In light of the white supremacist insurrection at the Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, we, the undersigned community members of Amherst, demand the following:
1. A public statement from Chief Livingstone and the Amherst Police Department (APD) condemning the actions of the Capitol police forces on January 6, which upheld white supremacist, fascist violence.
2. A public statement from the Town Council, the Town Manager, and Chief Livingstone certifying that no APD officers were present at the Capitol on January 6. A caravan of Trump supporters left for Washington from the Holyoke Mall prior to the attempted coup at the Capitol, and we want to ensure that no APD cops were involved.
3. A public declaration from the APD and Chief Livingstone affirming their commitment to civilian oversight of policing in Amherst as well as their commitment to protecting citizens and the democratic process.
4. A continuation of the freeze on the two police officer positions that were frozen in July of 2020. The continuation of the freeze should last until the Community Safety Working Group can produce their report.
We have described to you in editorials, Town Council meetings, and other community events the excessive power potential of police. Will you, our elected officials and our town officers, clearly and publicly assure us that you stand on the side of democracy and not fascism?
Why is this important?
The attack on the U.S. Capitol was an instance of white supremacist violence upheld by police. Our town leaders must stand not only against the attack itself but against racist policing as a larger issue and one that we face within our town. In an effort to reconsider public safety in Amherst in a democratic way, our town established a Community Safety Working Group. However, due to slow movement from town officials, the group was not formed until November and has had a very limited amount of time to produce a report that was intended, among other things, to help the town decide what to do about the officer positions. A continuation of the freeze would honor the initial intention behind freezing the positions, giving our town more time to look into issues with policing before deciding what to do next.
