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Syracuse activists call for demilitarizing police, declaring racism public health crisis

Tom Magnarelli
/
WRVO Public Media
Julio Urrutia of the Syracuse Peace Council speaks at a rally at Syracuse City Hall.

The Syracuse Peace Council and the Pan African Community of Central New York are calling for the demilitarization of police. Activists say the killing of George Floyd has exposed major issues of policing in the country.

Standing with supporters on the steps of Syracuse City Hall on Wednesday, Julio Urrutia of the Syracuse Peace Council, said President Trump has threatened using active military troops on protesters. Not only does that restrict basic democratic rights, Urrutia said, but the increased militarization of police coupled with racism is a dangerous and volatile mix.

“The systemic problem in the police department and the culture and mentality of creating warriors instead of protectors, has to change,” Urrutia said. “That’s not going to come very easily, because there is a strong resistance by the police, particularly the police union, to any kind of reform.”

Urrutia said the usual response when there are incidents of police brutality is that the perpetrators are a few bad apples.

“No, it’s more than a bad apple, it’s a bad system,” Urrutia said. “We have a bad orchard, in essence. We have to redo this whole orchard. That’s not to be anti-police.”

Charles Anderson, the president of the Pan African Community of Central New York, said he congratulates the thousands of people that came to a massive protest against police brutality in Syracuse on Saturday. He said the older generation needs to listen closely to the demands of young people.

“Because they are our future,” Anderson said. “We want a country where everyone is equal and we don’t have to worry about the police being crueler to them than to other people.”

Activists are calling for cuts to the military budget, and ending the distribution of military equipment to police. And they want racism declared a public health crisis, which has happened in cities across the country.

Tom Magnarelli is a reporter covering the central New York and Syracuse area. He joined WRVO as a freelance reporter in 2012 while a student at Syracuse University and was hired full time in 2015. He has reported extensively on politics, education, arts and culture and other issues around central New York.