Letters

After the tragic passing of George Floyd, the words “police reform” became a headline across the nation. You can google it for a very detailed meaning of what that means, but at the end of the day it can be summed up as reforming the public’s view of the legitimacy of the police.

It is my understanding that Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren hired an outside company, using tax dollars, to evaluate the Southampton Village Police Department. Given that these are sensitive times, this could have merit and should be explored.

Let me ask a question: Could you take a 118-page document and put it into a presentation within an hour with competency and accuracy? That seems to be the narrative of what occurred at Friday’s special Village Board meeting.

For those who don’t know, the board approved a review of our operations as they relate to the Southampton Village Police Department. Why is it that our Village Board is receiving a report in executive session an hour before a public presentation is going to happen referencing the report?

Important to note: This presentation also was not from the person who prepared the report. This presentation was from a civilian. Media outlets may have even had the report before our trustees. Does that seem strange to anyone else?

I’m quite certain that the report should have been distributed to the trustees and committee with ample time to review and comprehend it before it was made available to certain media outlets and the public.

Now, on to the plethora of irregularities from the police reform committee’s presentation. The findings from the report, as presented by the committee, had the essence of being presented as agenda driven, with an underlying direct attack on our police department. I believe this presentation was compiled in such a way to support our mayor’s efforts to defund the police, which is undeniably his mission. Much of what was presented was not even reflected in the paid prepared report.

Jesse Warren seems to make his own rules to fit his own agenda, and it’s time people started asking the right questions.

So, we go back to the question, why? Why didn’t everyone get the report upon completion and before public presentation so they could be prepared? Why did this happen this way?

While the report is lengthy, I urge everyone to read through it and then view the presentation. After comparing the two, I think you will have your answer as to why and clearly understand what is truly going on in the Village of Southampton.

Keri Medio

Southampton Village