Town Hall Examines Police, Community Relations

Speakers advocate for non-violent conflict resolution, additional first-responders

By Tom Leturgey
The Tube City Almanac
November 13, 2024
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

McKeesport Council Member Amber Webb speaks during a town hall meeting Nov. 2 at Jacob Woll Pavilion. (Tom Leturgey photo for Tube City Almanac)

Relationships between local police and community residents — especially Black residents — are burdened by a legacy of racism and stereotypes, said speakers at a town-hall meeting organized by Take Action Advocacy Group.

But most speakers at the event, held Nov. 2 at Jacob Woll Pavilion, stopped short of using language such as “defund the police,” instead arguing that resources should be allocated for other first-responders and organizations to respond to mental-health crises and non-violent situations, and for the use of conflict resolution techniques to resolve neighborhood disputes.

About 20 people attended the event, which included Take Action co-founder and chief executive officer Fawn Walker-Montgomery, McKeesport Council Member Amber Webb, and Autumn Redcross and Margo Hu from Abolitionist Law Center-Court Watch.

Former Duquesne Mayor Nickole Nesby and former Allegheny County Councilwoman Olivia Bennett were among those who also spoke at the meeting.

Walker-Montgomery said it was TAAG’s mission to get involved in small communities outside the city of Pittsburgh when needed and that the group wanted to foster meaningful dialogue with the community.

TAAG, a Black liberation organization in the Mon Valley, was spurred to host the meeting in part by several recent developments in McKeesport, including an ongoing lawsuit against McKeesport and Allegheny County police over the December 2020 manhunt for a suspect in the shooting of a city police officer; charges pending against a former McKeesport police detective accused of misappropriating $1 million from the Fraternal Order of Police; and an investigation by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office into items reportedly missing from the city police evidence locker.

Although the meeting touched on those specific topics, the focus was on broader issues, including the deaths of more than 1,000 people in 2023 who were killed by police officers, including more than 400 who were killed while fleeing from police.

The litany of bad news stories “embarrasses me,” Webb said.

“None of it makes any sense,” said Redcross, founding director of ALC Court Watch and a part-time faculty member of psychology at Point Park University.

Webb said the slogan “defund the police” has become popular but it’s not something she supports.

“I love our police,” she said. But she noted that employing other types of first responders can be beneficial.

Redcross noted that 86 percent of Black Americans surveyed would support creating a new agency of first responders who would specialize in “de-escalating violence and providing mental health and other services that would take over the responsibilities from police.”

Members of the group detailed the history of policing, “slave patrols”, “black codes,” “Jim Crow Laws,” “oppression,” and the “legacy of racism” that are all part of American history.

The group encouraged residents to learn about laws and organizations that can hold bad actors responsible, including the state Ethics Commission and two proposed pieces of federal legislation, the BREATHE Act and the People’s Response Act.

They also touched upon the implementation of police review boards, as well as alternatives to calling the police to resolve neighborhood disagreements, such as elder councils, block captains and mediation.

Organizers had giveaways and food for participants, and also provided T-shirts and literature for those in attendance.

Originally published November 13, 2024.

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