Jenci Spradlin

In Schenectady, NY, Mayor Brian Stratton is considering as one possibility implementing martial law after a slew of officers have been charged recently with various crimes.  Part of the article is printed below.  Outside of the general adiminstrative and human resource failures this story highlights, I was most surprised to see the following comment by the city's corporate counsel, John Van Norden, who said:

"If you abolish the police department you still have a need - not an obligation - but a need to police the community. You would need something in transition. Declaring martial law would be one way to bridge the gap."

So according to Van Norden, providing public safety is simply a "need" and not "an obligation"?  This, in my opinion, is what is wrong with our understanding of government and its role in our collective lives.  I would wonder what the city deems its "obligations" to the citizens if not public safety? Compared to rural or unincorporated areas, people choose to live in incorporated cities and towns because they desire to pay the additional taxes for the services that those taxes provide: namely, police, fire, emergency, and solid waste collection services.  These are things that individual citizens could not provide on their own (or even could not effectively do unless coordinated by a single government entity.)  This may be a very simplified definition, but I dare say that there are many many programs that they could easily do away with under the "not an obligation" category in these tough economic times (and even if times were prosperous) that would better position the area for ongoing sustainable success.  It is when you add all the "wants" and overtax the citizens, filling city coffers with millions of dollars, that people stop protecting and serving others, and start protecting and serving themselves. 

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Schenectady Police Chief Mark Chaires said, "This is unprecedented - all these officers getting in trouble at the same time for all these different reasons.



Five Schenectady police officers recently accused of everything from driving drunk to beating up a man are leading city officials to look at taking drastic action to fix a department tainted by the few who may have acted illegally, like Darren Lawrence and Michael Brown who are accused of driving while intoxicated.



Chief Chaires said, "Those two officers, we're definitely going to seek termination, and we're not ruling it out with any of the officers who are out there.



Police Chief Mark Chaires told us you basically have to fire yourself - essentially a million dollar fine in lost benefits over a lifetime.



Still, Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton said, "We believe there are five officers now who could face possible termination."



But it's not just the threat of termination. Mayor Stratton told us he's looking at all options, including disbanding the police department - basically starting over.



"It's something we're certainly looking into. I think the public has had it up to here," said the mayor.



Currently, officials are reviewing the legal options and planning to present a full report in early April - options like a consolidated county-wide police force or bringing in the State Police.



The mayor said there is another option - and that would be declaring martial law. The governor would have to declare it and then the National Guard would come in. The mayor said it's more for a transition to a new police force if that were to happen.



He said, "It may be that as a stopgap measure, that you would need military forces - State Police, National Guard."



Mayor Stratton said the temporary measure would last until the new police force took over.



Schenectady's Corporation Counsel John Van Norden said, "If you abolish the police department you still have a need - not an obligation - but a need to police the community. You would need something in transition. Declaring martial law would be one way to bridge the gap.

from http://capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/135816/schenectady-mayor-considers-options--martial-law-over-police-woes/Default.aspx