Schuyler holds law enforcement meeting

SCHUYLER COUNTY--As part of the police reform passed by the state in the wake of multiple killings of unarmed civilians nationwide by law enforcement, the Schuyler County Sheriff's Department held a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 12. During the meeting, in which Sheriff Bill Yessman discussed possible issues and reforms, the county law enforcement official said racial profiling does not occur in his department.
"We do live in a very safe community...across the board 1 percent of our population is black, five percent of our arrests were black, but that is only 13 people total and none, I believe, received jail time," Yessman said. "We are not racially profiling people."
County Director of Planning Kristin VanHorn took time to go over the results of a survey sent out to the community, which was also mandated by the state, asking for their thoughts on local police.
"We had 180 respondents with representation from the entire county," VanHorn said. "Of those 180 only 49 respondents said they had any contact with the department in the last 12 months."
While an indication of how safe Schuyler County is, VanHorn said those numbers also represent an opportunity for the police to perform more community outreach.
"Maybe we can find ways to interact with the community to change those numbers," VanHorn said.
VanHorn also said the survey showed 54 percent of respondents said they were confident that if they had a complaint against the police department that it would be heard fairly.
"I think that is a good sign for our community," VanHorn said.
VanHorn said that all survey results will be made available for public review on the county website.
"We got a lot of really great feedback... with really interesting ideas including community meetings to discuss concerns or problems in various areas like a town hall or annual event where people can get direct answers to their concerns," VanHorn said.
As it relates to the mandated reforms, VanHorn said the survey generated multiple areas or ideas county officials can work and expand upon.
As it relates to expanded training, patrols or different tactics, Yessman consistently brought up the inherent issue of financial constraints.
"There are always budget constraints," Yessman said.
All policies at the department are under review, including use of force," Yessman said.
To that end, Yessman said the department's use of force policy is up to date and in line with state requirements including banning the use of chokeholds.
Discussing the calls related to mental health issues, Yessman stated department officers have been engaging in de-escalation training.
The meeting became momentarily contentious during the public comment portion, where Schuyler resident Don Zuccarino disputed Yessman's contention that no excessive force complaints have been recently filed regarding department officers. According to Zuccarino, he himself filed a complaint and said Yessman's data did not include that reality. County Administrator Tim O'Hearn, who also attended the meeting, said officials would not respond directly to any questions or statements posed during the public comment section.
At the end of the meeting, officials came together saying that they hoped the result of the reform would continue to help make Schuyler County a place people want to live.
"Tonight's meeting was valuable... and I want to thank you for everyone's participation," O'Hearn said.
O'Hearn added the department is currently formulating its reform plan and it is estimated the County Legislature will exceed state requirements by approving it during its March meeting, well before the April 1 deadline.