The Tube City Almanac, 11/13/24: “Relationships between local police and community residents — especially Black residents — are burdened by a legacy of racism and stereotypes, said speakers at a town-hall meeting organized by Take Action Advocacy Group.

But most speakers at the event, held Nov. 2 at Jacob Woll Pavilion, stopped short of using language such as “defund the police,” instead arguing that resources should be allocated for other first-responders and organizations to respond to mental-health crises and non-violent situations, and for the use of conflict resolution techniques to resolve neighborhood disputes.

About 20 people attended the event, which included Take Action co-founder and chief executive officer Fawn Walker-Montgomery, McKeesport Council Member Amber Webb, and Autumn Redcross and Margo Hu from Abolitionist Law Center-Court Watch.

Former Duquesne Mayor Nickole Nesby and former Allegheny County Councilwoman Olivia Bennett were among those who also spoke at the meeting.

Walker-Montgomery said it was TAAG’s mission to get involved in small communities outside the city of Pittsburgh when needed and that the group wanted to foster meaningful dialogue with the community.

TAAG, a Black liberation organization in the Mon Valley, was spurred to host the meeting in part by several recent developments in McKeesport, including an ongoing lawsuit against McKeesport and Allegheny County police over the December 2020 manhunt for a suspect in the shooting of a city police officer; charges pending against a former McKeesport police detective accused of misappropriating $1 million from the Fraternal Order of Police; and an investigation by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office into items reportedly missing from the city police evidence locker.”

Read the full article here.