Albany County Republican & Conservative Conference Agenda 

It’s time for Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins to resign.

The City of Albany is less safe than it was when the Chief first took the job. It’s less safe than it has ever been in my lifetime, on pace to match the record set for murders last year. Rape is up 21 percent, robbery is up, and assaults and violent crimes are higher than they have been historically.

Major shootings like the ones on Delaware Avenue or in the Pine Hills have become the norm. Not publicly reporting the rape of a 15-year-old girl committed by someone in our country illegally, and blaming youth gun violence on “large gatherings” are just some of the latest stains on leadership at the APD.

The saddest part is the rank-and-file officers of the Albany Police Department want to do their job. Unfortunately, their Chief and City Hall politicians won’t let them do that job. Cops under Chief Hawkins and Mayor Sheehan aren’t allowed to proactively police, and people wonder why the City is unsafe. It’s gotten so bad that other police departments, business owners and members of the community have had to step up and fill the public safety void left by city leadership.

For the good of the police department, the city, the county and the entire Capital Region, Chief Hawkins should step down today. Mayor Sheehan, who is just as much to blame for the city’s woes, should appoint a police chief to do the actual job of protecting the public — without political interference from her office.