Re: The Death of Gary Strobridge

We are writing to your offices with regard to a case which has been referred to the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit of the State Attorney General’s office pursuant the New York State Executive Order No. 147. On August 22, 2019, our small town was shaken by the arrest of a community member who was experiencing a mental health problem and later died while in the custody of the Elmira police. This nightmare has caused fear and concern about the safety and resources available to the large portion of our local population who also suffer with mental illness.

On that day, our local police department responded to a call regarding Gary Strobridge, a 49-year-old resident, who was reported to be exhibiting behavior that was ‘alarming, unusual, and abnormal’, according to the release from the police. He was on the roof of his two-story home, making comments that caused the officers concern. They were able to successfully talk him off the roof. When he came down and met officers at the front door, they reported that he ‘suddenly started chasing a female neighbor’. A physical struggle ensued and tasers were deployed. Eyewitnesses reported concerns that the taser and physical altercation happened while Gary was handcuffed and incapacitated. The responding officers arrested him under the mental hygiene law, stating that he was a danger to himself or others. During the arrest, officers report that Gary had told them he had taken cough syrup.

They transported him in handcuffs in a police cruiser to the local hospital with the intentions of having him admitted for assessment and treatment. They report that another physical struggle started at the hospital. “During this struggle, the male suddenly became limp and unresponsive.” He was transported to a medical facility in Syracuse where he died of his injuries. His parents have personally informed us that his face was so seriously disfigured that when they arrived at the Syracuse hospital, they had to ask the nurses station to confirm that this was their son. They were unable to identify their son due to the degree of bruising on his face and the broken nose he displayed. They were able to sit vigil at his bedside until his life ended, robbed of the ability to say good bye to their only son.

This horror has rocked our small community. We have a significant problem with mental illness and have a wide range of reasons for this. Of the 88,861 residents in Chemung County, over a quarter of us report more bad mental health days than good ones. More than 30% of us suffer from housing insecurity, 15% of us have a disability, a third of us live in a food desert, and our local high school only graduates 60% of their students. The opportunities are slim and the outcomes aren’t positive. We have a far-reaching drug problem and gun violence often shatters the peace of our streets. This brings into clear focus for us that any of us could find ourselves in Gary’s shoes. This strikes fear in our hearts.

It is our understanding that concerns about conflict or bias, or the public perception of conflict or bias by local prosecutors was at the heart of your decision, Mr. Governor, when you signed Executive Order 147, which requires “the Attorney General to investigate, and if warranted, prosecute certain matters involving the death of an unarmed civilian, whether in custody or not, caused by a law enforcement officer”. In your justification for this order, you stated that “recent incidents involving the deaths of unarmed civilians have challenged the public’s confidence and trust in our system of criminal justice.” This is exactly where the residents of the City of Elmira find ourselves today. We are also concerned about the potential for conflict or bias, or the public perception of conflict or bias that exists at the local level. We are concerned that officials at the local level may do what needs to be done to bury this situation and leave it to be forgotten.

We are concerned with the violence displayed by police during this situation and have questions whether responding officers receive appropriate training using evidence-based practices to provide trauma-informed services. We believe that when a combat force responds to a mental health call, it further criminalizes mental health. The Elmira Poor People’s Campaign have asked our local officials to provide transparency, accountability, and open communication with the public regarding this investigation. We have been met with silence so far.

This is not an isolated incident. There are local residents who have also met with the force of the police when suffering with mental illness or drug addiction. This situation also mirrors other cases around the state which raises our level of concern. There are more than 9 million poor and low-wealth New Yorkers who suffer under the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, militarism, and ecological devastation. We live under constant pressure and are left alone to pay the huge human and economic costs of inequality. Following the language of the demands made by the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, “we acknowledge that poor communities, especially poor communities of color, are being locked up, sent away, and killed by law enforcement. Equal protection under the law is non-negotiable and we have the right to move freely without the fear of intimidation, detention, deportation, or death by public institutions charged with our safety.”

We appeal to you, as the Constitution of the State of New York obliges you to take care that the laws of New York are faithfully executed and ask that you protect our residents from police who respond to calls without the proper training. We ask that you hold those responsible for Gary’s death accountable and that you help to openly communicate the results of this investigation with our community. Please help to protect us!