The nationwide reexamination of policing after the killing of George Floyd has led an Ivy League college town in upstate New York to consider an ambitious — and contentious — plan to remake its force “from the ground up.” The proposal would replace the 63-officer Ithaca Police Department with a new Department of Community Solutions and Public Safety comprising both armed officers and unarmed “community solution officers” to handle nonviolent calls like petty thefts.
As city council members consider the plan, the cross-current of impassioned reactions illustrates the challenges of overhauling traditional police forces.