Albany mayoral candidates consider future of Community Police Review Commission

The three declared candidates for Albany mayor are weighing the future of the city’s Community Policing Review Board.

The Community Police Review Commission has a shaky relationship with Mayor Kathy Sheehan, a Democrat who has said she will not seek a fourth term, and Police Chief Eric Hawkins. Local Law J, passed in 2021, gave the committee broad powers, including the ability to conduct its own independent investigations into complaints filed against police officers. Since then, the council has had difficulty obtaining cooperation from the municipal police.

In November 2023, Chief City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs became the top candidate in the 2025 race. Applyrs says if elected mayor, she will work with the council to reduce “some misunderstandings and conflicts.”

“I don’t really know the mayor’s approach or the processes when it comes to working with the CPRB,” Applyrs said. “What I can say from my perspective, and even thinking about how I interact with them now as the city’s chief auditor, we have a good relationship when it comes to the conduct of the affairs of the CPRB. I answer their questions quickly. I understand that they are in a very unique position. Naturally, I think that given that they are a watchdog and they provide a certain level of oversight of cases of police misconduct, that naturally creates a certain level of tension, I think we would be wrong to say that. this does not naturally create a certain level of tension between the two entities. »

Applyrs says there’s more room to have “honest conversations” with the group and she’s up for the challenge.

Candidate Dan Cerutti responded to an email request for comment, in which he cited the recent “New York Times” article on civilian-run police oversight boards. The newspaper reported that Hawkins told his officers not to cooperate with the Albany CPRB on a particular case.

“There appears to be an inconsistency between the 2021 law and the police union contract,” Cerutti said. “This in itself is troubling because I believe this would have been resolved before the law was enacted by the common council and the mayor.”

He added that he would carry out a review of the entire agreement.

Albany County Legislator Carolyn McLaughlin, who represents the 1st District, decided to run for mayor again after losing in the 2017 Democratic primary. McLaughlin is a former longtime Common Council Speaker.

“As the architect of the Police Community Review Board, if I were mayor, I hoped to re-establish a working relationship with the review board, without trying to model it after the current mayor,” he said. McLaughlin said. “The commission was created to provide citizens as well as the police department with an opportunity to feel that they are getting justice and that their causes are being heard. We must follow what the law says regarding how the commission has operated over the past several years. years, I mean, this is a law that was originally written in 2000. Here we are 24 years later. Everything changes over time and we should be willing to have conversations that make this a current board that meets the goals of a current board. Community Police Review Board.

“We hope that whoever becomes the new mayor will understand the importance of our role and will strive to work with us and help us fulfill our mission, you know, for the good of the city,” said John Levendosky, president of CPRB investigations.

“Our relationship with APD has become more contentious than we hoped,” said board secretary Paul Collins-Hackett. “As it is, investigations take way too long, you know, there are appointments that you know are not kept, investigators have to do tons of traveling, it’s such a hassle. waste of time, which ultimately means waste of time. taxpayers’ money. And that’s not at all what we want to see when we’re working on a limited budget, as is the case now. »

The mayoral primary will take place in June 2025.