Over the next few months, Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood agreed to enhance trust between citizens and law enforcement. How that can be achieved was discussed during a three-hour-long Police Oversight Committee meeting Thursday.

"I happen to believe in the model of community-based policing," added Lockwood.

It was the first meeting between police, Buffalo's Common Council, and community members since protests erupted across the country following the death of George Floyd, and two Buffalo police officers being charged for shoving protester Martin Gugino, who was seriously injured. Council Member Chris Scanlon says change must begin with updated policy.

"The vast majority of these issues do not reside with the men and women who wear blue shirts, but those who wear white shirts and implemented policies in the past that impacted the ability for these officers to do their job properly," Scanlon said.

De-escalation training is a standard requirement for the Buffalo Police Department, however, the pandemic slowed such training in 2020.

One-hundred-and-twenty officers of the roughly 750 to 800 on the force have been trained in mental health crisis intervention.

The effectiveness of the Internal Affairs Unit was questioned. Commissioner Lockwood says he reviews filed complaints regularly, however due to a collective bargaining agreement, he is not able to evaluate the unit.

"We started talking about the process and finding that police officers weren't evaluated," said Council Member Rasheed Wyatt. "For most professions people are evaluated, but in Buffalo, our police, fire department, don't seem to be evaluated because of union."

"Any organizations that we put money into, we want to know how they are performing," said Niagara District Council Member David Rivera.

Right now the BPD and police union are in the middle of bargaining for a new contract. Commissioner Lockwood has now agreed to host the Police Oversight Committee meetings quarterly going forward instead of biannually.