Tag Archives: Chief Thomas Carter

Harrisburg community, leaders hold vigil to show unity, support for Kesher Israel

August 12, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

Community gathers for a vigil at Kesher Israel on N. 3rd Street.

On Monday, Rabbi Elisha Friedman stood outside of his synagogue, looking at a pair of swastikas that had been painted on the building—a symbol of hate.

Today, he stood in that same place seeing signs of love.

A diverse crowd gathered outside of Kesher Israel on Wednesday evening to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.

“The response from this community has been really incredible,” Friedman said. “Each person by being here today is making a statement that this is unacceptable to go on in this area. We are not going to allow this kind of behavior to happen again.”

The vigil was held by the Mayor’s Interfaith Advisory Council. Police Commissioner Thomas Carter, Rep. Patty Kim (D-Harrisburg) and local faith leaders were among those who spoke.

“What I see here is love,” Carter said. “It took some cowards under the shield of nighttime to paint a swastika. But it didn’t drive a fork in any of our hearts. It brought us together.”

Friedman said that Harrisburg police arrived minutes after he called them on Monday morning. He added that the state troopers and FBI were helpful, as well.

Rabbi Elisha Friedman of Kesher Israel Congregation speaks at the vigil.

Pastor James Jackson of Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church was one of the many faith leaders who spoke at the event.

“We members of the Goodwin Memorial Baptist church, who are your closest neighbors of faith, want to say to whoever did this, this is not acceptable,” he said.

This act of anti-Semitism is just one of many related incidents in the state, said Russell Goodman, who is part of the Interfaith Advisory Council.

The negative impact the swastika has on the Jewish community mirrors that of the confederate flag on the Black community, said Tameka Hatcher of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

“Symbolism matters,” she said. “As a person who believes in the dignity and the sanctity of lives of all people, we the Black community stand with our brothers and sisters of faith in the Jewish community.”

In closing, Jackson prayed for peace and unity in the community.

“The thing that we leave here with will be a renewed determination to see that this city, this community and this nation, turns into a place where all of our kids can grow up in an atmosphere of love and peace,” Jackson said.

Kesher Israel Congregation is located at 2500 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their website. To learn more about the Mayor’s Interfaith Advisory Council, visit their Facebook page.

At town hall, community questions city officials on policing reform, advisory board

July 24, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

A woman speaks to the panel of city officials at Thursday’s town hall.

Thursday night turned out to be a cool, breezy evening, but things in Reservoir Park were rather heated.

Yesterday, a town hall was hosted by The Movement, an activist group in Harrisburg. City officials sat in front of a decent-sized crowd to take questions on policing and policy from the community.

“Today is a day we are demanding policy reform,” Brent Lipscomb, leader of The Movement, said. “We are here because policies must be adopted that center black and brown lives.”

Community members were given the chance to question panelists including Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, City Council members Ausha Green, Ben Allatt, and Westburn Majors, school board member Jayne Buchwach and Police Chief Thomas Carter. Questions centered around the proposed citizen’s police advisory board, policing in schools, the “defund the police” movement and racial inequalities in the city.

Granting more power to the proposed advisory board has been the plea of many citizens lately. Green addressed this by saying that council is considering it.

“As representatives of the citizens of Harrisburg, it’s our job to put the legislation forward and then work around what needs work,” Green said.

She explained that she has town hall-style meetings planned in order to receive more feedback from the community.

One person asked, “if citizens can’t have subpoena power, how will the stark power imbalance between citizens and cops be addressed?”

“There’s a lot that an advisory board can do that shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand,” Papenfuse said. “With or without subpoena power, there’s a lot that the board can do to shine a spotlight on police misconduct to inform the public about information that is available and to educate the public.”

The mayor added that he would sign whatever legislation passed by City Council.

“He said something just now that I’ve never heard him say before,” Majors said. “The mayor said he will sign anything that we pass. So, let’s get together and work on progressive things to make some changes to this committee to make it work for everybody.”

Another topic brought up by the community was policing in schools. Buchwach and Papenfuse butted heads on this issue, the former calling for police to be taken out of schools, the later in favor of them.

“In Harrisburg, we do not need police in schools,” Buchwach said. “In fact, I would much rather have the police work on themselves than to be in schools.”

She called for more counselors and mental health professionals to replace the police. However, Papenfuse said that policing in schools should be about mentorship with students, not discipline.

“There is room for police in our schools in Harrisburg,” he said. “What I’d like to see is the creation of a career pathway that’s going to lead more of our youth to consider a career in policing.”

Moderator Kimeka Campbell, co-founder of Young Professionals of Color—Greater Harrisburg, brought up the “defund the police” movement, which calls for the re-allocation of funds from the police department to mental health programs, amongst others.

Green said that, while she didn’t agree with removing all funds from the police bureau, she was in favor of recrafting the department.

“I believe that not only in this city, but in this nation, we need to have a more comprehensive approach,” she said.

Overall, Campbell said she was pleased with the event and plans to be a part of holding more meetings like this.

“We usually definitely don’t get anything like this,” one Harrisburg resident said of the town hall. “So I definitely appreciate this chance.”

For more information on The Movement, visit their Facebook group.

School Beat: Harrisburg police visit city schools to foster positive relations with kids, community.

September 21, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Harrisburg police today spent time with students at Scott Elementary School as part of the bureau’s community policing program.

It’s back to school season for the Harrisburg Police Bureau.

Under a new partnership with the Harrisburg School District, members of the city’s community policing unit are trying to project a new image of policing and foster positive interactions with Harrisburg’s children.

The Harrisburg police have hosted six events in public schools since the start of the school year in August, according to community policing coordinator Blake Lynch, with more yet to come.

Lynch, a civilian employee, leads the community policing program with Cpl. Josh Hammer, who oversees the unit’s five officers.

They’ve distributed ice cream to more than 3,000 schoolchildren this year, thanks to an in-kind donation from Hershey Creamery. Today, the community policing unit ate lunch with students at Scott Elementary School on Derry Street and gave out ice cream for dessert.

Lynch says it’s one way the department is building positive connections with the city’s youth – a major goal of police Commissioner Thomas Carter.

“We’re doubling down on building connections in the community,” Lynch said. “We want to create more positive interactions with our youngest citizens, which we hope will translate into more connections with parents and our older generations.”

Lynch said that future school programming will have an educational component. He hopes to return to schools so officers can talk to students about gun safety, community service, bullying, drug prevention and other topics.

He would also like to allow parents to participate in school events.

The school partnership dovetails with the city’s other community policing programs, such as the block party barbecues and National Night Out events that the department held over the summer. All of the food, beverages and materials for these free events come as donations from community partners, Lynch said.

“The city hasn’t spent a single dollar on this,” he said.

Though Harrisburg schools will see more police in the coming months, the partnership with the police bureau shouldn’t be confused with a school resource officer (SRO) program, which places full-time uniformed officers in public schools. Harrisburg has not had resource officers since funding for its SRO program evaporated in 2009.

To Buy or Not to Buy: Police, opponents give views on new riot gear.

July 5, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg Police Chief Thomas Carter and Capt. Derric Moody showed City Council the protective gear they wish to buy, on the right, with an old shield on the left. People who objected to the proposal sit on the far right.

Vocal opponents of a proposed police spending measure packed Harrisburg’s government center tonight, as City Council chewed over whether to allow the department to purchase new riot gear.

More than two dozen activists attended a council work session, some decrying a Police Bureau plan to purchase 30 “top to toe” protective suits.

“Simply possessing more militarized gear . . . escalates the situation further,” said Amanda Arbour of Harrisburg. “We have seen it’s not the police getting hurt at these types of situations.”

Police are asking council to approve the transfer of $65,000 in unspent personnel funds to buy the equipment. The bureau’s current gear is old—about 25 years old—and inadequate, according to Capt. Derric Moody.

Chief Thomas Carter stated that the Harrisburg police need the equipment as the rate of protests in the state capital—and their volatile nature—is making the force more vulnerable.

“Protective gear is used to de-escalate the situation,” he said. “Protective gear is used (by police) to protect themselves. Without the proper gear, a situation would be escalated more.”

Moody emphasized that the purpose of the gear is protection.

“How can we protect others if we can’t protect ourselves?” he said.

Carter said that the bureau has deployed its existing gear several times recently, including two visits by now-President Donald Trump and a June protest that attracted both “anti-Sharia” activists and masked, black-clad members of a group called Antifa, which stands for “anti-Fascist.” During that event, several fights broke out between the opposing groups, and one woman was arrested for allegedly injuring a state police horse.

“Anytime there’s a potential for harm, potential injury to persons, you would see this gear come into play,” Moody said, who added that the gear wouldn’t be deployed for protests where there is no apparent threat of violence.

Police brought along samples of the suits to show council. Currently, city police riot gear consists mostly of aging helmets, shields and gas masks, Moody said. The requested money would buy full protective suits, which Moody has described as “scalable,” meaning that parts—individual pieces for shoulders, hands, legs, chests, shins, etc.—could be deployed as needed. The suits also come with helmets, shields and riot sticks, which are longer than standard police sticks, Moody said.

Several residents urged council to divert the money to other community needs, perhaps even asking residents what they believe will make the city safer.

“I don’t know that we need to be spending that money on this at this very time,” said Patricia Stringer, a former city councilwoman.

Council members appeared alternatively supportive and skeptical of the bureau’s request.

“There have been protests at the Capitol for a very long time,” said Councilman Cornelius Johnson. “The message got to the masses of people that, because of the increase in the amount of protests, we need to update our gear.”

Moody said that, in fact, protests have become more frequent and virulent.

A vote on the measure was expected tomorrow during council’s final legislative session before its six-week summer hiatus. However, council delayed a vote on the issue until after the recess as police rushed out of the meeting during their presentation to attend to protests at Sen. Pat Toomey’s town hall at ABC27 News studio on N. 6^th Street.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg Council Update: Reddig retiring, vote delayed on riot gear.

June 27, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

He’s outta here: Fred Reddig announced his retirement tonight from the state and as Harrisburg’s Act 47 coordinator.

Harrisburg soon will have a new recovery supervisor, as the city’s long-time Act 47 coordinator announced his retirement tonight.

Fred Reddig told City Council that he planned to retire from the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) at the end of July, thus ending his 4½-year tenure as Act 47 coordinator.

“You’ve come a long way,” Reddig told council members. “City finances are very stable, but there are still challenges as we exit Act 47.”

Marita Kelley, a DCED deputy director who worked for the city as budget manager from 1988-91, will replace Reddig in the job.

Act 47 is a state program designed to assist and stabilize financially distressed Pennsylvania municipalities. The city has been in the program since 2010, including the three years it spent under state receivership.

Kelley, who has been on Reddig’s team for years, said that she does not plan any major changes.

“We want to stay the course and implement the recovery plan,” she said.

As it stands, Harrisburg is due to exit Act 47 at the end of 2018, though it may seek a three-year extension. Mayor Eric Papenfuse has said that he believes the city can only leave Act 47 responsibly if it’s able to retain the extra taxing authority allowed under the program, which likely means adopting a Home Rule charter.

Council members had nothing but praise for Reddig. President Wanda Williams, who originally opposed Act 47 status, credited Reddig for helping turn “a $683 million deficit to a surplus.”

“Through you, we’ve accomplished a lot,” Williams said. “I’d like to express a sincere ‘thank you.’”

Councilman Ben Allatt, chairman of the city’s budget and finance committee, expressed similar thoughts.

“Your input and expertise have helped us,” he said. “I thank you for your efforts on behalf of the city.”

Also at tonight’s council meeting, Allatt delayed a vote on a budget item that would have reallocated $65,000 for the Harrisburg Police Bureau to buy riot, or protective, gear. Chief Thomas Carter and Capt. Deric Moody brought a sample of the gear to the meeting so that council could see the outfits before voting on the resolution.

However, opponents of the resolution also showed up, asking the council to not approve the transfer that would finance the purchase of 30 “top to toe” riot suits.

“We feel that protesting has been criminalized over the past couple of years,” said activist Chris Siennick, who added that the $65,000 “could be better allocated to social services.”

Police are seeking the gear because, they say, their current equipment is inadequate and outdated, especially since protests, they believe, have become more frequent and more violent.

Council will now discuss the matter further at a July 5 worksession before possibly voting on the budget transfer on July 6, the final legislative session before the council’s six-week summer hiatus.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Safety Update: For the third year in a row, Harrisburg crime dropped in major categories.

February 20, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

Harrisburg isn’t commonly known as a low-crime city, but it may be trending that way as overall crime has dropped for a third straight year.

In a press conference today, Mayor Eric Papenfuse stated that total crime dropped 17.7 percent last year compared to 2015. Violent crime fell 3.9 percent while nonviolent crime decreased 31.4 percent versus 2015.

Papenfuse attributed these statistics to Chief Thomas Carter’s leadership, the implementation of a community policing strategy and recruiting talented new hires.

“I think he has set the tone for our Police Department and, as a result, his strategies are effectively trickling down to everyone and the department is working more effectively than ever before,” Papenfuse said.

In 2016, an 18.47 percent drop in robbery led the decrease in crime compared to 2015. The city’s murder rate also fell. In 2016, Harrisburg recorded 16 murders, compared to 19 in 2015.

For 2016, auto theft was one of the few types of crime to experience an increase. Olivera said the 27.43 percent increase in auto theft reflected the past year’s cold winter when thieves take advantage of motorists warming up cars unsupervised.

Over the past three years, violent crime has dropped 27.5 percent, while nonviolent crime has fallen 29.6 percent.

Leading the violent crime category’s three-year drop is a 50.82 percent decrease in robberies and a 36.59 percent decline in burglaries.

All categories of violent crime except for rape saw a double-digit decrease when looking at the past three years. Capt. Gabriel Olivera credited a change in state law that affected how the city reported rapes to jump in reported rapes last year. When combined with the sexual offenses category, as was the method before the law change, the numbers show a modest increase.

“The 2016 numbers [on rape] will provide a good baseline when moving forward,” Papenfuse said.

Papenfuse credits the community policing model with proactively affecting crime rates.

“Community policing means developing relationships with the community in such a way that proactively prevents crime from happening,” Papenfuse said.

Nonviolent crimes, also termed “quality of life” crimes, decreased 31 percent, showing double-digit drops in every category except arson compared to last year. Theft-related charges, criminal mischief and drug-related charges decreased each by at least 20 percent.

“We see more businesses come into the community because they feel comfortable and safe,” Capt. Olivera said. “That benefits all of us.”

Arson increased 29 percent from 21 arsons in 2015 to 29 arsons last year. Papenfuse linked this with the “raging opioid epidemic” in the region. Those addicted to drugs will squat in abandoned properties and start fires.

The child abuse category has seen a 23 percent increase since 2013 and a 17 percent decrease since last year. Officials credit mandatory reporting laws created in reaction to Jerry Sandusky’s child abuse scandal as the reason for the three-year increase.

Papenfuse called these numbers “impressive,” while adding that “no one is satisfied with the current crime rate.”

This summer, the Bureau of Police is expected to add at least eight new police officers in addition to 10 officers added in January, Papenfuse said. The department is actively looking for two information-support officers to assist communication and data analysis.

Papenfuse noted that the city is funneling more resources into the Allison Hill and Uptown neighborhoods. Construction on an Allison Hill safety sub-station will begin this year. After the that sub-station is functional, the city will install one in the Uptown neighborhood.

Data from the City of Harrisburg shows an overall decrease in crimes from the past year and the past three years.

Find the City of Harrisburg’s crime data, including the above chart, here.

Author: Danielle Roth

Mayor Eric Papenfuse Announces for Re-election, Defends Record

January 11, 2017 | by Danielle Roth

Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced his bid for re-election today.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced his bid for re-election today, listing his accomplishments and vowing to heal rocky relationships with everyone from PennLive reporters to the National Civil War Museum board.

Standing in his Midtown campaign headquarters before a giant sign reading “Together We Can,” Papenfuse stated that he is proud of the city’s improvements under his tenure, citing achievements in economic development, public safety, fiscal responsibility and civic engagement. He said that he’s running for re-election to continue to make progress in these four areas.

“I can say for certain that Harrisburg is on the right track, and I believe the majority of residents feel that way as well,” he said.

So far, Papenfuse faces two declared opponent for the Democratic nomination, former City Council President Gloria Martin-Roberts and previous mayoral candidate, Lewis Butts. PennLive has reported that Johnny Baer, a Dauphin County prosecutor, might be interested in running on the Republican side.

During the half-hour announcement and press conference, Papenfuse defended his record as mayor, including the sometimes pitched battles he’s waged with City Council, the National Civil War Museum and PennLive coverage.

“On any point, you can bring up where there’s been a controversy, I think it’s always been fought with the interest of Harrisburg taxpayers in mind, and I think we are in a position to move toward a good solution,” he said.

Papenfuse said that he said does not regret the battles, which he stated are based on principle and the interest of taxpayers.

“Politics is a contact sport,” he said. “That’s what had to be done. But in the end, you need solutions. So, judge me in the end if I get a good solution.”

He dropped one such political battle today, ceasing his self-imposed ban on speaking directly to PennLive reporters.

He said he believed that had made his point about PennLive’s anonymous commenters and what he calls negative stories. As an olive branch, he selected PennLive reporter Christine Vendel to ask the first question during the press conference portion.

Much of the announcement, however, was to tout his record on fiscal and economic issues.

He said he ran for election in 2013 to help Harrisburg get out of Act 47, a state program to help financially distressed municipalities. Though the city is not out of Act 47, Harrisburg is on much stronger financial footing, he said.

Harrisburg’s balanced budgets and a 2017 budget investing in capital improvements are “no mean feat,” he said.

“Some of this seems mundane, but the city is just returning to normalcy,” he said. “We don’t want to go backwards to dysfunction, to cronyism, to outright corruption, which is what defined Harrisburg not too long ago.”

He cited a $3 million grant to revitalize Allison Hill’s MulDer Square and federal funding for South Allison Hill residents affected by sinkholes as two examples of the millions of state and federal funding he has secured. And, today, he announced a $1 million grant to repave Harrisburg’s decrepit river walk.

Papenfuse also touted his record on crime, saying that major crimes had decreased during his term. But he added that the city has ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining officers. Currently, there are 19 open positions in the Bureau of Police.

“[This is the time to] put our stamp of Chief Thomas Carter’s leadership on new training and engagement with public,” he said.

Papenfuse said the problems facing the police department – recruitment and community tensions – are national issues. With Act 47 constraints still in place, the city cannot do more financially to support the police department, he said.

A new group of officers soon would be coming in and learning community-policing strategies, which would help build positive relationships with residents, he said, adding that he was proud that Harrisburg remained calm last year following a police-involved killing.

Another achievement, he said, was working to lower street parking rates 5 to 7 p.m. weekdays and providing four free hours of parking Saturdays with the Pango app.

“These things wouldn’t have happened unless you were fighting and pushing against a system which is basically controlled by business interests,” he said.

Internally, Papenfuse said his campaign already has raised about $40,000. Many people have contributed to his campaign, he said, including members of Harrisburg Capital City PAC, the same political action committee that helped fund his first mayoral election.

He also re-hired Andrea Krizner as campaign manager. Harrisburg-based MFStrategies and the national firm, The Strategy Group, also support his campaign.

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, a founder of Harrisburg Capital City PAC, is publisher of TheBurg.

Author: Danielle Roth

TheBurg Podcast, April 1, 2016

April 1, 2016 | by Admin

Welcome to TheBurg Podcast, a weekly roundup of news in and around Harrisburg.

To listen to this week’s episode, click here.

April 1, 2016: This week, Larry and Paul talk about the string of recent shootings hitting the police department close to home, with the murder last Saturday of the nephew of Harrisburg Police Chief Thomas Carter. They also discuss Paul’s feature this month on a $16 million fund controlled by the Harrisburg Firemen’s Relief Association. And, as always, they offer their takes on the Most Harrisburg Thing This Week.

TheBurg Podcast is proudly sponsored by Ad Lib Craft Kitchen & Bar at the Hilton Harrisburg.

Special thanks to Paul Cooley, who wrote our theme music. Check out his podcast, the PRC Show, on SoundCloud or in the iTunes store. You can also subscribe to TheBurg podcast in iTunes.

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