Walton pushes police accountability, calls officers ‘overtaxed’ with duties others should do | Buffalo Politics News

Generally, “we have a good police department,” Brown said.

“We have been able to lower crime in the City of Buffalo every year that I have been in office as mayor with the exception of the pandemic where we’ve seen an increase in crime in communities all across the country,” he said. “I stand for a sound police department, keeping our neighborhoods safe, our businesses safe, our families safe. My opponent has indicated that she wants to cut the police department, which would mean 100 less police officers on the streets of our city.”

Walton’s platform also includes supporting green jobs and local co-ops over out-of-town corporations; a community land trust federation over for-profit housing; and a climate action plan for environmental protection and energy conservation.

“We know what plagues our community the most is poverty,” Walton said. “And when we talk about social determinants of health, poverty is the No. 1 leading factor in community violence, in poor health outcomes, in sicknesses that’s created by poor housing conditions. We really want to tackle that head on.

“And as much as our opponent touts the progress that has been made over the last 16 years, 30% of our population is still living below the poverty line and in substandard housing, so we have to do something about that,” she said.

Walton said she supports making certain police data public to the extent allowed by law, including racial disparities in stops and arrests and officer disciplinary records. She wants to create a task force to fire and demote officers with consistently bad records. Her plan includes providing resources for law enforcement suicide prevention and access to mental health services for officers.