Anger and frustration at the City of Newburgh Police Department was expressed in comments made by city residents on Monday, September 9. Residents came out to speak in support and call for justice for Marquis Freeman, a city resident who was recorded on video being beaten by city officers.

The video captured shows officers arresting Freeman while he was on the ground. Weekly arrest reports found on the city website show that Freeman was arrested twice in August. Freeman was arrested on Aug. 7 and charged with disorderly conduct, harassment 2nd and obstruction of governmental administration 2nd. He was arrested a week later and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th and criminal mischief.

The incident involving the officers reportedly took place on Aug. 7th. During Freeman’s arrest, an officer is seen punching him several times. Audio from the video also records a Taser being used on Freeman during that arrest. The officer who punched Freeman multiple times reportedly has been suspended.

During Monday’s public comments, residents voiced their thoughts:

“‘I’m here today as a resident of Newburgh and as a human. I’m very disappointed and I’m very pissed off about what happened to Marquis Freeman,” said Ali Muhammad. “It’s unacceptable, and it’s a major step back, Chief [Rola], it’s a major, major step back. Based off the video that I’ve seen, based off the conversations that I’ve had, it’s completely unacceptable, what happened.”

“Marquis Freeman is my cousin. I thought that we became one of the best departments, but now I’m having second thoughts,” said Harold Rayford. “I’m asking you guys just for accountability and make sure all the policy and procedures are followed. That’s all I’m asking.”

“I also want justice for Marquis Freeman today, like now. I want that officer fired,” said Cynthia Gilkeson.

“I’m here demanding justice for Marquis Freeman. I don’t doubt that being a police officer within the City of Newburgh is a difficult job, but I do know from experience that police officers can control themselves when they want to,” said Elisabeth Balachova. “I’m sure many people have seen it, but I personally believe it was excessive force to have three police officers leaning on top of a civilian, punching them in the head and from my perspective, it sounded like this person was also Tased.”

“I have seen the video, but I don’t think I know enough to say what should happen. I just want to echo the outrage of my friends and neighbors who want accountability and justify if we want accountability, I think that’s something that this city absolutely needs and Mr. Freeman needs as well,” said Stephen Pampinella.

City council members later shared their comments on the situation: “Regarding the investigation on Marquis Freeman, it’s a very sensitive topic, of course, and rightfully so. Our community was probably one of the most active cities during the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Councilwoman Giselle Martinez. “I fully support transparency. I support independent investigations and I believe that once we get more information regarding the incident, we would be better equipped to speak on this issue. I don’t want to speak without having full details, but I also agree that excessive force is never the answer, and we can all agree that that is not excusable.”

“When it comes to Marquis Freeman, we want to see accountability. We want to see transparency,” said Councilman Robert McLymore. “We’re pushing for accountability and we want to see transparency but also, there are other things that are out of the hands of the council. There’s going to be independent investigations.”

“The issue that happened with Marquis Freeman, I believe there’s an ongoing investigation. We can’t really talk too much on this because it is under investigation but as you all know, we do have a P-CRRB [Police-Community Relations & Review Board] committee, and I’m committed to making sure that that P-CRRB is empowered to do investigations and hopefully look into this as well,” said Councilwoman Ramona Monteverde.

“Everybody in here knows my son was murdered by this police department so if you think anything is going to happen with this police department while I’m on here, this is why I’m on here, because I’m here to make sure that they follow policy and procedure,” said Councilman Omari Shakur.