This one is tomorrow, Tuesday May 19th at P.S. duPont. Please come out to ask the Mayor about the status of implementing the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission recommendations (some of these recommendations are largely in line with President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing report. Or just ask him about the political agendas that are somehow more proactive about the safety of Wilmingtonians than his own plan is. Handcuffs are optional for this event, but if you got ’em, wear ’em!
One thing to listen for are the talking points being pushed by Williams (reported by Kevin Kelley) and his enablers meant to smear at least one of the police consultants used by the WPSSC to produce its report. At the Woodlawn meeting, Williams made a bunch of scurrilous claims about Howard Safir — President of Vigilant Solutions and one of the consultants on this project. In a nutshell, the talking points tell you that there were several high profile brutalizations of black men when Safir was NYPD Chief. And that somehow these awful events somehow negate any expertise Safir might have in running a police department.
You can tell that they are sweating it when this is what gets floated as a response. There are more than 100 recommendations in that report and the thing they can engage on is a misrepresentation of Safir’s career. And Safir and his group were responsible for a section of this report, certainly not all of it. Which all of this criticism of Safir does not know. But at the end of the day, Safir is back in NY and we are all here trying to get the attention of an Administration who apparently only listens to his worst enablers.
Apparently Williams will have crime statistics with him Tuesday night — which indicates that he wants to make a case for Operation Disrupt. Operation Disrupt isn’t a focus of the report, except to note that it is not a sustainable effort and that with the graduation of the Academy class, the patrol division should be increased. So stop the high tempo of Operation Disrupt and replace it with more officers on patrol throughout the day. Make sense to me. But then while Operation Disrupt has been in operation, 3 people have been shot dead within 4 blocks of my house since Easter. There are still more than 100 recommendations that need to be addressed. Ask him when he’ll mount up an Operation Disrupt for those.
From the Press Release:
Mayor Dennis P. Williams and his Administration’s senior leadership will host a town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at P.S. duPont Middle School.
The town hall meeting will serve as an opportunity for the citizens of Wilmington to directly engage with Mayor Williams and the senior leadership of the Williams Administration. Mayor Williams and senior leaders will discuss public safety, education and share upcoming projects and initiatives taking place in the City of Wilmington.
All community members are invited and encouraged to attend. Specific information relating to the town hall meeting is listed below.
Location: P.S. duPont Middle School, 701 W. 34th Street, Wilmington, DE 19802
Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Time: 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.