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Data from the Syracuse Police Department shows officers disproportionately stopped Black people in the city over the last year, with Black people accounting for nearly 65% of all stops despite making up about 35% of the population.

The data, which SPD began publishing after a 2020 executive order by Mayor Ben Walsh, spans from the third quarter of 2021 through the second quarter of 2022. It also indicates that the percentage of Black people stopped by SPD dropped from nearly 78% in the second quarter of 2021 to roughly 67.5% in the second quarter of 2022.

Even with the limited amount of data, Michael Sisitzky, an assistant policy director at the New York Civil Liberties Union said the information still indicates a larger pattern in policing practices nationwide.

“(The data) follows patterns that we see, really throughout the state and throughout the country, which is that policing in general disproportionately targets communities of color,” Sisitzsky said. “There really is a pattern that we’ve seen elsewhere, which is police in Syracuse disproportionately stopping and targeting Black people.”

SPD officers also disproportionately used force against Black people, the data shows. Of the 1.4% of SPD stops that resulted in officers using force, 74% of those uses were against Black people.

In the year’s worth of data The D.O. analyzed, roughly 47% of stops were in the Southwest section of the city, about 33% were in the North and 20% were in the Southeast parts of the city.

Lt. Matthew Malinowski of SPD wrote in an email to The Daily Orange that the department is data-driven and deploys resources to the areas that are most affected by crime.

Gary Pieples, a teaching professor at the Syracuse University College of Law and the director of the college’s Criminal Defense Clinic, said there is not enough data available to establish a trend, since the department only began publishing it last year. But he believes its publication is an important step for accountability.

“The importance of having the data is so that it’s not anecdotal, that people talk about how differently people are treated,” Pieples said. “I mean, the city is at least putting the data out there.”

Police departments disproportionately enforce minor infractions — such as a muffler that’s too loud or windows that are tinted too dark — in communities of color and in lower-income neighborhoods, Pieples said.

“It just feels like we’re policing things that aren’t that important, like whether or not your license plate has its light on, that leads to interactions that potentially could create one of these issues that we’re really worried about where somebody gets hurt, or worse, killed,” he said.

The disproportionate stopping of Black people, Pieples said, could be a result of SPD not having a police force that represents the community it serves. Higher tensions between police officers and members of the community can escalate interactions between the two, he said.

“I like when members of the police force are required to live in the community where they’re law enforcement officers,” Pieples said. “I think that’s a healthy step”

Kayla Johnson, a coordinator and organizer at Rebirth SYR, said community policing is one way to limit and de-escalate interactions between police officers and members of the community.

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Johnson said she and fellow Rebirth organizer Hasahn Bloodworth frequently go to police stops as a part of their Cop Watch initiative, which seeks to monitor police behavior during stops. The two have seen police officers use language or take actions that can escalate interactions to the point where officers use force.

“They’ve been using those triggers, whether it’s saying something completely disrespectful or already knowing that individual is maybe intoxicated or a little drunk, and even they make it worse by saying things they know they shouldn’t say,” Johnson said.

In a statement to The D.O., Malinowksi said SPD advocates for de-escalation “where and when possible.” He added that the department has a low number of use of force cases compared to the number of interactions it has with members of the community.

The department has also met its self-imposed target of having 20% of officers complete the department’s crisis intervention training, he added.

Sisitzky said the city should place greater emphasis on addressing the root causes of crime and quality-of-life issues, rather than policing. In the absence of those solutions, officers will continue to over-police Black communities, he said.

“When you have police departments that are focused on low-level enforcement, they tend to go into neighborhoods and go after crimes of poverty,” he said. “They are sent in to address issues that are going after the types of activities that frankly exist everywhere but are only ever criminalized in particular neighborhoods, particular communities.”

Malinowksi told The D.O. that SPD is working on multiple initiatives to improve relations with Black residents, such as hosting multiple monthly engagement events, partnering with the 100 Black Men of Syracuse organization to collaborate on a cadet program and hiring a media company to improve content and branding. The department has its Citizen Academy and an advisory committee to better connect with the community, he added.

Johnson said that she isn’t sure what it will take to see patterns of disproportionate policing change. She feels the department already has extensive resources to address the issue.

“I’m pretty sure we’re probably going to have the same conversation next year, and it might actually go on more than it did last year,” Johnson said. “(Biased policing) is just something that’s embedded in the system.”

Published on September 5, 2022 at 12:53 am

Contact Danny: ddamron@syr.edu | @dannyamron_