ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester police union is fighting the city’s plan to reorganize the police department.
The Locust Club says the Rochester Police Department’s rank and file don’t agree with City Hall’s plan to dissolve the central section, which oversees downtown.
The City of Rochester has been looking at restructuring the police department for the last year. Currently, police patrol five sections: downtown, northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. The plan calls for doing away with the central section and creating two new units. The city is mum on those details right now.
Locust Club President Mike Mazzeo says the proposal is demoralizing, that officers feel left out, and that this will only destabilize the police force, which is already down officers.
Mazzeo also says doing away with the central section is counterproductive to enticing more people and businesses to come downtown
“You are going to find it difficult to entice businesses to come into the area if they don’t see a police presence, they don’t feel there is a safety issue, they don’t feel like they can walk during the day and at night without safety concerns,” Mazzeo said.
The Locust Club also says City Hall is quote “rushing this reorganization.”
For more, including how the city is responding to that claim, see tonight’s 11 p.m. broadcast.
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