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Where do you go to see a world-renowned cancer specialist? Right here in Erie. Dr. David Bartlett is the new Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute Chair. He’s a proven leader, a pioneer in new cancer treatments, and he’s taking new patients right now at AHN Saint Vincent Hospital. It’s one more way you can be sure that if you get the news nobody wants, we’ll be ready. And always close by. The future of cancer care is at AHN. erie.ahn.org Where do you go to CONTENTS From the Editors The only local voice for news, arts, and culture. JULY 29, 2020 Signaling for help Editors-in-Chief t’s no easy thing to ask for help. Yes, there see a world-renowned Brian Graham & Adam Welsh The Case for a Citizen Review Board for Policing is sometimes pride involved — think of all Managing Editor in Erie – 5 Nick Warren Ithe dads out there aimlessly wandering Copy Editor the aisles of their local hardware stores right cancer specialist? Matt Swanseger now, how many roundabout odysseys for Contributing Editors cordless electric drill bits and toilet flusher Ben Speggen handles might’ve ended if well-meaning store Jim Wertz associates weren’t prematurely shrugged off. Contributors Those dads should be grateful — after all, out- Right here in Erie. Liz Allen side the retail world, how many of us wouldn’t Mary Birdsong love to be immediately directed to exactly Charles Brown what we want or need? Jonathan Burdick NICK WARREN Katie Chriest Can I help you find anything today? Sure, Symoné Crockett show me the way to peace and quiet; to that Chloe Forbes How would it work to hold law enforcement funny thing I thought of the other day; to rec- Tommy Link accountable? onciliation with an estranged friend or fam- Hannah McDonald Aaron Mook ily member; to redemption for a past wrong; Brad Pattullo Chronicling Erie County’s Community College to self-confidence and fulfillment. There are Dan Schank Conversation – 9 countless items that we as individuals and as Tommy Shannon a society seek, for which we can’t simply scan Melissa Sullivan Shimek How did we get here? Ryan Smith a barcode or look up an SKU. Instead, we bar- Jen Sorenson Strength in Small Numbers – 13 gain and haggle, bartering time and energy Rebecca Styn for the mere chance. Cara Suppa Cystic Fibrosis Association of Erie volunteers Unfortunately, many pleas for help are nei- Forest Taylor ther seen nor heard, however visible or loud Bryan Toy continue to lean on one another the distress signal. In fact, a good deal of them Photographer Jessica Hunter Skip the Highway; Build a Boulevard – 17 are ignored entirely. We’re not talking about flares shot off by crash victims lost in end- Interns Re-envisioning multi-million dollar Bayfront Hannah Wyman less expanses of wilderness or open sea; we’re Parkway Project Cover Design talking about problems in plain sight, voices Nick Warren within immediate earshot of our community. When the Giving Gets Tough – 18 Some of their fires have been billowing smoke 1001 State St. Suite 1315 Erie Gives Day gets the giving going for decades, proving that as hard as it can be Erie, Pa., 16501 to ask for help, it can be even more difficult to [email protected] Leadership, Lockdowns, and Snake Oil – 24 receive it. How long have we witnessed the ravages of The Erie Reader is published every How aloof administrations, science denial, and other week and distributed at over racial inequality? The destruction and degra- 350 high foot-traffic locations in contested business closures affected Erie ... in dation of our environment and its continued Pennsylvania from North East to 1918 detriment to our health and happiness? The Girard to Edinboro. In addition to underfunding of public education and the appearing in print, Erie Reader adds new content daily at ErieReader. Cartoons – 28 gulfs it’s widened? The repercussions of self- com as well as social media sites. Picking it up, never surrendering, and approved ish shortsightedness and negligence? These All rights reserved. All content issues and many others are still out there. You © Flagship Multimedia, Inc, 1001 police procedures don’t need an eagle’s vision to spot the flames State St., Suite 1315, Erie, Pa, or a bloodhound’s nose to smell the fumes. 16501. No part of this publication Movie Reviews – 29 may be reproduced without You only need the conscience to care and the permission. The opinions of our Zombies, and new joints courage to act. columnists and contributors are Erie Gives Day is never going to put out all their own and do not always reflect Television Reviews – 30 of the fires — but each year, it offers anyone Dr. David Bartlett is the new Allegheny Health Network Cancer that of the editorial board or organization. Direct sales inquiries to K-Dramas and sword-wielding epics with an altruistic heart the coordinates to 814.314.9364. For editorial inquiries, those signaling for help. Helmed by the Erie Institute Chair. He’s a proven leader, a pioneer in new cancer email [email protected]. Video Game Reviews – 32 Community Foundation, the annual charity treatments, and he’s taking new patients right now at AHN Saint drive has raised over $26 million for area non- Vincent Hospital. It’s one more way you can be sure that if you get the Two of Whitethorn Digital’s newest profits since its inception, and has no plans of stopping anytime soon, coronavirus be news nobody wants, we’ll be ready. And always close by. Music Reviews – 34 damned. Log onto eriegives.org on Tuesday, Phoebe Bridgers, Hum, Oliver Tree, and Nadine Aug. 11, anytime from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Their Shah nonprofit search can help you find any cause The future of cancer care is at AHN. you might want to donate to (check out our Crossword Puzzle – 35 staff picks for inspiration). In a year that has taken so much from us, This issue’s latest stumper from David Levinson it might be harder to give. But it’s never been erie.ahn.org Wilk more important. July 29, 2020 ErieReader.com | Erie Reader | 3 NEWS & VIEWS The Case for a Citizen Review Board for Policing in Erie How would it work to hold law enforcement accountable? Crowd control officers lingered in Downtown Erie the morning of Sunday, May 31 — after a peaceful Saturday protest over the death of George Floyd unraveled into chaos. The rifle pictured falls into the category of a “riot gun,” a firearm designed to fire “non-lethal” or “less-lethal” ammunition, such as rubber impact rounds. ers. The letter purports to offer concern for a “peaceful resolution,” but instead indulges a number of racist and antise- mitic stereotypes about black people who “cannot take care of their own” and a “deep state” controlled by George Soros. Annunziata was fired shortly af- ter. Finally, on July 6, a video was made public following a court hearing of a violent confrontation behind a tavern on Erie’s west side, in which Patrolman Nicholas Strauch can be seen punching a suspect seven times in the head. In the midst of all this turmoil, four of City Council’s seven members (Liz Al- len, David Brennan, Michael Keys, and NICK WARREN Kathy Schaaf) have voiced support for a review board and Mayor Schember By: Dan Schank And I’m not sure there’s ever been a and demanded a Department of Jus- has expressed willingness to discuss it. ’ve never felt more like a witness to more appropriate time to push for one. tice investigation into our police force. history than I have this summer. Jenkins-Husband was able to secure a The community weighs in I The sustained anxieties of A 17-year history majority on City Council to establish “I have voiced support for a citizen COVID-19 have added to this feeling, as Demands for citizen review of our the board, but Mayor Joe Sinnott decid- review board since it would provide have the chaotic cruelties of the Trump police have come and gone many times ed not to move forward with the effort. an opportunity for open communica- administration. But it’s the movement without execution. When looking back In 2017, Council President Sonya Ar- tion, transparency, and accountability,” for Black Lives, and the degree to which on these efforts, a parallel timeline of rington renewed the call for a board in says Councilman David Brennan. “The it has reshaped public attitudes and po- controversies surrounding police prac- the wake of accusations of police bru- board would help to curb overt aggres- litical possibilities, that makes me feel tices emerges. tality toward Montrice Bolden, whose sion and bad behavior, and in the end, like something genuinely life-altering Take 2003, for example. Mayor Rick violent arrest was caught on camera build community trust.” Brennan also is happening all around us. Filippi was confronted with a federal outside a bar on Erie’s east side. Bold- notes that “in the past few months, the As concerned citizens react to the civil rights lawsuit after a local man en ultimately sued the six officers who city has launched three internal inves- murders of George Floyd in Minneap- claimed that two police officers broke arrested him, resulting in a $125,000 tigations to address behavior by Erie olis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and his nose and elbow during an unlaw- settlement in early 2019. Arrington lat- police officers which has heightened Ahmaud Arbery in southern Georgia, ful arrest.