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rochester police department

Officer Denny Wright gets a hero's send-off from hospital

By Beth Adams • Oct 25, 2019
Max Schulte/WXXI News

Scores of law enforcement officers gathered Friday morning in the parking lot outside the Golisano Neurology Rehabilitation Center at Unity Hospital in Greece.

Some were on horseback, some came on motorcycles, and dozens of them stood in precise formation, waiting to salute Officer Denny Wright.

The 23-year Rochester police veteran survived a violent knife attack after responding to a domestic call on Oct. 4.

Family accuses police of misconduct after incident involving 13-year-old

By • Oct 2, 2019
James Brown / WXXI

A video of alleged police misconduct in Rochester has thousands of views on Facebook -- and even the mayor has commented on it. 

“What is going on here,” Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said in a comment on the video of the Sept. 19 incident. The video shows police manhandling and pushing 13-year-old Jusmeir Mitchell to the ground on Lake Avenue after he got off a school bus. 

A statement from the Rochester Police Department said officers responded to the bus, which had stopped because of a fight on it. The department said when Mitchell tried to get off the bus, police asked him to stay on it. But Mitchell did get off the bus and police detained him.

RPD fires officer who was convicted of assault

By • Jun 12, 2019

The Rochester Police Officer recently convicted of misdemeanor assault has been fired.

The RPD put out a statement Wednesday saying that as a result of the 3rd degree assault conviction of Officer Michael Sippel on May 28, he has been fired effective the date of his conviction.

Officials say because of the public officers law, Sippel can no longer be employed by the police department since his conviction constitutes a crime involving a violation of the oath of office.

Rochester City Council approves Police Accountability Board

By • May 21, 2019
pbs.org

Tuesday night was a milestone in a decades-long fight over how police misconduct claims in Rochester should be handled. Rochester City Council passed a new law creating an independent police accountability board. The vote was unanimous. The board would handle police misconduct claims. Council President Loretta Scott called the vote "momentous."

Rochester City Council to consider amendments to Police Accountability Board legislation

By • May 15, 2019
cityofrochester.gov

Rochester City Council is considering amendments to the proposed legislation for a Police Accountability Board.

One of the changes to earlier legislation for that oversight board has to do with the makeup of the PAB.

Council’s original proposal barred former law enforcement officers from being on the panel. The amendment would allow up to one member of the board to have a background in law enforcement, as long as three or more years have elapsed since their employment. But anyone who had worked for the RPD would still not be able to be on the board.

Mayor Warren to announce Rochester's next police chief on Tuesday

By • Apr 8, 2019

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren will announce her choice for police chief on Tuesday morning.

But it will not be the man who is now Interim Police Chief, Mark Simmons. He tells WXXI News that after much prayer and deliberation with his family, he has decided that applying for the permanent position would not be in the best interest of his family at this time.

Man awarded $1 in lawsuit against Rochester Police Department

By • Feb 5, 2019

A jury has awarded $1 to a man who accused Rochester police officers of using excessive force during his arrest.

It started six years ago when Benny Warr was involved in an altercation with three officers who were attempting to arrest Warr after they said he was shouting obscenities on Jefferson Avenue.

Cellphone and street camera footage showed Warr being pushed out of his wheelchair by two officers and kicked by another. Police said he was resisting arrest. Later that year, Warr filed suit against the officers, and former police chief James Sheppard.

Rift remains between Council, RPD union over police accountability board

By , & • Jan 30, 2019

Members of the Rochester community are weighing in on a proposal for a Police Accountability Board drafted by City Council.

It’s one of two proposals currently on the table as draft legislation. Mayor Lovely Warren has issued her own proposal.

Council members say their proposal has broad support from the community, but the Rochester Police Locust Club says it needs to include feedback from law enforcement.

Rochester City Council releases its draft for a Police Accountability Board

By • Jan 14, 2019
James Brown WXXI

How should police misconduct be investigated in Rochester? That’s the question facing City Hall in recent weeks.

Rochester City Council believes it has a model that could change the way communities ‘police the police.’

City Council President Loretta Scott, Vice President Adam McFadden, and councilmembers Mitch Gruber and Willie Lightfoot introduced their proposal for an independent Police Accountability board on Monday afternoon.

Rochester announces start of national search for new RPD Chief

By • Jan 8, 2019

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren says the city has formally begun the national search for a permanent Chief of Police.

Interim Chief Mark Simmons has headed the RPD since September following the retirement of former Chief Michael Ciminelli.

Ciminelli, who was chief since 2014 has accepted a job with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington D.C. and retired last September.

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