with Beacon’s Police Department called “Beacon Speaks Out.”

To describe the police investigation, a press release was issued on December 21, 2010 by the United States Department of Justice: “The Justice Department announced today an agreement with the Beacon, N.Y., Police Department (BPD) to resolve the department’s investigation of the BPD, in accordance with the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. That law authorizes the attorney general to file suit to reform police departments that may be engaging in a pattern or practice of violating citizens’ federal rights.”

Who Was Behind “Beacon Speaks Out?”

The group “Beacon Speaks Out” met more than once and conducted a process that was co-facilitated by Rabbi Brent Spodek of Better Together: The Beacon Interfaith Clergy Association, and Brooke Simmons of I Am Beacon, and citizens of Beacon, including my former building landlord, Deborah Bigelow, who first made me aware of the group. A Little Beacon Blog later wrote about an upcoming meeting they were having back in 2016.

For context, Brooke Simmons is the sister of Reuben Simmons, the Founder and President of I Am Beacon, and a one-time Highway Superintendent for the City of Beacon. After holding that position for a year in a half, Reuben was changed to Working Supervisor for just over a year and a half, and is currently a Maintenance Worker for the City of Beacon. If that job title timeline looks backwards to you, it is. This professional descension was confusing when I went to quote Reuben for an article about the event he created to raise awareness for mental health: Rock Out For Mental Health. I served on the Planning Committee with him and other agency heads for this awareness effort.

Reuben was also the Union President of the City of Beacon’s Unit of CSEA Local 1000, where he dealt with contract negations, representing employees in grievances and disciplinary matters, campaign planning, among other responsibilities.

The original agenda of Beacon Speaks Out is below. But first, a question:

“Beacon Speaks Out” Sounds Like A Good Idea. Should It Be Reignited?

Groups and committees are formed all of the time in Beacon. Many of them do work that you didn’t know was happening around you, but feel the effects of. This was one such group. Not many people knew about it. Eventually, it stopped meeting. The Chief of Police, Doug Solomon, who participated in the group, abruptly left Beacon’s force to take the Chief job in Newburgh (which he also just resigned from after a riot incident in March, 2020). He was succeeded in Beacon by current Chief Kevin Junjulas, who was promoted from his position of Captain.

When the protests against police brutality and institutional, systemic racism started in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s murder, and the protests spread to New York, A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Beacon’s new Mayor Lee Kyriacou, for comment as to whether he thought the band of “Beacon Speaks Out” should be brought back together, to start communications between the community and the police. Mayor Kyriacou is a new mayor to Beacon, but has served on the City Council for 9 terms beginning in the 1990s.

Mayor Kyriacou has not answered A Little Beacon Blog’s question about if Beacon Speaks Out should be called upon again. We have asked him twice, and received no response.

Since that time, Beacon’s Police Department and City Council have received numerous questions about the policies of the Beacon Police. The City Council invited the Chief of Police to attend last week’s public Workshop meeting to give an overview of what their textbook says. During this meeting, it was suggested that a forum with a moderator be created to hear from the public, and the council agreed. They were going to think about who the moderator would be, and the setting for the forum in this social distanced time. Watch the hour-long sit-down with the police and get a recap here.

The Mayor suggested that the Human Relations committee take responsibility for this. Currently there are 5 members of the Human Relations Committee. The City’s web page says that there can be 15 members, but the city Committee Vacancy page lists that 1 position is vacant. Current Councilmembers including Dan Aymar-Blair and Amber Grant disagreed with that delegation, stating that the committee was over-worked and inexperienced to deal with this issue.

The Original Community-Based Agenda Of “Beacon Speaks Out”

A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Brooke Simmons, original member of “Beacon Speaks Out,” to revisit the history on how the group started and what it wanted. This is what she provided:

“The city was involved and in fact, the “Beacon Speaks Out” initiative was born out of a meeting called on and facilitated by Mayor Randy Casale. [Then] Mayor Casale, City Administrator Anthony Ruggerio, and former Police Chief Soloman attended numerous meetings providing insight, dialogue and updates to the committee. “Beacon Speaks Out” presented the outlined initiatives to City Council (see below).

Broad Ambitions for Police/Community Relations in Beacon, NY

Through the beginning of 2015, residents of Beacon, NY had been meeting to discuss their hopes and ambitions for police/community relations in their city. What emerged was a clear desire for closer ties between the police and the community they serve and protect.

As the result of Beacon Speaks Out a process co-facilitated by Rabbi Brent Spodek of Better Together: The Beacon Interfaith Clergy Association and Brooke Simmons of I Am Beacon, the citizens of Beacon can articulate the following 8 broad ambitions for policing in our community. Following each ambition is a composite quote based on approximately 150 community conversations.

Strengthen Connections to the Broader Community

1. We’d like the police/community relationship to move from a place of intimidation, suspicion, and superiority to a place of kindness, calm and respect.
Conversation Example: The police don’t seem to practice restraint in heightened situations.... we’d love for them to have training on how to de-escalate incidents rather than intensifying them.

2. We’d like for the police to develop positive relations with the youth of Beacon.
Conversation Example: I would like to see some sort of program that allows the cops to interact with or even mentor the at-risk youth in Beacon so officers can be seen by young people as helpers, not adversaries.

3. We’d like for the police to have more face-to-face contact with the community.
Conversation Example: I want to know my police force... I miss our Main St. bike cop! When they are always in cars, they don’t get to know community members. I want the officers to KNOW and care about the community they serve.

Adopt best practices to improve community safety

4. We’d like for the police to be better equipped to deal with Beacon’s diverse populations.
Conversation Example: The police need to be able to deal with people who have mental health issues, who are not the same race or gender or sexuality as the cops, they need to be able to deal with senior and elderly issues.

5. We’d like a more diverse police force.
Conversation Example: We need a force that looks like Beacon to serve Beacon. We need more women, more people of color.

6. We’d like for the police to work together with the community to develop a progressive strategy for dealing with Beacon’s drug problem, especially heroin.
Conversation Example: I found needles and drug paraphernalia by my home. I took it to Police Station but got no response or follow up. Something needs to be done about the Heroin epidemic.

More and better community communication

7. We’d like data on crimes reported, arrests, and convictions to be publicized, as well as police policies and procedures.
Conversation Example: We need more information and more transparency about what the police are doing.

8. We’d like for the Human Relations Committee to be publicized and strengthened.
Conversation Example: I didn’t even know there was a civilian complaint hotline. It should be plastered everywhere. Do they have the power to do anything?

Details on what this new community forum will look like, who will attend, and who will moderate will come as the City Council decides what it wants to do.