Charter Commission Public Safety Comments
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Mon 7/20/2020 9:42 AM I support the charter commission moving the current language of the amendment to a ballot vote in November. The people of Minneapolis have clearly spoken that Minneapolis police are not the answer to create healthy and thriving communities. For too long, Minneapolis police have protected the lives and interests of white residents only. As a white person myself, I am disgusted that the city would continue on in this manner, turning away from this blatant injustice. I am urging the city council to defund MPD and fund programs and initiatives that protect all residents of Minneapolis. We cannot wait another day. Mon 7/20/2020 10:26 AM Hello, I support the charter commission moving the current language of the amendment to a ballot vote in November. Give the people of Minneapolis the space to craft something better than policing, we can do it, but the charter can't stand in the way. Mon 7/20/2020 10:50 AM I am an attorney whose law firm is on Lake Street in Uptown Minneapolis. I live in North Minneapolis. Part of my practice is handling civil rights police brutality cases. I would like to call into the meeting to make a comment about changing the charter. How do I call in so my voice can be heard during the meeting tomorrow? Thank you for your help. Mon 7/20/2020 11:41 AM Dear Mr. Cunningham, As a Minneapolis resident in your ward I implore you to not go forward with disbanding the police department. I am all for reform and seeing how we can make common sense changes to how policing happens in our community. If the police department is disbanded what incentive do current officers have to stick around as a new system is figured out and implemented? I am very concerned about ideals being put over other citizens voices. I respect the fact that other people have other opinions on what should be done. As your constituent I felt I should share my voice and the concerns that my fellow neighbors share as well. I hope a compromise is reached but I recognize that partisanship is getting in the way as it always does which seems to be forcing the hand of the city council to make such a drastic decision. I am hopeful that reforms can be passed specific to the issues of police brutality and community engagement. Please urge our fellow representatives and senate members to leave out other agenda's so that real change can happen rather than trying to take everything we can because we have a moment to seize as much as possible. Thank you for your time. Mon 7/20/2020 12:26 PM I support the charter commission moving the current language of the amendment to a ballot vote in November. Give the people of Minneapolis the space to craft something better than policing, we can do it, but the charter can't stand in the way. This is the first step, of many, needed to make our city safer for ALL peoples. Mon 7/20/2020 2:05 PM Andrea: I have a few thoughts in opposition to the proposal to amend the city charter. First, I have been involved in efforts to transform policing for a long time. In 2009, I investigated the Metro Gang Strike Force and uncovered rampant corruption and a culture that encouraged the violation of civil and human rights. As United States Attorney, I investigated officer involved shootings of African American men. Over the years, I have seen both the best and the worst of policing and I have engaged with officers, community members and experts on how to bring about change. Second, I now believe that we are at a time of general consensus—civil rights leaders and activists, business leaders and many officers (per the published open letter) are calling in unison for fundamental change. This is a time to seize on the consensus and do the hard work of transforming the police department. The proposed amendment is divisive when we need unity, and will be an unnecessary distraction to the hard work we need to do. Third, in my discussions, it is clear that the consensus also includes the need for a sizeable and functioning police department, one that works with, not against the community . If so, why amend the charter? Fourth, the consensus, for the first time in my experience in Minnesota, also includes respect and appreciation for the police chief, who most believe is the right person to help drive the change we need. Fifth, if this proposed amendment goes before the voters in November, the debate will be quick, and limited. Debate will take place in September and October, with money on both sides, Ads, etc. all while we cannot meet in person due to the pandemic and all while we are engaged in a critical national election over the future of our country. We should spend that time working on transforming the police department, not debating the city charter. Finally, nothing in the city charter prevents the community from getting the police department we deserve now. We can change the culture from the top down and the bottom up; we can change who we recruit and hire as officers; we can change policies, training, accountability and more without a change in the charter. And we can negotiate a better union contract. Let’s seize on this opportunity to bring about systemic change, reject racism in the department and come together as a community. Mon 7/20/2020 2:07 PM Dear City Council Members of Minneapolis, I support the charter commission moving the current language of the amendment to a ballot vote in November. Please give the people of Minneapolis the space to craft something better than policing. We can do it- we have the knowledge and the energy- but the charter can't stand in the way. Thank you for your work on this Mon 7/20/2020 3:39 PM Dear Commissioner Sandberg, Please approve the amendment put forward by the city council. Your job is to assess the language and legality of an amendment, NOT to evaluate it for its implications or effectiveness for our city. The people of Minneapolis need to vote on this issue on November 3rd. If it isn't a good proposal, that will be clear at the ballot box. Let the debate continue. Approve the amendment. Mon 7/20/2020 4:29 PM To Whom it May Concern, I am writing to voice my support for the charter commission moving the current language of the city charter amendment to a ballot vote in November. Our communities deserve to make the historic decision to end policing in Minneapolis as we know it and vision a new people-centered community safety model. We can do it, but the charter commision and the charter itself cannot stand in the way. Thank you Mon 7/20/2020 7:24 PM I have put these comments into the online public comments form but am sharing them here also. I have been a homeowner in the North Loop for the last 20 years. I do not support the City Council's proposal to amend the City Charter create a new Community Safety & Violence Prevention Department and remove the Minneapolis Police Department from the Charter. I believe that the recent increase in crime, both violent and non-violent, will grow even larger in a Minneapolis without the Minneapolis Police Department and that the city will become less attractive to businesses and tourists and more worrying and less viable for homeowners. I have not seen a detailed plan from the City Council showing the in-depth analysis behind their proposal. I have not seen an impact study showing the full spectrum of potential effects that could be caused by the removal of the Minneapolis Police Department from the charter. I do not believe that this proposal is ready for the ballot nor do I believe that it will be ready for the ballot until the City Council has done its due diligence which would include public hearings and conversations with many different types of Minneapolitians from all walks of life, with law enforcement, and with other experts. Thank you for considering my comments. Mon 7/20/2020 9:28 PM To Whom it May Concern: I am unable to attend the Charter Commission meeting happening on July 21, 2020 at 6 pm and I am writing to submit comments to this email address as indicated on the publicly posted agenda. I am a resident in the greater Longfellow neighborhood and have experienced the ongoing failures of the police department in Minneapolis. I strongly believe that we ask too much of police officers as they go from dealing with violent crimes to dealing with homelessness. We need to narrow the job of our police so they solve more violent crimes and also leave other crimes for people to deal with who are similarly better positioned for success, such as social workers and medical teams. To achieve this end, there are multiple aspects of the charter that need to change. Over the coming year, we need to know that the charter will not stand in the way of a creative, public, and open process to reimagine safety in our neighborhoods. I ask the charter commission to adopt the proposed changes from the City Council without changes so we can vote on them in November. These proposed changes are sufficiently narrow and not overly prescriptive to allow a process of creating a new department of public safety to unfold.