Rochester Police Department
The Rochester Police Department, also known as the RPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of the City of Rochester, New York, reporting to the city mayor. It currently has approximately 852 officers and support staff, a budget of approximately $90 million, and covers an area of. The Rochester Police Department has been under a court-ordered federal consent decree from the United States Department of Justice since 1975 over its hiring practices. The decree was part of a 1975 settlement involving racial discrimination.
History
Rochester hired a constable and formed a nightwatch, which first went active on December 28, 1819. Addy Van Slyck was hired as the first police chief in 1853. The police department was reorganized into the Metropolitan Police in 1865.RPD was the first department in New York State to adopt a police telegraph system in 1886.
In 1893, the department established a bicycle division consisting of two officers who apprehended a daily average of 25 "scorchers". The department fielded a mounted division in 1895—officers were expected to supply their own horses.
In 1905, the department added a traffic bureau consisting of officers stationed at busy Main Street intersections. The chief traffic offenders of the time were haywagons. The city installed traffic lights in 1922. The department's first policewoman, Nellie L. McElroy, was also the first to be appointed under civil service rules in New York State.
The department's first African-American officer, Charles Price, was hired in 1947. Price retired in 1985 as a police captain and died on May 17, 2021.
Since the establishment of the Rochester Police Department, 14 officers have died in the line of duty.
Police chief goes to jail
In October 1990, while serving as chief of police, Gordan Urlacher was arrested in Mayor Thomas Ryan's office on charges of conspiracy and embezzlement. He was dismissed as chief two months later. On February 25, 1992, former Rochester Police Chief Gordon Urlacher was convicted of three counts of embezzlement and one count of conspiracy for stealing police funds between 1988 and 1990 when he was chief of the police. On March 5, 1992, the former chief was sentenced to four years in federal prison for embezzling more than $200,000 in police department funds. Urlacher was also ordered by a federal judge to repay $150,000 to the city and to spend 12 years on supervised probation.Civil rights trial
The federal investigation into Chief Urlacher's theft of $300,000 of public funds led to a deeper probing of the entire police department which resulted in charges being brought against 5 additional police officers. The five officers, all members of the vice squad, were accused of beating and terrorizing drugs suspects and skimming drug profits. The 19 counts of police brutality included accusations of the use of unauthorized weapons to beat or threaten suspects, including blackjacks, a cattle prod and lead-filled leather gloves. On December 7, 1992, former Chief, Urlarcher pleaded guilty to the felony conspiracy to violate civil rights admitting that he knew about the civil rights abuses but did nothing about them. During a high-profile 10-week trial 12 officers testified against their 5 colleagues. In the end, the five officers were found not guilty on all charges.Controversy and Misconduct
Civilian review board
In 1992 the City of Rochester created a civilian review board to review internal police investigations when a civilian alleges that a police officer used excessive force or committed a crime. The police chief made the final decisions on all complaints.In 2019, voters approved plans to create a civilian Police Accountability Board that replaced the previous review board. The new nine-member board functions as an independent city office with the purpose of investigating officer misconduct. It has additional resources that its predecessor lacked, such as subpoena power and ability to discipline officers. A New York State Supreme Court ruling in March 2020 struck down the board’s proposed discipline powers after a lawsuit was filed by the Rochester Police Locust Club, the city police union. The City Council filed an appeal of the decision, but no action has occurred yet.
Police shootings
| Shooting victim | Victim's age | Shooting date | Officer involved | Outcome for victim | Outcome for officer |
| Juliano Anthony Plaza | 23 | December 15, 2014 | Cynthia I. Muratore | Initially in guarded condition, made full recovery and appeared in court. | Later promoted to Investigator |
| Thomas Johnson III | 38 | September 3, 2014 | Darryl Pierson, Michael DiPaola | Convicted of the murder of 32-year old Daryl R. Pierson, an 8-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department. | Pierson was murdered by Johnson. DiPaola found justified in his actions. |
| Ralph Strong "Irak" | 24 | July 27, 2013 | Lt. Zenelovic, Charles Gorman, Officers Matt Balch, and Daniel Rizzo | Shot multiple times; survived and convicted of two murders. | Officers praised by Mayor Richardson and Police Chief Shepard for conduct. |
| Israel "Izzy" Andino | 20 | June 21, 2012 | Sgt. Aaron Colletti, Sgt. Mike Nicholls, Antonio Gonzalez, Brian Cala, Greg Karnes, Onasis Socol, and Eluid Rodriguez | Death | Deemed justified by Grand Jury |
| Hayden Blackman | 43 | October 13, 2011 | Randy Book | Death | Deemed justified by Grand Jury |
| Miguel Cruz | 21 | March 1, 2010 | Daniel Santiago | Survived | Deemed justified by Grand Jury |
| Jose Luis Casado | 19 | 2008 | Ryan Hickey | Shot in leg; Sentenced to life in prison for firing at police | Praised by Police Chief David Moore for his conduct. |
| Patricia Thompson | 54 | March 2, 2006 | Jeffrey J. Lafave | Death | Deemed justified by Grand Jury |
| LaShedica Mason | 13 | July 10, 2005 | Mark Simmons | Survived; gall bladder and part of her intestine had to be removed. | Promoted to Sergeant and Special Assistant to Chief James Sheppard. |
| Willie Carter | 46 | August 15, 2002 | n/a | Death | Deemed justified by Grand Jury |
| Craig Heard | 14 | June 10, 2002 | Serge Savitcheff and Hector Padgham | Death | Padgham goes to Greece, New York Police Department; Savitcheff goes to Fairport, New York Police Department. |
| Vandre "Vandy" Davis | 21 | 2001 | David Gebhardt | Death | Promoted to Lieutenant |
| Calvin Greene | 30 | 1988 | Gary E. Smith | Death | Officer Smith was suspended without pay. Then-Rochester Police Chief Gordon F. Urlacher said departmental charges would be filed against Officer Smith. He declined to specify what the charges would be. Ultimate resolution unclear. |
| James Geil | 24 | October 12, 1985 | Allen J. Luccitti | Survived | Pleaded guilty to Department use of firearms and was suspended for 31 days. |
| Louis Davila | 17 | September 30, 1985 | Carlos Perez | Death | Unknown |
| Kenneth Jackson | 25 | November 16, 1984 | Ceferino Gonzalez | Death | Unknown |
| Hiawatha Franklin | n/a | May 8, 1979 | Harold Dack | Death | Unknown |
| Denise Hawkins | 18 | November 11, 1975 | Michael Leach | Death | Promoted to Captain |
| Ronald Frazier | 19 | 1975 | James Soles | Death | Unknown |
| Unidentified "negro motorist" | n/a | July 25, 1967 | n/a | Death | Unknown |
Operation Cool Down
In July 2012, the RPD announced Operation Cool Down with the stated purpose to crack down on violence in community. The initiative includes increased police presence in minority neighborhoods with a strategy to target minor offenses.Operation Cool Down has prompted a backlash of criticism for racial profiling from residents, the ACLU, and Chair of City Council's Public Safety Committee Adam McFadden.
Mass surveillance
A May 2012 national study that examined density of traffic cameras, red light cameras, and police surveillance cameras and authorized wiretaps found Rochester, NY to be the fifth most surveilled city in the country. Rochester, NY was found only to be behind Washington, D.C., Houston, Denver, and Cheyenne. The NYCLU among other community groups have questioned the effectiveness of the mass surveillance tactics and whether they invade the privacy of everyday law-abiding civilians. According to Rochester Police, there are more than 100 surveillance cameras and 25 red light cameras throughout the city as of May 2012.Obstructing video recording of police
On numerous occasions civilians have accused Rochester police of intimidating and/or arresting them for legally videotaping police officers in public. Most notable instance was the Emily Good incident.In May 2011, Emily Good was arrested in her front lawn for videotaping a suspicious traffic stop in front of her house. After the video of the police interaction and arrest was posted on YouTube, it immediately went viral and attain sustained local, national, and international media coverage. Good was charged with Obstructing Governmental Administration but after the video was released the Monroe County District Attorney withdrew the charge.