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To Protect and Serve: A conversation with the newly appointed Police Chief Frank Fowler
By Ken Jackson
Posted on 02/01/10

I sat down with newly appointed Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler to discuss his new position and get an opportunity to introduce the community to a man who has been described as “down to earth” and “approachable.”

Chief Frank Fowler is a military veteran and 20-year member of the Syracuse Police Department.

“I took the police exam just to see if I could pass it. I passed the exam and when I got the canvass letter, it said ‘call if you’re interested in pursuing a career with the Syracuse Police Department.’ So I called to inquire to see about the next step,” Fowler said.

In the ensuing days, he reflected on his upbringing in St. Louis and his history with the police department as a youth and thought, “Why not me?”

Fowler reflects for a moment on his youth, “I didn’t have very positive interactions with the police when I was growing up as a kid. I’m a firm believer that any constructive change has to start from within. Whether it’s something a human being decides to change about him or herself personally, physically, emotionally, it has to start from within and likewise with institutions and organizations. You can’t change an institution or an organization from being on the outside. You can scream and protest all you want, but the only person who is going to be able to change it is that person on the inside.

“So I said this is a great opportunity for me to pursue this thing because if I don’t pursue this right now, then what I do is forfeiting my right to ever complain about what a police officer does in a negative fashion. So on that day I decided to try this out and see how far I can get.”

As we discussed the issues of youth, I asked him what he would say to parents struggling to raise children in an urban environment.

Fowler said, ”I’d say keep your eyes open and talk with your children.”

He talked about the things parents are concerned about when their children leave the house, but his overall advice is for parents to be vigilant and communicative with their children.

He also encouraged neighbors to speak with each other and encouraged people to get involved with neighborhood groups, especially Neighborhood Watch.

“Get involved early on. Get involved with each other, share information, and confront the challenges in your neighborhood. There’s strength in numbers,” he said.

I then asked, “How would you confront these challenges?”
Fowler describes Neighborhood Watch as more than a group of people that meet. It’s educational. “The Neighborhood Watch leader is going to bring people from city government so that they can learn how to utilize codes ordinance, the police department, fire department and various other parts of the community to their advantage; to improve or restore the quality of life to their neighborhood. That’s why I suggest the Neighborhood Watch – because they have a recipe for this already there is no need to re-invent the wheel.

“It’s the quality of life stuff that affects the most people. Certainly we get alarmed when someone gets killed, shot or stabbed in the city. ‘Someone else has been shot or stabbed!’ But those are likely people who know each other to some degree and they have a problem with one another. But when you get a person throwing trash all over the place, someone blasting their stereo, or kids being loud and unruly throwing rocks and breaking windows and stuff like that in the neighborhood, it affects the neighborhood as a whole, not just individuals. And it’s a lasting effect over a longer period of time.”
What about the taser? I asked.

“It’s not that the police officer says, you’re late for class and pulls the taser out and zaps them. That person’s behavior has to be so egregious, so far out of bounds and the police officer has to exhaust all options in front of them. At that point, they have to bring this person under control and it’s likely an arrest situation for their behavior and it’s at that point when the taser becomes an option. Every step leading up to that, the person has an opportunity to stop their actions. If they refuse to do that, then that’s when the taser is then introduced. That’s when the officer feels that the person is about to cross the threshold and someone else can get hurt,” the Chief said.

To taser critics, Fowler said, “Let’s be realistic about this. The police officer is not tasering every young person in the school. It’s only those who decide they’re going to ignore the rules of the schools, laws of society and the verbal commands of a police officer and every other authority within the school. Those are the people who find themselves in the position to be tasered.

The vast majority of the young people that are attending our schools are there for the right reasons and they’re doing the right thing. They have a right to go to school and be in an environment free from someone that’s going to be unruly and to violate the rules. Someone’s going to have to hold people accountable for their behavior. Unfortunately when a young person gets so far out of control, the police officer has to intervene.”

Chief Fowler made it clear that the police officers in the schools receive special training and if those same behaviors were exhibited at Carousel Mall the consequences would be different. “We use restraint,” Fowler said.

When asked about how he found out about the appointment by Mayor Stephanie Miner, it wasn’t until he received a personal phone call from Minor. Based on the ensuing meeting and conversation, and what he knows of Stephanie Miner, “I quickly accepted.”