Albany Civil Rights Leaders Name For Adjustments After Pressured Removing Of Protestors

Albany civil rights activists are calling for changes after protesters outside a city police station were forcibly removed last week.

The Executive Director of the Center for Law and Justice, Dr. Alice Green, describes the decision to remove protesters who had been in the camp for six days as a mistake, saying it is worrying that officials covered their ID numbers and beat seated protesters with batons after they were given 15 minutes to evacuate .

“The brutal removal of the demonstrators has been sharply criticized by many city officials and community leaders,” said Green. “However, the mayor and others continue to defend the mayor’s removal and her refusal to meet protesters.”

According to Green, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, a Democrat seeking a third term, does not listen to the city’s blacks and calls on the Joint Council to fill the “leadership gap” and dismantle the police system.

A mayor’s spokesman said the protesters were responsible for “defacing public property, including public urination, defecation and poisoning,” and after breaking a window at the train station, “it was clear that there would be no productive conversation. ”

City Hall said Sheehan ordered Police Chief Eric Hawkins to investigate which officers were covering their badges.