Photography by Megan Mumford
This story is part of our annual Capital Region Gives Back initiative that honors 10 locals who are making our community a better place. Read up on all of the 2026 honorees and join us on December 9 for the 8th annual Capital Region Gives Back event at Putnam Place.
In 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed Black 18-year-old, was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, MO, and immediately became a symbol of civilian frustration with the criminal justice system. As a series of protests and riots rocked Ferguson, many city leaders across the country wondered how their citizens would react if a similar incident took place in their own community.
Pastor David F. Traynham, an Albany native, wasn’t content to wait around and find out. By that time, he had already created ALERT Partnership Inc. (which stands for Albany Law Enforcement Resolution Team) to forge stronger relationships between cops and civilians before a local incident could push them towards conflict.
A few months later, it happened in Albany: Dontay Ivy, an unarmed, 39-year-old Black man, was shocked with a Taser during a physical confrontation with police officers and later died. ALERT sprang into action.
“We began to work with the Albany County Sheriff and District Attorney, the Albany Police Chief, and local FBI agent Andy Vale,” Traynham says of the aftermath of what was ultimately ruled a homicide. “And the national FBI was brought in to oversee the investigation. With that, we were able to have an outcome that settled the community.”
Since then, ALERT has hosted a number of events designed to bridge the gap between cops and community members, including the Unite the County Carnival and Skills Challenge, which has grown from around 1,500 attendees in its first year
to more than 10,000 people at the MVP Arena this past August.
The next step in ALERT’s evolution could be expansion. Traynham says he hopes to further establish ALERT in the Capital Region and eventually expand to other parts of the state.
“Our organization doesn’t get nowhere near the resources that we need, but I’m still pushing forward because I believe in what I do,” the pastor says. “All I’m trying to do is continue to bring peace within our area, within our region. These are things that are now in my DNA.”
