PRESS RELEASE
August 11, 2020
Contact: Connie Conway
(631) 702-1743
The Southampton Town Board has passed a resolution to create a Community Law Enforcement Review Committee (CLERC). It follows the request by the Governor for all local municipalities to review policing procedures after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer prompted a National outcry in the form of numerous protests around the Country during the Black Lives Matters movement..
CLERC will be made up of members of the Town Board, Police Department, Town Attorney’s Office and respected members of the community. CLERC will undertake a comprehensive review of current police force deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, practices, and develop a plan relative to current practices, continued modernization, innovation and modifications.
The new committee will help the Town Southampton review police practices including the “use of force”, to ensure that our protocols were optimal, unbiased, and respectful of human dignity. It follows an internal review of the department procedures that was started several years ago.
The new Committee will include:
Supervisor Jay Schneiderman
Town of Southampton Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni
Town of Southampton Chief of Police Steven Skrynecki
Southampton Town Attorney James Burke
Town of Southampton Deputy Town Attorney Christine J. Preston
Town of Southampton Lt. James Kiernan
Chairperson Town of Southampton Anti-Bias Committee Chairperson
Kevin MacDonald, Hampton Bays Citizen Advisory Committee
Pastor Keith Iovino Blaze Church, Flanders
Minerva Perez President of OLA
Fr. Constantine Lazarakis
Rev. Tisha Williams
Member (TBD) Shinnecock Tribal Council
Bradley Magill Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
Public Defender Attorney (TBD)|
Lisa Votino Community Activist
Member(TBD) Local chapter of NAACP
The Committee is expected to issue a draft report by April 2021.