The town board public hearing on the Riverhead police reform plan, like the two “listening sessions” held before the plan was released, drew little public comment.
The hearing was held during yesterday afternoon’s town board meeting.
The process of producing the plan was outlined by Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller, who also discussed the results of a survey conducted by the Riverhead Law Enforcement Advisory Panel, which prepared the plan. See prior story, “Riverhead releases its police reform plan” (March 7, 2021.)
“This will be an ongoing kind of plan that over time we will still be in touch with the community, as we always have been, and anything that needs to be changed in the future will be changed in the future,” Hegermiller told the town board.
See: “Riverhead Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan,” below.
Only two speakers from the community weighed in during the public hearing.
Ellen Hoil of Riverhead commented on the lack of diversity among those who completed the survey.
“The respondents don’t reflect the diverse makeup of our community as a whole,” Hoil said.
She said she believes more outreach to those who have “the most to benefit from this reform, the underserved.”
She also said it would be beneficial to have a demographic breakdown for feedback on police encounters . “Unfiltered statistics” would provide a clearer picture of what is happening and the measure of success of reform measures, Hoil said.
The plan should also include specific steps for diversifying recruitment of police officers, she said. “It is not enough to say that you will increase outreach. What is the model that would be used? It has to be written into the plan and I don’t see it.”
Hoil also advocated for the plan to include specific steps toward implementing body cameras in the Riverhead Police Department.
The second speaker was Michele Lynch of Riverhead. She questioned what role the advisory committee played in drafting the plan. She said someone she knows who is listed as a member of the advisory committee “had not idea that they’ve been on that.” Lynch did not identify the person.
She said in speaking to people listed as being on the advisory committee, she learned that they did not have an active role in drafting the plan.
Also, the people responding to the survey “did not reflect the diversity of our town,” Lynch said.
“I would like to see, really significant plans to diversify the police department,” Lynch said.
The record of the public hearing was left open for written comments to be submitted to the town clerk by 4:30 p.m. on March 26. Comments can be submitted via email to wilhelm@townofriverheadny.gov, by postal mail to Riverhead Town Clerk, 200 Howell Avenue, Riverhead NY 11901, or by fax to 631-208-4034.
The police reform plan, prepared in compliance with a June 2020 executive order of the governor, must be filed with the state budget office no later than Thursday, April 1.
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