Blogger's Note: James Whitney lives and works in Allentown, and broke the story about Allentown City Council person Ce-Ce Gerlach's decision to drop off an underage teen at a homeless tent city. Here's his latest.
Under the legislation, county 911 dispatchers would be required to send unarmed social workers (without police) to respond to various calls, including domestic disputes, suspicious individuals, and mental health crises, among others.
When asked about the authors of the legislation, Gerlach simply stated "it was written by lawyers.” According to the WFP, the lawyers Gerlach was referring to are with the Abolitionist Law Center, which is committed to advancing movements to defund and abolish the police.
The legislation does allow for police intervention when explicitly requested by the caller. This provision raises concerns about potential biases held by private citizens, as they would have the power to decide whether their calls warrant police or social worker involvement. When this concern was brought up with the WFP representative, they acknowledged it as a valid point for consideration and stated they needed to consult with Gerlach on how to proceed.
A representative for Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk’s office, as well as Allentown Police Chief Charlie Roca, told Ramblings they were unsure who wrote the ordinance. Chief Roca says he isn’t surprised that it was written by an organization committed to defunding the police and that the provision in the ordinance that prohibit retired officers from working as Mobile Crisis Response team members makes more sense, given the ordinance's authors.
According to an open letter written by the Abolitionist Law Center, and published on their website, they “seek the demise of police in their entirety.”
And the Chief offers nothing? as usual.
ReplyDeleteAt best the chief hides and plays the morale card.
The general vibe is that one has to praise the police and they might do their job if they feel up to it.
Also how dare the public judge an officer in "Yosemite Sam" mode, in such cases the police themselves can investigate themselves and invent novel excuses for poor behavior by those officers.
The Chief does not get that there is a problem with officers using the "obey or die" rules in every scenario.
If he was to admit to a problem the officers under his command would view him as hurting the blue snowflakes and that is not allowed.
Let the Chief show everything is fine by showing how much de-escalation training has helped everyone.
Let's hear the successful stories of such activities.
After all the police could use the good PR generated and start the process of police earning respect again.
Justan what’s up?
DeleteAllentown deserves to be led by a bunch of Third Worlders being led on a leash by woke lawyers drinking Bud Light and complimenting each other on how evolved they are compared to the hillbilly suburbanites who make the rules where they chose to build their million dollar fortresses. I don't visit Allentown for fear of my life. I used to regularly attend concerts and Pigs and Phantoms games before the CoViD nonsense. It's just too violent and city leaders seem to like it that way. It's like Back To The Future II when Hill Valley was taken over by the Biff clan, turning it into a dark and violent and hopeless place. #BuildAWallAroundAllentown
ReplyDeleteI live in Allentown and I choose to remain optimistic and would prefer to call my town bright, peaceful and full of hope. Instead of fearing for my life, I enjoy living a more sustainable lifestyle and I embrace the diversity in the City. With diversity comes other cultural norms and different viewpoints, but I trust the Citywide voters will reject this pending ballot referendum soundly. Anonymous 6:43 sounds so bitter and pessimistic, why not try to be positive, look at the bright side and try to show empathy towards different people with different backgrounds?
ReplyDeleteIt's about violence and safety not race.
DeleteWhat the hell are you smoking? Must be strong stuff.
Deletethe most dangerous call a cop can take is a domestic dispute. There is emotion involved and can turn ugly bery quickly. To send a social worker is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. They should send Ce Ce first and have her step up to the plate
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of police departments that are having social workers respond alongside police officers for many types of calls. That is currently being done in Allentown. What makes this proposal different is that there would be a requirement that the social workers respond INSTEAD of police. I can't imagine that there are that many social workers who would be willing to step in the middle of a messy domestic fight or a potentially violent mentally ill person report without police backup. Domestic fights turn out to be some of the dangerous calls for police officers.
ReplyDeleteI did a word search on google for some key phrases and was surprised that the proposed measure was not copied from another municipality. Apparently, no other city is doing this.
ReplyDelete...and we're considering giving the $1.5 million COVID lockdown hoax money to felon drug dealer and rabid police defunding agitator Convict Hasshan Batts.
ReplyDelete6:18: Can we do away with the myth that police are out trying to murder anyone, including people of color? That is not backed up by any reliable statistic. Yes, there are occasional cases of deaths as the result of police misconduct (by officers of multiple races and towards people of multiple races) but those are exceedingly rare, and the police in those cases are punished according to law.
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that one is FAR more likely to be killed or seriously injured by a criminal than by a police officer.
Please review any of the homicides in the city over the past few years, including incidents where police used deadly force, and tell me which ones are the result of negligent police action.
We need more police, not more social workers, and a more serious attitude towards those committing crimes. The sooner we realize that the sooner our crime rates will go back down.
All true. Why don't people believe this?
DeleteWe should have the right to know who is attempting to legislate our lives and they should be required to tell us!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking those lawyers didn't realize that the City doesn't control the 9-1-1 operations, and supplied a form ordinance to the circulators.
ReplyDeleteWhether that is a fatal flaw keeping it off the ballot remains to be seen. If not, it may be unenforceable against the County.
CeCe ran the spoiler write-in campaign for Ray, back when Nat Hymen was running against Pawlowski. It was then I realize how politically cunning and dishonest she was. She’s the smartest and hardest working politician in Allentown. Unfortunately she’s also the most depraved. The morning call needs to stop protecting her.
ReplyDeleteCeCe Gerlach needs to end her crusade against cops and start going after the slumlords that are taking advantage of our city.
ReplyDeleteOne should ask CeCe. Should she have turned the child over to an unarmed social worker rather than a homeless encampment?
ReplyDelete6.18
ReplyDelete" Yes, there are occasional cases of deaths as the result of police misconduct (by officers of multiple races and towards people of multiple races) but those are exceedingly rare, and the police in those cases are punished according to law."
try
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/daniel-shaver-shooting-ex-arizona-police-officer-not-guilty-murder-n827641
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Daniel_Shaver
"The department agreed to reimburse Brailsford for medical expenses related to his post-traumatic stress disorder -- the result of his shooting of Shaver and the resultant criminal trial. The reinstatement allowed Brailsford to apply for "accidental disability" experienced during the course of work. As a result, Brailsford was unanimously approved to be retired on medical grounds. Brailsford was also given a pension of $2,500 per month. The fact that Brailsford was ultimately medically retired instead of remaining fired was only revealed to the public in July 2019.
What about it?
DeleteThe comment made by 9:24 was spot on. Having dealt with a mh crises in my family, crisis intervention, ems and the police all worked together to get the person the help they needed. They are ALL valuable, much needed members of our community. Sending mh workers into crisis situations alone is dangerous given the unknown things they may face. Having mh workers and police work together in these situations is the optimal solution.
ReplyDelete