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Youngstown council presses for clarity after community policing assignments changed during transition
Summary
Council members at a Jan. 22 safety committee meeting said a letter issued after the police chief’s transition changed community-policing assignments without prior consultation and pressed city officials for a written plan defining officers’ ward duties and accountability.
Chair Jimmy Hughes convened the Youngstown City safety committee on Jan. 22 and opened a heated discussion about recent changes to community-policing assignments that council members said were issued by administration letter without prior consultation.
Council members including Julius Oliver and Amber White told the committee they received a directive changing how community police are assigned and said the change reduced officers permanently assigned to individual wards. "We get a letter saying that no discussion. This is what's gonna happen," Hughes said, arguing the letter conflicted with expectations set under the previous administration.
Law Department attorney Joe Fritz told the committee it should avoid discussing overall police staffing numbers in public because the city is in the…
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