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Residents call for independent probe and greater transparency after 77‑year‑old pedestrian killed on Broadway
Summary
Multiple residents and Complete Streets advocates called on the Kingston Police Department and city leaders for an independent investigation and clearer reporting after the Dec. 27 death of 77‑year‑old Gary White; speakers said the police initial reporting contained inconsistencies about whether he was in a crosswalk.
Several residents used the public comment period at the Jan. 7 Kingston Common Council meeting to press for an independent investigation and more transparent police reporting after the Dec. 27 death of 77‑year‑old Gary White on Broadway.
Elekandra, who identified herself as a member of the Complete Streets Advisory Council, told the council she had concerns about the police handling of the case and about reporting inconsistencies. She said published police information stated both that White was not in a crosswalk and that he was crossing at the corner of Orchard and Broadway, two assertions she said cannot both be true. She also said witnesses who provided contact information were not subsequently interviewed and that a driver in the crash was not ticketed. “Gary White’s life mattered,” she said, and asked the council to request an unbiased independent investigation.
Other residents at the meeting echoed those concerns. Rose Quinn said the city and county officials had not been sufficiently transparent and urged that the New York State Police accident‑reconstruction team be asked to review the case. Quinn said she and others had held a vigil at 300 Broadway and criticized the pace and scope of official communications about the incident.
Tanya Garment asked that the Kingston Police Department’s public blotter include clear notation when a vehicle collision involves a pedestrian so activists and the public can track incidents and respond. Several speakers said the incident was not widely reported by local media until activists raised it with reporters.
A member of the public urged that the police policy on impairment testing be reviewed; Elekandra said an impairment test had not been completed in this case and asked whether that should remain discretionary.
At the meeting’s close, Alderman Michelle Hirsch read biographical details for Gary C. White, 77, and announced a memorial service to be held at New Central Baptist Church on Jan. 10 at 11 a.m.; she described White as a longtime Kingston resident and community member.
No formal council action on an independent investigation was recorded in the meeting minutes or on the meeting floor during the Jan. 7 session; speakers asked the council and law‑enforcement leadership to take up the matter and to provide clearer public reporting.
