January 8, 2015
Police to attend cultural diversity training
Local law enforcement officials will attend cultural diversity training on Tuesday at SUNY Cortland, a day-long affair that will focus on reducing prejudice, preventing violence and resolving conflicts.
Fifteen city police officers will attend the training, as well as officers from the Cortland County Sheriff’s Department. Campus police from both SUNY Cortland and Tompkins Cortland Community College will also attend the training, put on through the National Coalition Building Institute.
Noelle Chaddock Paley, who organized the training, is the director of multicultural life and diversity at SUNYCortland.
Chaddock Paley said this is the second time the training has been held and she is pleased so many officers will be attending the event.
“We got a lot out of the first one,” Chaddock Paley said. “This is part of their ongoing professional development. These are folks that are trying to do the work around being good stewards in our community.”
Retired Seattle, Washington, Police Chief Fabienne Brooks and Guillermo Lopez, co-director of the NCBI’s law enforcement program, will be leading discussions. Chaddock said that since Brooks and Lopez are both people of color, their life experience is something this next round of officers can benefit from.
During Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, Police Chief F. Michael Catalano noted city officers have attended the training in the past and he wanted different officers to participate in the training last year but did not have the money in the budget.
He added he thinks the training should help officers better understand issues of diversity and law enforcement.
“Based on recent events within the last several months in our country, it’s money, I think, well spent,” Catalano said.
The council voted to allocate $5,000 from its contingency funding for officers to attend the training this year.
Mayor Brian Tobin did not attend the meeting as he was out of town, but he said Wednesday there’s a good chance the total amount allocated will not be used.
During the meeting, Alderman Clif Dutcher (R-5th Ward) voted in opposition to the motion, saying by voting to pay for the training, the city was “questioning their integrity,” referring to police officers.
He said the motion suggests residents and the council do not have enough faith in police to perform their duties.
“I don’t understand why with all of the extensive training ... why we need to spend another $5,000 for training these people to do the job,” Dutcher said. “I (have) 100 percent confidence in our police force to do that job and to do it morally ... without training from the college.”
But Catalano disagreed, saying police are always honing their skills and the training is something that will help officers do that while looking at their job from a different point of view.
“It’s always good to see something from another angle as a reminder,” Catalano said. “You have to be proficient, you have to keep things up and I think this (training) is where that comes into play.”
Tobin said the training is something he had been discussing last summer with Chaddock. He said it does not come in response to the deaths of two unarmed black men at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, in August and in Staten Island last month.
Tobin also applauded the officers, Catalano and the council for taking the initiative and looking to improve the police department and communityrelations.
“It’s not mandatory training,” Tobin said. “We’re doing this because it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing for the officers because it’s a good thing for the community.”
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