Advisory Committee

Police Reform and Reinvention Advisory Committee

As part of the Bethlehem Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, the Town formed an Advisory Committee to help ensure the Collaborative successfully improves trust, fairness, equity, and justice within our community and our police department and addresses any racial bias, discrimination, and disproportionate policing of communities of color.

The role of the committee will evolve as we move through the Collaborative process, but its core mission will be to advise on how we can most effectively engage the community and incorporate community input in the Collaborative process. This committee will not be the only or primary avenue for community input and participation.

The committee’s membership is and represents a broad range of views and perspectives about our town and our police department. The committee includes members with particular insights into experiences that people of color have had with the police department, and who can offer recommendations on how to improve these interactions.

The Advisory Committee will help shape its own role in the Collaborative process and determine how frequently it meets.


Advisory Committee Roles:

(1) Ensure that the Collaborative process is transparent and effectively gathers and considers community perspectives, experiences, knowledge, and values, with an emphasis on maximizing participation and input.
(2) Ensure that the Collaborative process identifies and addresses patterns of racial bias and disproportionate policing of communities of color.
NOTE:  These roles may be modified during the Collaborative process in consultation with the Advisory Committee and Bethlehem Community.

 

Advisory Committee Members

The following committee members were appointed at the Town Board meeting of September 9, 2020.  The members represent the community from elected officials to members of law enforcement to town residents.   Each member has provided some additional information on themselves.

Consultant

  • Jasmin Brandow

Community Members

  • Jennifer Ansong
  • Darnell Douglas
  • Xavier R. Fitzsimmons Cruz
  • Jaye Holly
  • Zhiying Li
  • Donald Robbins
  • Monica Scherzer
  • Suni Swann
  • Caren Tiu
  • Katie Yezzi

Faith Based Community Group

  • Rev. Dr. Roxanne Jones Booth, Riverview Missionary Baptist Church

Police Department

  • Chief Gina Cocchiara

County District Attorney’s Office

  • Mary Tanner Richter, Assistant District Attorney

County Public Defender’s Office

  • Gabriella Romero, Assistant Public Defender

Elected Officials

  • David VanLuven, Town Supervisor
  • Joyce Becker, Town Board member
  • Daniel Coffey, Town Board member
  • Maureen Cunningham, Town Board member
  • Jim Foster, Town Board member