BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION JUNE 12-4, 2020) — Soon after the death of George Floyd, the cry went up in Minneapolis like smoke from a burned-out storefront: “Defund the Police.”

Lawmakers took it literally. Nine of the 12 city councilors, a veto-proof majority (the mayor is opposed), mean just that: zero money for policing, in fact, no police at all. They haven’t said what they plan it its place or how they propose to handle public safety. Democratic lawmakers and executives across the country quickly took up the cry — until the pushback from an outraged public. They’ve been scrambling to explain what they meant. They haven’t lapped the pool because they’ve dumped freestyle and took up the backstroke.

“No,” worried Dems said. “It doesn’t mean ‘defund’ the police,’ Uh, we mean …” [choose one] … a.) restructure b.) reallocate funds c.) retain d.) and retrain e.) punt on second down.

The backward look wasn’t convincing, since, again, as a coherent policy, the believers have yet to draw up specific plans on what to do if you get rid of blue. The best they’ve come up with is that the money would go into “public health,” a category as clear as Mr. Magoo’s eyesight.

THE PLANET has read much on this shift  in political sentiment. “Defund” appears to mean “divest,” with resources going into new and existing social programs such as low-income house, job training, employment, community health, education, mental health, and social work. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.. Just what cash-strapped cities need in the pandemic: Bigger Government.

Sounds good on paper until you realize that we as a society have spent endless amounts of public dollars on too many failed and failing government-funded agencies, offices, and non-profits, only to see society degenerate into the polarized, hate-filled bedlam now playing at a theater near you. If more money for programs were the answer, our social ills would have ended in the mid-60s with LBJ’s Great Society. Money didn’t solve the problems because the answer lies not in new laws or programs but in the human heart. Every person has a choice on how to live. Choose good and life falls into place. Choose bad, and it spirals out of control. It’s everyone’s choice. The former choose individual responsibilit. The latter choose victimhood.

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Create new programs?

Folks, the programs are already there and trillions have been spent. It hasn’t worked. In 1975, America spent $13.1 billion on Medicaid. Today, it spends $639 billion. Overall, “public health” spending went from $200 billion in 1988 to today’s $1.6 trillion, with a “T” (source: healthsystemtracker.com).

Police departments, too, have enjoyed the gravy train, with the militarization of local forces so that standard gear resembles Black Ops from a Rambo flick.  THE PLANET agrees that policing needs to be restructured, with money but better spent. Take Pittsfield … please.

We could point to many examples of PPD overkill. One would be the Mobile Command Center or, as THE PLANET has dubbed it, the H.M.S Titanic. This monstrous stumbo set Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski back a bundle only to show up at photo-ops and birthday parties. Otherwise, it sits (sat?) rusting in the Intermodal parking lot. Riot gear became the fashion the last time America lost its collective mind, immediately after Sept. 11, 2001. George Bush’s lucky day turned into the horrendous Patriot Act, an erosion of civil liberties, and massive equipping of police departments, even in Hooterville, where crime is when Uncle Joe cheats Sam Drucker at checkers.

How militarized does a police force need to be?

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With Pittsfield budget “deliberations” under way, “Defund the Police” has put the squeeze on local Democrats, who as a rule must goose-step to the party bosses.

What do councilors have to say? Will they side with the Black Lives Matter hysteria and cut the cops or do they collapse under pressure from the union? What will they do about the police allocation?

THE PLANET predicted before any response that the union would come first. Police, fire, and especially schools are the untouchable third rails of city politics. With the current political “day after,” the one that has put decent citizens in a nuclear winter for a generation, the answer will always be MORE MONEY.  Will any city leader prove us wrong? That said, THE PLANET would like to see additional funds for the police coming from the bloated, mismanaged school department. Take $17 million out of the school budget. Give half to the police to hire more officers and the other half to Mark Jane and Joe Kapanski for tax relief. It’s their money in the first place.

THE PLANET has contacted the mayor and all 11 councilors. Eight of the 11 councilors, answered, as did the mayor and the chief.

We begin with a few housekeeping notes:

• HELEN MOON (Ward 1), DINA GUIEL-LAMPISI (6), and YUKI COHEN (at-large) didn’t bother to comment. Do you see a pattern there, or do we have to draw you a map? THE PLANET accepts no excuse for the gals not bothering with the public and not doing their job. Shame on them.
• MAYOR LINDA TYER wrote to us: “I’d like to respond to your inquiries here but I might not be able to make your deadline.  My schedule has been jammed this week and this requires a thoughtful response.  I’ll try to get something to you today but will you accept something later?” We accepted the mayor’s offer and will publish her remarks when we receive them.

THE PLANET will present the council responses in order of receipt. We present then verbatim, in full, except for material off the record, so you can get the flavor of how the writer’s mind works.

First, though, Chief Wynn:

CHIEF MICHAEL WYNN, PITTSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT

Please find my responses to your inquires below. Thank you.

VALENTI: In light of the crime problem in Pittsfield, what do you think about defunding the police department?

WYNN: The Pittsfield Police Department’s budget is already very lean. Approximately 90% of our budget is allocated to personnel. As I’ve stated in the past, we’re already understaffed for a City of our size and call volume. Cuts to our proposed budget would necessitate loss of personnel slots and prevent us from reaching adequate staffing. This could only have a negative impact on public safety.

VALENTI: Do you think it’s a good idea? Yes or no, and why?

WYNN: As you stated, it is unclear what “Defund the Police” actually means. While I agree that social programs and education need more resources, I don’t believe those resources should come from public safety. We partner with our School District and various local agencies to deal with issues like homelessness, family violence, substance abuse, mental illness and many more. I’d like to increase those partnerships, not lessen them. Reducing our budget would also lessen our ability to support these partners.

VALENTI: If yes, can you give me your thoughts on what you think that will look like? Would you anticipate pushback from the PPD union?

WYNN: I can’t speak for our Union, but I suspect they would oppose any force reduction. Our officers are already overworked. They are subject to frequent shift holdovers and forced overtime. Exhaustion and their ability to have adequate time off-duty are always concerns of mine.

VALENTI: If no, should the police budget be increased, decreased, flat?

WYNN: For the past 13 years I’ve advocated for getting the PPD to a staffing complement of 110-120 officers. I continue to believe that is the right size for this Department.

VALENTI: Irrespective of your yes or no on defunding being a good idea, do you recommend any restructuring of the department? If yes, what? If no, why not? That could be done without defunding.

WYNN: We engage in restructuring the Department on an ongoing basis. In the last couple of years, we created a new Division and elevated a civilian manager into a command position to put internal finance in the hands of a trained subject matter expert and put an experienced police officer back in operations. We will continue to do this as our budget allows.

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PETER WHITE, AT-LARGE

I hope you and yours are doing well during these trying times.

I do not support efforts to defund the Pittsfield Police Department. When looking at this budget I listen to what other Councilors and residents have to say and what the conditions are in our community. Unless there is a sound operational reason or budget constraint that warrants a decrease I will not be looking to reduce the PPD budget. I do not think it is a good idea given the needs of our community to defund our Police Department. I do believe that policies can always be updated or clarified as needed and if additional resources are needed we should try to find the funding in the existing budget or apply for grants.

I think the Pittsfield Police Department budget should be what Pittsfield needs to handle quality of life issues and the crime activities we face given the funding we can reasonably allocate. I do not see that happening with a flat or level funded budget, however I am open to listening to how a decrease would impact operations. We also still have some neighborhoods asking for more walking beats, which would require an increase.

As far as restructuring the Pittsfield Police Department goes I have reviewed many of their policies and have worked with Officers on different projects, which gives me confidence in the current structure. I do think the current structure has the flexibility for additional and evolving programs and partnerships. I have been pleased by the addition of a Mental Health Clinician from the Crisis Team working closer with the Pittsfield Police Department.

I would like to see this Mental Health Clinician/ Police partnership expanded along with continuing the Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) with NAMI. I do think having a dedicated Traffic Division funded would be a benefit to the City. I also wish that the Federal Government would reinvest in Community Policing Grants. I also appreciate every grant dollar many of our departments do bring into the City for additional resources.

Overall I believe that changes should happen through input and conversations over the course of the year, not as a last minute effort because of the budget hearings. All departments should reflect the needs of the community. I appreciate the open lines of communication I have had with our Police Department and other City Departments and the responses I get to my questions.

KEVIN MORANDI, WARD 2

ANTHONY MAFFUCCIO, WARD 7

In my personal opinion I believe that [defunding] would be the most irresponsible decision anyone could due at a time when we have increases crime, increase  mental health issues, increase addition use and many other issues as we conform to a new normal especially in this day and age with the wellbeing of human health at state.

No I so not [thinks it’s a good idea to defund] we need to realize all this issues I have outlined above and understanding that this would not be the proper way to achieve safe and healthy communities.

I believe that the more money we put into public safety only betters a community weather it be the Police Department or Fire Department to maintain a healthy and safe community. When talking about the Police themselves we need to re-envision public safety by allocating more money for a stronger more vibrant force by hiring more Police Officers to lighten the load of our staffing problems and over working our fine men and women who work day in and day out sacrificing there lives for our wellbeing. I do not believe that we have the problems that larger cities do in regards to police brutality because of the strong leadership in Chief Wynn and training they perform.

PETER MARCHETTI, AT-LARGE

This would be much easier to answer if I understood completely what defunding police fully means.

1- under current circumstances I do not believe that defunding the police department would be a good idea. We need to focus on the root of the issues that are causing crime and I would expect poverty, drug addiction and mental health issues are some of the main causes.

2- restructuring the department – I do think that some reforms could be a good idea especially as it involves addiction and mental health issues but I think they would need to be developed and analyzed for both effectiveness and cost.

EARL PERSIP, AT-LARGE

Regarding the Pittsfield Police Department budget, as it is now, we are budgeted for 99 police officers. We currently have 85. Historically, we have struggled to fill these positions, so budgeting for an additional 14 officers is optimistic. That said, our biggest fiscal problem is we can’t currently cover the shifts we need without paying overtime. The overtime cost is ultimately what is hurting the budget. This budget calls for 1.5 million in overtime spending.

I do believe investing in social programs would be beneficial to the citizens of Pittsfield, particularly low income residents and people of color. I believe the best way to fund these programs would be to get police overtime under control. The only way to do that would be to staff the department properly so we can cover shifts without overtime. As noted above, that’s an ongoing battle.

I know the national talk for some is to “Defund The Police.” Right now, besides overtime, I don’t see our police budget as a big concern. I believe Pittsfield does a good job of creating a balanced budget, allocating dollars in good ways that fund education, safety and resident services.   

CHRIS CONNELL, WARD 4

NICK CACCAMO, WARD 3

Thanks for taking the time to write about this issue. To be honest, I’m still engaged in a deep drive into ‘defund the police.’ I’ve been collecting resources, listening to podcasts, reviewing the literature on the topic– and will continue to do so right up until the budget discussion. It’s a policy proposal that very much has an amorphous definition and scope, it means something different depending on who you talk to or hear from. Sorting through alternatives, weighing tradeoffs, and make decisions takes time. 

Without a data source I have to reject your statement “in light of the crime problem in Pittsfield.” You’ve offered a single qualitative assessment of the city without supporting evidence. The PPD fields a range of calls and without the longitudinal data we can’t accurately assess the trends. 

Maybe ‘defunding the police’ looks more like a system where treat response to calls differently depending on the request for service. Police departments could code the volume of calls they receive overtime to development a more detailed understanding of their community’s need for response. Like with teachers, schools hire specialized personal to teach science, math, or social studies, etc– we don’t except all graduates of college education programs to be able to master multiple subjects. Perhaps, the police response for a car accident looks different then a call for noice complaint. A wide array of specialized officers with  specialized skill sets, more than just a one size fits all police officer. 

There’s a lot of work to do on fully understanding this issue. Many organizations have be promoting this work for some time now and their ideas warrant debate. A genuine policy widow (the intersection of a problem, polices, & politics) is open. True reform opportunities are rare and the chance to redress grievances shouldn’t be overlooked by local leadership. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

PATRICK KAVEY, WARD 5

When the news and our social media feeds were flooded with the tragedy that unfolded in the City of Minneapolis, a video of the murder of George Floyd, I found myself at a loss. A loss for words, a loss for what to do. I had conversations with my family, my friends and my colleagues. I took time to process what I saw. Even now, two weeks after one of our own was murdered in broad daylight by the people who are supposed to protect us, I have had a hard time finding the words. I have had a hard time putting into words how upset I am that our country is still battling with systemic racism and social inequality. I strongly condemn the actions of those four officers and the actions other officers have similarly taken in the past. My heart aches for the black and brown people of this country who live in constant fear of being attacked. As sad as I may feel, I understand that this is where we are as a nation and that it is my job to do something about it. The seriousness of the issues facing our society need to be addressed. Regardless of your race, your gender, your sexual orientation, your religion etc. America is supposed to be a nation that embraces the differences that make us all who we are. I will do everything I can to continue to support the diversity that is the American populous. I will continue to stand up to hate and protect marginalized groups. I will continue to defend the rights of my American brothers and sisters.

As we are all aware, the words “defund the police” have spread across social media. Protest across the country in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have reignited conversations about the role of police in our society. I believe this is an important conversation, that needs to be had. The larger conversation is more than simply taking money away from police departments. The larger conversation is about reallocating those funds into social programs. The people who respond to crisis in our communities should be the people who are best equipped to deal with those crises. The history of law enforcement results in black people being killed by police at a rate of 2.8 times higher than that among white people. In cases when police use lethal force, black victims are more likely to be unarmed than white or Hispanic victims. The incarceration rate alone of black individuals should have been enough for us all to agree that something is seriously wrong with our justice system. A large issue I see with policing in recent decades is that law enforcement continues to play an expanding role in addressing societal problems such as responding to drug overdoses or mental health crises. Instead of getting to the root of the problem, some departments are used to criminalize these individuals. The Pittsfield Police Department takes a more proactive approach than many of the other 18,000 departments across the country. Pittsfield has a social worker that responds with the Pittsfield Police Department in certain instances involving domestic violence and mental health issues. It is an area of our Police Department that the city should continue to expand. I believe more departments and more municipalities should follow suit. Across the country we are seeing municipalities move funding away from their police departments towards youth initiatives and social services.  I would agree with the public sentiment in certain cases. Look at the city of Los Angeles for example. Los Angeles has a long history of racial tensions resulting in police violence against minorities. The Los Angeles Police Department has a VERY LARGE police budget that is roughly 30% of the city’s total budget. The Mayor is moving to cut the police funding by $150M, which would lower the police departments budget to roughly 6% of the city’s total budget. Currently, the Pittsfield Police Departments budget is 5% of our city’s total budget. Our highest funded budget is our school department. Our school departments budget is roughly 40% of our city’s budget. 

As far as defunding our own police department, I don’t feel it is appropriate at this time. With that being said, during an economic downturn I don’t think it’s appropriate to increase funding either. I do however believe there is always room for improvement to better serve our community. Our police department is decades ahead of other police departments across this country when it comes to fair and impartial policing. In 2015, with guidance from the Federal Government, the Pittsfield Police Department began implementing the 21^st century policing standards. We were one of the first cities in the country to begin this implementation process. When this report was released, our police department was almost already in compliance with 70% of what the Federal Government had suggested they implement. They have been working since then to implement the remainder of the guidelines. The recommendations call for law enforcement agencies to put in place programs designed to promote positive interactions by building trust and legitimacy between the police and communities; to increase policy and oversite, to adopt and use new technologies to enhance public trust and public safety; to provide opportunities for additional training and education on a range of topics, including leadership, for police at all levels; to have in place policies that prioritize de-escalation and avoid provocative tactics and to increase officer safety and wellness. The two overarching recommendations are to examine all areas of criminal justice and propose reforms; as a corollary to this effort, the task force also recommends that new policy take a comprehensive and inclusive look at community-based initiatives addressing core issues such as poverty, education, and health and safety. 

Here is the final report: https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf

Here are the implantation guidelines: https://noblenational.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/President-Barack-Obama-Task-Force-on-21st-Century-Policing-Implementation-Guide.pdf

Something that I think is very important to remember is that due to civil service law, a lot of the issues we’re seeing with disciplining officers are extremely hard on our local officials. For example, our police chief can’t legally fire an officer without a hearing. He is currently allowed to suspend the officer for five days and then has to put them back on his payroll. Unfortunately, a lot of those cases end in arbitration. In order for proper oversite of officers much more has to happen then what we are capable of at the local level. We need sweeping policy changes at the federal level. We need our federal partners to understand that we cannot be passive in order to achieve the changes this country so desperately needs. Fixing racism is not a task for black people to solve. It is up to us to dismantle the systemic racism plaguing our communities. 

The Pittsfield Police Department is by no means perfect but it continues to look at policy changes and reform to better serve our residents and keep our city safe. It should be used as a model for other departments on how to create strong, collaborative, trusting relationships within the communities they serve. Our city aims to have a police department that is reflective of our residents and of our values. We must continue to train our officers on crisis intervention. We must continue to focus on restorative justice and ending the school to prison pipeline. We must continue to communicate and show empathy towards the community we serve. We need to remember that the issue of race in America is much more than policing. It is about structural powers that favor some over others, which is evident in the vast disparities of wealth, access to health care, incarceration rates and so much more. It is about our country’s history of devaluing black lives. Our country was founded on an experiment in self-government and as a test on the ideology that all human beings are created equal. Alongside our ideals of freedom and equality, which have set in motion freedom movements ever since our founding, our country developed an ideology of white supremacy. Now we must decide which of our traditions will live on and which will die. We must now look within ourselves and work tirelessly to rid our great nation of this sickness that is racism. America is no place for hate.

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Meanwhile, The Pittsfield Police Department supplied THE PLANET with this information concerning another pair of altar boys  serving High Mass in Pittsfield:

Members of The Pittsfield Police Department Detective Bureau have been investigating a theft of computers from Berkshire Healthcare Systems that occurred several months ago.  The computers were new, in-the-box and had no personal information or organizational information from Berkshire Healthcare Systems on them. 

As a result of the investigation, two suspects have been identified as 33 year old Pittsfield resident Robert McBain and 33 year old Eric Guerrin with a last known address in Cheshire MA.  

On Wednesday 6/3/2020 PPD Investigators arrested McBain at a hotel in Pittsfield on a felony warrant charging him with Breaking and Entering in the Nighttime with Intent to Commit a Felony and Larceny over $1200.  At the time of his arrest, McBain was found to be in possession of a large amount of cocaine and was additionally charged with Trafficking in Cocaine.  

There is currently an active arrest warrant for Eric Guerrin whose whereabouts is unknown.  Anyone who has information about Guerrin’s whereabouts, or who wishes to provide information regarding this case, is asked to contact Detective Losaw at 413-448-9700 x572.  Information can also be provided anonymously via the Detective Bureau Tip Line at 413-448-9706, or by texting PITTIP and your message to TIP411 (847411).

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Have a great weekend everybody.

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“It’s not the high price of talent that bothers me. It’s the high price of mediocrity” — Donald Turpentine.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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