A New York bishop has started a 'Pastors on Patrol' initiative with Albany police to hold interventions with teens in a bid to curb rising crime.
Bishop Avery Comithier, the pastor at Elijah Missionary Church, started the initiative last year when he was fed up hearing continued reports about gun violence.
He decided to reach out to the Albany Police Department to start his initiative, in which local religious leaders and concerned citizens walk Albany neighborhoods to enhance relationships between cops and the community.
Together, Comithier and the department recently held an event for the first anniversary of the program - and to announce that the program will be entering a new phase.
Comithier told WRGB that the program will be moving from a 'physical approach' to a 'spiritual' one - with Pastors on Patrol holding interventions with troubled youth and their families.
'We want to come in as pastors to assist, to curb a lot of this,' he told the outlet.
'We have preventative, and then we have to deal with the stuff that's out there. Because either themselves are going to be in a casket or they're putting someone else in a casket, and it's a no-win situation.'
Comithier told the outlet that the Pastors on Patrol, which hits the streets every Wednesday and Thursday, hears many 'cries for help.'
Bishop Avery Comithier, pastor at Elijah Missionary Church, started the initiative last year when he was fed up hearing continued reports about gun violence
He decided to reach out to the Albany Police Department to start his initiative
The Albany Police Department posted photos from the recent event with pictures of residents and police smiling and enjoying the event side-by-side.
'This afternoon, we joined clergy from around Albany at The Elijah Missionary Church on Second Avenue to kick off this year's Pastors on Patrol!' the post from department reads.
The event included fun activities like a slip-and-slide and food - as well as resources for those who needed them.
'Pastors on Patrol was launched last year as means of further enhancing relationships with the community, creating dialogue and building trust,' the post reads.
'The program has also been instrumental following incidents of violence and also provides opportunities to discuss other neighborhood related concerns or issues.'
The Albany Police Department added: 'Throughout the summer, members of the community can expect to see clergy members and police officers walking together through neighborhoods.'
The Albany Police Department posted photos from the recent event with pictures of residents and police smiling and enjoying the event side-by-side.
The event included fun activities like a slip-and-slide and food - as well as resources for those who needed them
Members of the Albany Police Department and religious leaders are pictures handing out informative resources to members of the public
Church leaders and officers with the Albany Police Department pose with members of the community
According to the US Census Bureau, Albany had an estimated 97,478 residents in 2019 - making it a fairly small city compared to the Big Apple. New York City has an estimated 8.4 million residents.
However, the number of gun related crimes in the small city have proved alarming to residents.
A New York State report on gun violence for the first six months of 2020 shows that there were 26 shooting incidents in Albany leading to injury as of June 30. There were a total of 35 people hit by gunfire in those incidents.
A total of eight people have been shot to death in the city as of June 30 – putting the city on track to outpace the annual totals of any year since 2011, the earliest year provided in the report.
There were 11 people killed by gun violence in Albany in 2020 and 10 killed in 2018. All other years reported had five or fewer gun violence deaths.
Comithier has officiated the funerals of at least two teens killed by gun violence in Albany who were members of his congregation. Chyna U. Forney, left, was gunned down on May 3 and Destiny Greene, right, was shot dead on May 25
Comithier told WNYT that he officiated at least three funerals for victims who were killed by gun violence in May alone.
Shaker High School sophomore Destiny Greene, 15, was shot and killed on May 25 in Albany when a gunmen opened fire on the car she was sitting in with three others, the Times Union reported.
Destiny was a member of Elijah Missionary Baptist Church, and Comithier officiated her funeral.
'Destiny was so energetic. She was so energetic She wanted to sing. She wanted to do dissertations. She even to play the drums,' Comithier told WNYT.
'She wanted to learn everything, she was just so multi-talented. She just wanted to do so much at a young age and its heartbreaking.'
At least two men have been arrested after Chyna Forney, 18, was shot dead just before 3pm on May 3 when gunmen fired rounds from 'multiple firearms' at a group of three teens, the Times Union reported.
Chyna was a member of Elijah Missionary Baptist Church - and Comithier officiated her funeral, too.
The bishop often posts videos before his patrols to his Facebook page. In one vide, Albany officer Nick Carpenter urged residents to come to him if they have information related to crimes or otherwise want to reach out
Pastor Mike Williams, with Christ Centered Unity Missionary Baptist Church, is pictured on one of the patrols
Comithier also officiated the funeral of Lashon Turner, 39, who was a member of the church and was also shot dead in May.
He told WNYT that parents need to keep a better eye on their kids – and said that if parents are having trouble with their kids to call him and he'll show up to help.
The bishop often posts videos before his patrols to his Facebook page, introducing the religious leaders and police officers joining him for the bi-weekly Pastors on Patrol outing.
'There has been far too many shootings. One is too many but there's been more than that and we need to tackle this situation within our community,' he said in the video.
'So, we're here, we may go up the street a bit and then come back down and talk to some people.'
Albany officer Nick Carpenter added in the video: 'There have been several shootings in the beat. That's unfortunate. If you have anything you want to say or reach out, please reach out.'
Father Sean O'Brien, with the St. Francis of Assisi congregation in Albany, said he hopes the group can 'bridge some of our differences' and that people will 'stay mindful of what brings us together.'
He added: 'Regretfully, we've had a lot of shootings in our neighborhood which is sad because at the same time we have a lot of kids in our neighborhood.'
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