HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 05-08 CCM Special Session MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY
OF HENNEPtN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA
SPECIAL SESSION
MAY 8, 2021
COMMUNITY CENTER—CONSTITUTION HALL
1. CALL TO ORDER SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING
The Brooklyn Center City Council met in Special Session called to order by Mayor Mike Elliott
at 4:14 p.m.
Mayor Elliott thanked all present including Daunte Wright's family members and grace and
strength shown these past few weeks is a testament of the love that these two men felt for our
community. He noted after that the past few weeks, the City Council has heard from countless
residents about what they feel these weeks have been like,and changes needed to be made to make
our City, a place where everyone feels safe. He stated one thing that is undeniable clear, that we
heard from residents is `enough is enough.' He agreed that Brooklyn Center can do better,
Brooklyn Center must do more, and Brooklyn Center is ready to change.
Mayor Elliott noted that during hours of public testimony over the last few weeks,the City Council
heard people asking for unarmed traffic enforcement, for more mental health resources, more
accountability, transparency, and community oversight. He stated the good news is that we have
the ability to start creating these changes now,today. That is why today,he is choosing The Daunte
Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution, which
is the first step to a community centered process that will ultimately remove police from traffic
enforcement and create a new department for community safety and violence protection. He stated
he should qualify this by saying low-level non-felony traffic enforcing, addressing two of the key
problems in our current approach for safety. This resolution will transform our system so that
police are not the only available response for everything and it will increase transparency and
community oversight. This resolution will also expand the tools in our toolbox so police are not
our only available response for everything. This also allows the Police Department to focus on
the work they are trained for and want to be doing instead of answering every single call because
there is no one else.
Mayor Elliott stated tonight he looks forward to hearing from the community.
2. ROLL CALL
Mayor Mike Elliott and Councilmembers Marquita Butler, April Graves, Kris Lawrence-
Anderson, and Dan Ryan. Also present were Acting City Manager Reggie Edwards, City Clerk
Barb Suciu, and City Attorney Troy Gilchrist.
3. DISCUSSION ON PUBLIC SAFETY
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3a. TIMELINE OF MEETING
Mayor Elliott referenced the meeting packet and reviewed the process to be followed during
tonight's meeting.
3b. PROPOSED RESOLUTION
Mayor Elliott read in full a resolution entitled: The Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler
Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution.
Mayor Elliott explained this resolution would serve as a framework for a new approach to public
safety. He believes it would help as it uses a commonsense approach. Mayor Elliott stated safety
does not require armed officers nor does response to mental health crisis or other resident' needs.
He noted that testimony today will include testament that these methods have been tried and do
work. Mayor Elliott stated many law enforcement officers, officials, and leaders support these
alternative approaches which are better for our community, safety, and prioritizing time of our
police officers. He stated it is time to stop asking our officers to be the first and last of this work
and allow them to focus on areas they are trained to do. He noted once this framework is fully
implemented, it will prevent the type of interaction between our residents and armed officers that
lead to tragic deaths. Mayor Elliott stated it is about how we can build a healthier community and
racial justice and wisely spending our resources.
Mayor Elliott noted that sitting here today, we have civilian housing inspectors who go out into
the City unarmed and address housing violations. Today, we will hear from expert testimony that
this is an approach that has been met with broad support fi•om law enforcement and police refoi�rn
experts. This resolution will also provide the City with the flexibility to figure out exactly what is
best for our community in the months ahead. Mayor Elliott explained that at the end of the day,
we will be eliminating the type of interactions that can lead to tragic deaths like Daunte Wright.
Mayor Elliott stated this will be an entirely new approach to public safety and create a new
department with a public health orientation to integrate all of these different approaches: traffic,
community response, and fire, under a single umbrella to create a wholistic integrated approach
towards health and safety. it will be led by someone with public health expertise and laser focus
on using evidence-based approaches that are actual ly proven to work. As a result,Brooklyn Center
will more appropriately regulate the use of force by its armed law enforcement officers.
Mayor Elliott stated the City is also committing today to a permanent infrastructure for residents
of our community to help co-create these new approaches to safety with full transparency and
accountability. He noted the City cannot sit here today and anticipate everything that we need to
think about and work on over the years to come but this will ensure that the community will always
have a seat at the table as the City continues to improve its approaches to community safety.
Mayor Elliott stated he sincerely hopes that all in this room here today as well as the experts and
other cities and your Council representatives as well, will all work together to create these new
safer approaches to safety and to become a model for other towns and cities. He stated we know
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this is a `big lift' and the City Council is committed to keeping the community involved every step
of the way, all of the committees have the support they need to get the job done, and in no later
than six months from now to make this vision a reality.
Mayor Elliott stated he is also excited about the path being laid out here today and is grateful to
the City Council Members for helping and taking part in this as well as the cammunity taking part
in forming this resolution. He stated we will now hear from experts who will speak to the aspects
of the resolution that he has just described.
3c. TESTIMONY
Tom Thomson, Retired Chief from Ohio
Tom Thomson, retired Chief from the State of Ohio, stated he retired from a municipal agency
about the size of the City of Brooklyn Center. He also worked for several years as an executive
director in a large health care network in Southwest Ohio. He stated he has a lot of experience in
seeing the difference between setting of behavioral healthcare workers working with patients or
offenders, and police. More importantly, he is speaking on behalf of Law Enforcement Action
Partnerships, a group of judges, attorneys, police executives, and others across the country that
advocate for best practice criminal justice reform and public safety issues. One of the topics they
are working on closely with a number of cities is alternate responders.
Mr. Thomson stated he is very impressed and applauded the Brooklyn Center's courage,
transformative leadership,and willingness to explore alternative responders,which is fairly cutting
edge right now. He explained they are looking at cities who have done it for many years, like
CAHOOTS, or cities that have done it for a short period of time like Albuquerque, New Mexico.
But no matter where in that span the jurisdictions fall,no one in the country has it dialed-in exactly
right yet. Every community is a little bit different so it is important as you start this journey, and
in being a life-long police officer, he can say there are many calls they go on that they know they
are not equipped for or they should not be handling. So, many officers will appreciate what
Brooklyn Center is trying to do.
Mr. Thompson commented on the importance of working towards what is right in Brooklyn
Center, Minnesota, to be very inclusive of all stakeholders, the community to hear their voices,
listen to their concerns,understand their input, inclusive of the police,behavioral health specialists,
city administration, and to include everyone at the table to avoid unintended consequences, like
knowing the types of calls are more or less likely to have weapons or are less likely to create harm
to public safety.
Mr. Thompson stated he also runs a nonprofit with the at-risk immigrant population,primarily the
African population in the Dayton, Ohio, area. This is another reason why being inclusive of
everyone's perspective is very important and we need to listen to everybody at the table.
Mr. Thompson explained that in the alternate responder models,there are really two `buckets' that
go into it. One is behavioral health and addition responses, which are the most popular and very
few do anything outside of that right now. So,on those responder groups,you have different types.
You have behavioral health specialist only or you have behavioral health specialist and police in a
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co-responder model. He stated it is up to the community to decide but as an example, they have
concerned community members in Dayton, Ohio,that say they are afraid if the police are not there,
something bad could happen to the behavioral health specialist. One of the things they are doing
is to convince that statically, is not the case, noting that in Denver, Colorado,Eugene, Oregon,and
other places, police not responding to the calls is not creating harm. He noted the key is dispatch
to screen the call to make sure whether it is a guy with a gun threatening suicide or someone who
is having a difficult time with mental health issues where you don't need police responses.
Mr. Thompson stated in working at a hospital, he can say that police in Ohio have either an 8-hour
mental health first aid class or a 40-hour crisis intervention training but that is a far cry from having
a Masters Degree in psychology or social work and knowing how to navigate conversations with
people that are in a mental health crisis as well as resources. So,the behavioral health response is
light years ahead of what the police are really trained to do.
Mr. Thompson stated the other `bucket' is responding to calls that don't really need a police
response. As an example, neighbors disputing over a property issue, or barking dogs with a noise
complaint. He stated there are models where community responders will respond to those types
of calls instead of police officers. He explained these are the type of calls where police officers
are in a `lose-lose' situation and it is paramount that police officers keep the trust of the community
and with neighbor disputes; the police are automatically going to lose trust of one or both of the
individuals in the dispute. This will negatively affect the police officer's ability to investigate
crime later, impact the resident in wanting to report crime,and drives a wedge in community police
relationships. He stated it is a commonsense approach to send community responders on types of
calls that don't need an armed police response.
Mr. Thompson reported that Albuquerque, New Mexico, is starting to do those things and some
cities, like the City of Dayton, Ohio, have neighborhood assistance officers who maybe even go
to traffic accidents where there is no injury, or direct traffic, or parking citations. He stated with
this response, you keep officers who are trained in criminal justice response and police
investigations to build positive relationships in the community and be able to investigate crime
effectively without responding to calls they don't need to.
Mr. Thompson stated what you do see is a decision Brooklyn Center will end up making that some
of those response groups are community based and some are city based. For example, in
Albuquerque,New Mexico,there is a new division in the city that has the response but other areas
like Eugene,Oregon, or the CAHOOTS Program that coordinates with non-profits in the area who
do the response. He explained that sometimes, the community does not want the government in
charge of those types of responses. Mr. Thompson stated it is going to be very important to draw
from Brooklyn Center whether it is important these responses are outside of the City and monitored
outside of the City.
Mr. Thompson noted that every one of the points it the resolution involves about an hour of
conversation so he will pause at this point to entertain questions of the City Council.
Claudia stated she is hearing this will remove the responsibility from the police as they are to serve
and protect. She asked when will they be trained not to harm people when it is unnecessary and be
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held accountable for their actions. She felt police will still be police even if we do go to this new
model.
Mr. Thompson stated that is a fantastic question and he can be very transparent and say that in law
enforcement, they don't have it right yet. He thinks there does need to be a lot of work in building
a different culture and new leaders and as departments progress, it will be greater opportunity to
build a new culture that treats people with empathy and respect. When he went into the health
care world, he first thought they had a lot to learn from city policing. But he found that in campus
policing, whether health care or university policing, you really have to focus on the individuals
you are working with and partnering with as clients. But here, the expectations to treat people
with empathy and care and love, to help connect people with resources, is a whole new world in
the campus environment. Mr. Thompson stated in looking back at his days in the municipal world,
they had a lot wrong. He explained that in driving a culture from the administration on down
changes the paradigm of how they view their community and ability to make a difference in
people's lives is paramount in shifting cultures of preventing what Claudia is talking about.
Claudia stated when appropriate, she would like the Mayor to respond to that question as well;
when will the Brooklyn Center police culture change and when will police be trained in a manner
to best serve community.
Mr. Thompson stated with regard to culture, he does not think a department can just bring in new
officers, throw some type of generic training at them, and expect it to be different. He thinks it is
important that the entire culture of an organization changes in order to affect real change about
how individuals will work with community and partner with them.
Mayor Elliott thanked Mr. Thompson for his presentation and stated the meeting will now move
on to Dr. Maria Ponomarenko.
Dr. Maria Ponomarenko,Law Professor
Dr.Maria Ponomarenko stated she is a law professor at the University of Minnesota and Cofounder
and Counsel at Policing Project at NYU Law. She explained Policing Project works closely with
police departments and communities in more than a dozen jurisdictions including New York,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Tucson,and Nashville to help make policing more effective, equitable, and
just.
Ms. Ponomarenko commended the City Council for taking up these issues and doing so in a
manner that recognizes the need for transformative change since too often the response on the part
of elected officials in moments of crisis is to tinker at the margins. She stated they have seen time
and again that piecemeal efforts simply do not work.
Ms. Ponomarenko stated historically as elected officials they have tried to stay clear of policing
issues but what they are doing now is not only within their preview but is actually their
responsibility. She noted we give police officers this extraordinary authority to detain people and
use force but it is up to us as communities and to the City Council to ensure that this authority is
in fact used in a way that promotes safety and minimizes the risk of harm. They founded Policing
Project to encourage the involvement that Brooklyn Center is engaging in now.
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Ms. Ponomarenko stated as to the proposed resofution, today she wanted to focus on two in
particular. First regarding the enforcement of non-moving violations and then the use of citations
in lieu of custodial arrest for low-level offenses.
Ms. Ponomarenko noted the first resolution calls for the creation of an unarmed traffic enforcement
department to enforce non-moving violations. This proposal would ensure that these sorts of
infractions cannot be used as pretext to stop someone to investigate more serious wrongdoing and
would reduce the risk that a minor infraction can potentially escalate into a lethal encounter. She
noted that although many departments, including Brooklyn Center, have relied on pretext stops as
a crime control strategy,the reality is that they do very little to promote public safety and, as seen,
they cause a great deal of harm.
Ms. Ponomarenko stated we have heard already about the harm of pretext stops, particularly in
communities of color, so today she wants to focus on the notion that these are harms we somehow
need to accept in order to give police the tools they need to keep us safe. What the evidence
suggests is that this is in fact far from the case. Ms. Ponomarenko noted that in 2017, Policing
Project was invited by the National Police Department and the mayor's office to evaluate that
department's use of pretext stops and, like many agencies, the National Police Department was
convinced that pretext stops were an essential tool for addressing violent crime. Much like they
do in other parts of the country, national officers would go into so called higher-crime
neighborhoods and look for people to stop, usually for a broken taillight, broken platelight,or low-
level moving violations. The idea was that these sorts of stops were necessary both to establish
presence and also to look for evidence of more serious crime.
Ms. Ponomarenko explained that the evidence, however, showed these stops simply didn't work.
In working with researchers from the Stanford Computational Policy Lab, looking at hit rates for
stops(the number of stops that actually resulted in an arrest for more serious crime),and evaluating
the impact of stops on crime rates in the neighborhoods in which they were used, found that only
a tiny fraction of stops, less than 1%, resulted in a gun charge, the discovery of an outstanding
warrant, or an arrest for a more serious crime like robbery or burglary. Just as importantly, they
found these sorts of stops had absolutely no impact on surrounding crime rates. Crime naturally
varied across the city in different parts of the year but flooding a particular neighborhood with a
large number of pretext stops did not seem to have an impact on overall rates of crime in those
particular neighborhoods.
Ms. Ponomarenko stated there was a lot of evidence in Nashville to suggest that stop practices
actually undermined public safety by alienating the very communities that the department needed
to cooperate in order to meaningfully address violent crime. She explained that to the department's
credit, after they received the report,they very quickly realized there were actually better ways for
officers to spend their time. So, in the two years after the study, they cut stops by more than 80%
and told their officers to focus traffic enforcement on traffic safety, which is to say to make stops
only when there is an actual immediate public safety risk. In terms of dealing with violent crime,
to rely on more targeted strategies, often in collaboration with residents to address those sorts of
concerns.
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Ms. Ponomarenko stated other cities have adopted a similar approach. Berkeley is still in the
process of implementing a proposal along the lines that Brooklyn Center is considering. Virginia,
in some ways,took a simpler approach to flat out prohibit officers from making stops for low-level
equipment violations unless those sorts of violations to be enforced are only in the course of stops
for more serious infractions.
Ms. Ponomarenko urged Brooklyn Center, as it formalizes the resolution, to consider adding low-
level moving violations as well. One concern is that if officers can no longer stop somebody for a
broken taillight, or a broken taillight, there will be more stops for failure to signal, for going a few
miles over the speed limit, or the very vague offense of weaving. She stated Policing Project is
working on a more comprehensive statute to address the problem of pretext and as part of that,
developing a broader list of offenses that should generally not give rise to a stop. She stated she
would be happy to pass along that list once it is finalized.
Ms. Ponomarenko stated with regard to the use of citations in lieu of arrest of non-felony offenses,
a custodial arrest is a serious intrusion that must be justified by a serious public safety interest.
There are circumstances in which an arrest is unavoidable but the reality is, we just take far too
many people into custody. She stated custodial arrest of those two distinct sorts of harms; first
there is the cost of the arrest itself to the people who are taken into custody into the criminal justice
system as a whole but perhaps more importantly, any time we authorize an officer to affect an
arrest, we're also implicitly authoring the use of force to affect that arrest. Ms. Ponomarenko
stated she wanted to mention that this doesn't actually have to be the case so we are developing a
model use of force statute that would prohibit officers from using force to affect a misdemeanor
arrest. But, the surest way to avoid the use of force is simply to prohibit the use of arrest all
together.
Ms. Ponomarenko noted that a number of jurisdictions have moved in this direction and she is
happy to say that more in Q and A but a number of States either require or permit summons in lieu
of arrest for a whole slew of low-level non-felony offenses. Other states have dramatically reduced
the use of bench warrants to compel individuals to appear in court, which is yet another way to
diminish the use of custodial arrests in those circumstances.
Ms. Ponomarenko stated the last thing she'Il mention is that in the course of the COVID pandemic,
one thing they have seen is that it is actually possible to arrest far, far fewer people than we have
in the past. So, in order to limit the size of jail populations, a number of major cities including
Portland and Washington, D.C., implemented emergency regulations that would require a
summons in lieu of arrest for virtually all misdemeanor offenses. That suggests that perhaps none
of those events were worthy of a custodial arrest to begin with. She strongly urged the City Council
to not only adopt that measure on a temporary basis, as suggested, but to formalize it as a
permanent policy going forward. Ms. Ponomarenko offered to answer questions.
Mayor Elliott thanked Ms. Ponomarenko for her presentation and welcomed the next presenter,
Dr. Woods.
Dr. Jordan Blair Woods,Tenured Professor
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Dr. Jordan Blair Woods thanked the City Council for the opportunity to speak today. He
introduced himself as a tenured professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law where he
teaches courses in criminal law and procedure, policing, and constitutional law. He stated the
views he expresses here though, are his own. Dr. Woods stated he has doctorates in both law and
criminology and is a leading expert in issues involving policing during traffic stops and non-police
alternatives during traffic law enforcement.
Dr. Woods stated in his limited time, he wants to make two main points. First, he would like to
provide some background on traffic policing. Second, he would like to explain why localities
don't need to rely on police to enforce traffic laws, how civilian traffic enforcement can work, and
its benefits.
Dr. Woods explained that for decades, States and localities have relied on police and typically
armed police officers to enforce traffic laws. Currently, traffic stops are the most common way
that people come into contact with police as each year, police officers conduct tens of millions of
traffic stops and many are based on minor traffic violations. He explained that the breadth of State
and local traffic codes provides countless opportunities for police to pull drivers over. Traffic laws
include a wide range of moving violations and non-moving violations, and some traffic violations
like erratic or reckless driving are open-ended and imprecisely defined. Mr. Woods noted that
police have vast discretion when deciding who to pull over and what actions to take during traffic
stops. For example, under current Fourth Amendment law,traffic enforcement doesn't have to be
the primary motivation for a stop. During a traffic stop, officers can routinely order drivers and
passengers out of cars, frisk them, conduct protective searches in areas of the vehicle, ask for
consent to search their person or vehicles, and even conduct arrests for minor traffic violations.
Dr. Woods stated the history of traffic policing shows we are reliant on police to enforce traf�c
laws, which places all civilians and in particular drivers and passengers of color at risk for being
subjected to an awesome amount of law enforcement activity. For decades, traffic stops have had
a much broader purpose that traffic safety or traffic law compliance. Rather, police officers have
used and continue to use traffic stops as a primary tool of criminal investigation and pro-active
policing. Officers commonly use minor traffic violations as pretext to stop and search persons
whom they believe are suspicious and involved in crime and that has nothing to do with the
underlying traffic violation. Dr. Woods stated these practices persist even though empirical data
lends support to the idea that traffic stops are a relatively ineffective tool of criminal investigation.
Dr. Woods noted that all too often, officer judgements about suspicious persons and activity are
intertwined with improper assumptions about race and communities of color. Several studies show
that police disproportionately stop people of color, often for pretextual reasons, and subject them
to additional intrusive police activity through questioning,frisking, searching,citing,and arresting
them. Police initiated traffic stops are often frightening and humiliating experiences for people of
color and time and time again traffic stops escalate into unnecessary and unjustified violence
against stopped drivers and passengers and especially people of color. Dr. Woods stated the tragic
killing of Daunte Wright is a vivid reminder that routine traffic stops can be deadly for unarmed
Black drivers who pose no danger.
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Dr.Woods noted that civilian traffic enforcement would avoid these injustices while still achieving
traffic safety. In a forthcoming article in the Stanford LaN� Review, he presents a new legal
framework for civilian traffic enforcement that is in line with the City's proposed resolution. The
framework reframes traffic enforcement as a transportation safety and not a policing problem.
Dr. Woods explained this is how the new system would work: localities would redelegate the bulk
of traffic enforcement to newly created `traffic agencies,' which would be staffed by public
employees called `traffic monitors.' Instead of police officers,traffic monitors would be in charge
of conducting in-person traffic stops for minor traffic violations (for instance speeding, failure to
maintain a lane, red light violations, etc.). Unlike police officers, traffic monitors would not be
armed or vested with powers to detain, search, or arrest. The authority of traffic monitors would
be limited to stopping vehicles for traffic violations, requestion documentation, and issuing traffic
tickets. Their basic training would include violence prevention, verbal de-escalation tactics, and
self-defense strategies. Traffic monitors would not be authorized to run criminal background
checks and traffic agencies would not have access to such information.
Dr. Woods noted a key feature of a civilian traffic enforcement system is that newly created traffic
agencies and traffic monitors would operate entirely separate from the police. Collaboration
between traffic monitors and the police would only be allowed in very limited circumstances. For
instance,traffic monitors could request police assistance only if necessary,when faced with a more
serious driving offense (perhaps driving a stolen vehicle or driving while intoxicated). Traffic
monitors could also request police assistance if during a traffic stop,they encounter a very limited
subset of non-traffic crimes that involve violence or an imminent threat of violence against a
person in a stopped vehicle (for instance, kidnapping or aggravated battery or assault).
Dr. Wood stated civilian traffic enforcement would have major benefits for reducing racial
disparities in policing. This new system would dramatically reduce the extent to which people of
color come into contact with the police through traffic enforcement. Police would no longer be
ale to use minor traffic violations as pretexts to stop people of color or peruse for evidence of non-
traffic crime. In addition, stops for minor traffic vio(ations would not escalate into unnecessaiy
and unjustified police violence and killings of people of color. Simply put, civilian traffic
enfot•cement brings the purpose of traffic stops back to being about traffic safety and traffic law
enforcement.
Dr. Woods noted that other jurisdictions are already moving in the direction of civilian traffic
enforcement in order to address recurring problems with injustices that stem from police-initiated
traffic stops. Most notably, in July 2020, the City of Berkeley, California, voted in favor or a
proposal to remove police from conducting traffic stops as part of a comprehensive plan to achieve
structural police reform. The proposal directs the city to create a department of transportation
staffed by unarmed civil servants who would be in charge of enforcing traffic laws instead. In
several other localities, calls are growing for similar reforms that remove police from traffic
enforcement in favor of non-police alternatives to enforce traffic laws.
Dr. Woods stated he realizes his time is limited, thanked all for their attention to these critical
problems, and the opportunity to testify today. He offered to answer questions later on.
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Mayor Willson thanked Dr. Woods for his comments and opened the floor to public comments
and questions.
Public Testimony
A speaker noted that in the last several years they have seen a lot of attempts in a lot of departments
nationally to make some specific changes in response to a lot of police violence that has occurred.
Along with many of the policy changes that have been proposed, he was curious as to what
modifications are being made to the general model for the use of force continuum. He asked Mr.
Thompson to speak to the current training and how that might be modified in order to minimize
the opportunity for things to devolve into unnecessary violence.
Mr. Thompson stated he thinks there are municipalities all over the country that are taking a hard
look at their use of force policies and where things have not gone right in the past, there are two.
One,holding officers accountable for misusing force has not happened as often as it needs to across
the country. He thinks it is important to make sure that departments across the country have
accountability and in-depth oversight over each and every use of force so not only is it documented
but there is oversight at multiple levels within the department. And, depending on where you're
at, it could be community oversight as well. Mr. Thompson explained that based on each incident,
you recognize if there are policies or procedure problems,are there training issues,does this officer
need to go, and partner with the community to make sure that officers who are misusing force are
no longer officers. Mr. Thompson stated he also thinks one of the problems, as mentioned before,
is culture since a lot of police training is all shoot and not a lot of decision making involved. That
is from discerning the dispatch call on your arrival, teaching officers as they go through use of
force processes, coupling that training with training that makes them use independent thought,
makes them look for other options than using force, and along with training force, training de-
escalation, empathy, and compassionate culture.
Mr. Thompson noted a lot of this sounds maybe far fetched if you are a police officer but he knows
for a fact that by shifting culture and training methods, such as inside their hospital network where
they reduced uses of force in the first year by about 150°/o in a network where there were 170
officers with only 20 uses of force and all of them minor during the course of an entire year. Mr.
Thompson stated if you are training empathy, the culture of de-escalation, building ►•elationships
instead of going right to force options, which his what officers are trained in, there is a lot of
training that needs to improve. He stated that everybody across the country is probably not
addressing it effectively but he does think people are starting to address that issue.
Imam Dukuly asked Mr. Thompson if he agrees with everything in the resolution and if not, why
not. He also asked if there is anything Mr. Thompson would recommend to be added to the
resolution.
Mr.Thompson stated the first time he saw the resolution was when it was being read tonight. What
he saw in the resolution was that it was very comprehensive so it would be difficult to go to each
point now and say whether he agreed with each. But he can say that as a whole, what he saw was
a very positive and courageous move forward for Brooklyn Center.
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Mr. Thompson stated the only part he saw where there is some pause is that it is important to listen
to all stakeholders involved, noting if civilians are making traffic stops, that is one of the most
dangerous situations for police officers and he would talk through that one if that was the case to
make sure that all precautions are in place to ensure the community responder and the citizen being
stopped are safe. Mr. Thompson stated the rest of the resolution, from what he saw, looked good.
Mr. Thompson stated he didn't see anything in the Resolution about recruiting but thinks that is
very important to be able to build a department that looks like your community. Mr. Thompson
explained he is working with the new American community so the reason he had a hard stop is
that right now, they are working with two men from Africa who are applying to the Police
Academy. Mr. Thompson stated he thinks giving your community a bigger global perspective and
understanding is also important.
Mayor Elliott stated the families of Daunte and Kobe wanted to speak this evening and invited
them to do so.
Amity Dimock stated she is the mother of Kobe Heisler, the 21-year-old boy who was murdered
in his home by a Brooklyn Center Police Officer in 2019, noting this measure is named after him
and Daunte who was murdered recently by the same department just five blocks away. Ms.
Dimock stated it is important we pass sweeping police reform at the State level, City level, and
National level to note this has been going on for too long and the facts speak for themselves. She
stated a lot of the subjects are Black and Brown and poor and mental health related and disability
related people with violence on their bodies up to and including death. She stated she is here as a
huge supporter of zero police response to mental health calls. She can promise that if Brooklyn
Center had something like that in place when the police were called to that house, her son would
be alive today. Ms. Dimock stated all the police did in that situation was escalate an already de-
escalated situation and if you are one of the people who just listen to what the news says or reads
the police narrative, it will say that they came in and deescalated a situation but it is impossible to
deescalate a situation that's already deescalated and the only thing you can do is make it worse.
Ms. Dimock stated her son's case is just one of many and Travis Jordan is another well person
check. She stated when people in the community are asking for our help, what we are supposed
to do is give them help. We are all one community and we are not to go in and terrorize them and
then murder them in their own home in front of their grandmother. Then instead of rendering aid
I at all,to put handcuffs on him after they murdered him. She stated that is beyond unacceptable and
she is here and will be here and everywhere she can get her voice heard because the time for police
reform was yesterday.
Ms. Dimock stated as far as people in power having information, Minnesota and all the elected
officials have known that Minnesota has the second highest prevalence rate of people on the
Autism Spectrum. She has said it before and will say it again,why is Minnesota not the second or
best in knowing how to deal with people on the Autism Spectrum because if elected officials had
done what they were supposed to do,which is to take the information they know they have and do
the right thing with it,her son would be alive and so would Daunte. Ms.Dimock stated these ideas
are not new or just coming up now. They are ideas and bills that we have been trying to pass for
years upon years. This is just the first time that due to being able to watch George Floyd be
OS/08/21 -1 I-
lynched, State sanctioned on TV for all of us to watch and now Daunte Wright, people are starting
to pay attention but this is nothing new in attempts people have been trying to make. The one
difference now is that people are actually paying attention, more than just the elected officials.
Now the world is watching us whereas those of us trying to make the difference have been
generally watching the rest of our nation pass all of these commonsense bills while we're pussy
footing around, acting like this stuff can't get done.
Ms. Dimock stated she is controlling herself as she wants to yell and scream and cry and call
people out but that will not solve anything. What is going to solve the problem is making these
bold moves. She stated last year when they were able to get some watered-down bills in the 2020
session, they are not playing that game because they are talking about people's lives. She stated
the small-time traffic things are a ripple effect on their lives because you get a charge and can't
get an apartment. She stated we all know what's going on and the rest of the world is catching
onto what's going on and that they're not making this up. There is a disparity and they are done,
done, and will not accept it any more. She stated one of the first places to start it is in the law, in
the prisons, in the ticketing, the people they are murdering, and the people they are stopping.
Break in transmission from I:34-1:42 into the meeting.
Claudia stated she really wanted an answer to the question she had, when the police are going to
be held responsible for their actions. She stated she appreciated Jordan's comments about the
experience of Black folks in America for years.
Mr. Dukuly stated 55 years ago, the City was incorporated and the same laws cannot be
implemented today. We need to make changes in the Charter, to read the Charter, and see what
changes we can make. He stated what happened the other day, a major confrontation between the
Mayor and the Police Chief and the City Manager is wrong because when there is a crisis in the
City, you should come together and work together. We didn't see that and that is wrong so we
need to change the Charter in Brooklyn Center to reflect the existing realty of today. He stated we
came here to support the Council and the Mayoc. He thanked the Mayor for taking a bold step,
noting that not even the United States Congress is prepared do this but the Mayor is prepared to
do this. He stated we stand by you, support you today, support you tomorrow, and if they have to
bring thousands to this Hall,they are prepared to do that. He stated this resolution must be passed.
Billy Jean VanKnight stated she is here because there were only 18 days last year that police didn't
kill someone in the United States, only 18 days and up to 8 people per day, 120 of those were
because of traffic stops and 97 were mental health. She stated those are the top two reasons that
people died at police hands last year. She stated we can get rid of that or at lease minimize it
greatly, like the speaker said,they have data on it. Ms. VanKnight stated just think about it in your
heart and what it would mean to you to be able to say, `i saved that many lives and all I had to do
was say you don't have to do as much work police. You don't have to stop everybody with a
Brown face that you see. You don't have to stop people for taillights.' She stated there is no reason
for that. Ms. VanKnight stated there are a lot of options on what we can do to make sure the
community is safe and right now, having the police not stop people for minor traffic stops and
having mental health be responded to by police is not okay as they are not trained for it. She stated
if you ask any police officer, they will say they are not trained for it and they don't know all the
OS/08/21 -12-
different things. Ms. VanKnight stated they will say all the time they are trained in de-escalation
but if that was true, she thinks more people would be alive today.
Ms. VanKnight stated we have talked a lot about the dead but let's talk about the living too. She
stated Black people's lives not only matter when they die but they matter all the time. So, the
Racial Justice Network is doing work now with the Minneapolis City Attorney and the data found
from traffic stops, people being charged basically illegally and signing off their rights, things that
can get them deported, say a little bit of marijuana dropped on the floor in your car, people get
charged with a petty misdemeanor for that even though you have to have at least 1.4 grams. They
sign it without a lawyer and then their rights are gone and they lose their job and can be deported
and all sorts of things. She stated there is so much we can do by just stopping traffic stops that we
don't need to do because it is basically giving poor people an extra tax because whose taillight
stays broken. If you are running around and have $100,000 in the bank, you are not going to let
your taillight stay broken because there is no reason for it.
Ms. VanKnight stated she wants everyone to think about who you are really impacting, not only
the dead but the living by doing this and also saving people the stress of being pulled over. Ms.
VanKnight stated she knows a lot of White people get stressed by being pulled over but Black
people also have this traumatic thing that happens when they don't know if they will live or die.
And, you can stop that even if the police only want to say, `Man, you know, your taillight is out.
Get that fixed.' But you don't know that when they come up to you and you are worried that your
life is in danger. She encouraged the City Council to pass this because it will mean a lot to mainly
the living because the dead can't do anything anymore, they are at peace, thank God. She stated
we don't want more dead people so please, mental health is so important and we want people to
be able to call somebody to get help for their friends and family, we want to be able to drive in
peace without being harassed, and you can make a difference.
Jaylani Hussein offered a greeting of peace and blessings upon all. He acknowledged that we are
now standing on Native American land that was stolen and this country has been built on a legacy
of injustice but he personally believes in this country and the people of this country. In this
moment, he wanted to also acknowledge not only the Mayor but the City Council and the steps
take that have led to this moment, which is historic, important, powerful, and most importantly
will never be forgotten. He stated we would not be having this conversation if they did not make
those decisions literally two days after Daunte Wright was killed. To the public and rest of you,
he has been wrestling with the question, `Why was George Floyd killed in such a manner? Why
did we see the death of Daunte Wright in such a manner?' He stated while they are no longer with
us and we are here to stand for them and to stand for Kobe Heisler and all the names that many
people don't know but exist across the State. He personally does not believe that God puts a
burden on a community unless that community can bear it.
Mr. Hussein stated America's police have been killing Black people all over this country for far
too long but the reality is that in this moment, he personally believes there is goodness in this
community, noting Brooklyn Center is the most diverse community in the State of Minnesota. So,
if you don't see that diversity, maybe you see it in this room, but you can walk around Brooklyn
Center and it represents the future of this country. What we really need today from the Brooklyn
Center Council and residents is two things. One, we need to listen to each other and specifically
OS/08/21 -13-
listen to people of color and predominately Black men. The reason why is because for the longest
time, the reality is that their experience is much different than many people. He stated he is a
Black Muslim man in America and when he leaves the United States as a United States citizen, as
he did this past February, when he returned and landed in Chicago's O'Hare Airport, he was not
treated as a regular American. When he came back, he was in a line with the rest of the people,
the border protection officer read his name,and took him to a back room for a secondary screening.
Nothing about him being Black and Muslim. He stated that is not the only harassment we see from
police. He sees it every single day at Care Minnesota where community members are visited by
the FBI for no absolute reason.
Mr. Hussein stated he has grown up in this community, worked in Brooklyn Center, and
remembers as a young person,growing up in Columbia Heights,where he was stopped not because
of his taillight or expired tabs but because he was a Black man and he didn't even himself
understand that. He still remembers when he saw them behind him, they would turn their lights
on, and the only question they would ask is, `Where are you going?' It is not even a traffic stop
and he did not violate anything but was still stopped. He stated he internalized it as many of Black
people do and started questioning his car,maybe it is the time of the day,maybe there is something,
until it got to the point that his parents asked him to sell the car because they believed it was the
car. He stated we all have and share those stories.
Mr. Hussein stated this resolution would be historic,just as we heard in Hennepin County, `guilty,
guilty, guilty.' He hopes in this City of Brooklyn Center that we can become the city that is
actually the center for justice in this Country. He asked everyone to not belittle this action even
though many of us know this is just the beginning because the City of Minneapolis did not do what
Brooklyn Center did. They did not open a door for the community to have a Listening Session
and they did not bring forth resolutions they can act upon immediately to reduce harm. He stated
the residents of this City, the State and the Country will be grateful for you for moving us forward
in a direction where, as others have said, it's really about saving lives. He noted we live in a
society where we are addicted to violence from every corner, from the Federal government that
spends more money in military than education and the welfare of its people. He stated the City of
Brooklyn Center spends more of its money on police and not supporting the residents, which is an
issue and culture we have to get rid of and it starts here.
Mr. Hussein stated the first of those core things is ending these stops and the reality is if we
quantify these stops, they are stopping poor people. Only poor people have broken lights, cannot
pay their license tabs, cannot pay their tickets. He stated he has seen that if you are a rich person
and you didn't pay a speeding ticket, you will hire an attorney and get an easy way out of it but
the rest of us get added to a system where they may even lose their driver's license. He stated the
second point and what was heard from Amity and the Kobe Heisler family, 54% of all police
involved shootings involve someone going through a mental health crisis. He noted that adding a
trained person in mental health will not only save the lives of individuals but also save the lives of
others in the community because in these situations, it's not just the individual that the police are
killing, they are also killing neighbors and people around. He stated his heart breaks to the Kobe
family to be in this position in this moment and also Daunte Wright's family.
OS/08/21 -14-
Mr. Hussein stated this is something that is happening all over this Country and all over this State.
He stated we ask today for the same courage that we saw displayed the moment when you realized
the toughest decision to always make is to cut from the people you have been building a
relationship with. For you to recognize the City Manager and Police Chief failed your community.
That was not an easy `ask.' He stated this is a skeleton framework and the details will be developed
together as a community to make sure we are responsive to this. He stated no civilian person will
catch people, it will be someone trained to be able to stop people who are violating some codes.
He noted there are no police officers that go with guns drawn to collect property taxes but they do
that for State registrations. He asked what type of society have we built for us to have that type of
dangerous situation created when we all know they are pulling over people of color and all the
studies show most of the stops against Black people are during the day because they can see who's
inside.
Mr. Hussein stated he is one of many people and thanked all the people who came today as this is
an historic day just to hear this resolution, which for them is the biggest win they have had in this
State so far. He noted the State Legislators are still playing politics and just last week they removed
qualified immunity from the bills and are already watering down no knock warrant bills among
other things. He has hope in this City, City Council, Mayor, and the residents of this City to ask
for change and that change sparks a transformative change across this State and Country. People
in the history books will remember Brooklyn Center, not for what happened but what it did after
what happened.
Mayor Elliott stated he wanted to recognize that the meeting started late and the City Council
wants the opportunity for folks to come up and speak after the information was presented so the
meeting will continue but folks can feel free to leave also.
Councilmember Graves thanked all for coming out tonight and to the presenters and Mayor for
working on the resolution. She stated she will be leaving the meeting, noting she did not plan to
be here, the City Council only heard about this meeting on Thursday, and she read the resolution
and agenda yesterday along with the rest of the City Council. Councilmember Graves stated there
is nothing in the resolution she is overtly opposed to but feels there needs to be time to work
together as a community and an opportunity for the City Council to talk about it as well, which
they have not yet done. She stated she looks forward to having an on-going discussion. She
wished all a blessed rest of the weekend.
Councilmember Graves left the meeting at 6:02 p.m.
Johnathan McClellan, President of the Minnesota Justice Coalition, part of a collective of
organizations that work with the families and community at the St. Paul Capitol and in
Washington, D.C., stated he is a legislative and congressional advisor and also on the Race and
Equity Council for Hennepin County and the Justice Committee Chair. Mr.McClellan stated their
greatest failure will be to do nothing, knowing what we know. He clarified something stated
earlier, this resolution does not have civilians making moving traffic stops. He stated the time is
now for reform, our police departments must devolve,the time is now and you must take the side,
the side of accountability, equality, and justice for all or the side of status quo, division, brutality,
and privileges.
OS/08/21 -15-
Mr. McClellan stated last summer he had the privilege to spend a day with Martin Luther King,
III, the son of the late Dr. King,Jr.,and his family. Martin Luther King,Jr.,a civil rights icon who
freely gave his life to teach the world that dreaming was possible and, in that moment and in our
conversation, it was made clear that we cannot stop; we must keep pressing ahead. He stated there
is no going back as the future is forward. Mr. McClellan stated the Minnesota Justice Coalition
supports these measures and this resolution and support the City of Brooklyn Centec•. He asked the
City Council to support it without reservation or delay.
John Montfortian,organizer with the Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative,organizing
in Bi•ooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park, stated they are fully in support of the resolution. He noted
the current model of public safety that we have in this Country, State,and Brooklyn Center is much
too narrow. It was too narrow to understand the value of the life of Kobe. It was too narrow to
understand the value of the life of Daunte. It was too narrow to understand the value of the life of
George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Philandro Castile. It was much too narrow
and has failed over and over again. He noted it failed the people who live right next to the police
precinct who were terrorized and are still struggling and afraid. That is not public safety, that is a
lack of safety, a created lack of safety. It failed the small business owners on the strip mall right
next to the police precinct, many of who now are having to struggle to stay open. It failed
employees who lost wages because of what took place because our current model of public safety
is way too narrow. He is fully in support of this resolution because he does not want to feel this is
too narrow of a public safety system for him or his friends or his family or his children. He stated
he is tired of same old same old and asked how many times are we going to have to repeat atrocity
after atrocity. He is fully in support of the resolution because it is a bold step into a future that
many of us don't know will look like but it will probably look better than this. He stated history
is at stake and Brooklyn Center and the people who live in Brooklyn Center are making that
history. He asked the City Council to keep moving forward.
Kia Welch stated she lives in the 6640 building and wanted to discuss some key points. She agreed
with John and is in support of the resolution and thankful something was put in place to help the
police properly police the community, which is so important. She feels like we need a new
department, a new model of public safety, something that stops the police from operating with
impunities in our community because we are human and have families and children, just like
everybody else. She stated we want safety like everybody else and she feels we don't have that.
Ms. Welch stated part of public safety is receiving economic justice due to the unrest that took
place and the tenants who live across the street from the poLice station are still recovering. She
stated they felt abandoned, unheard, and something needs to be put in place, a type of precaution
because what if this happens again because there is a court hearing on May 17. She asked what is
in place for them who have already dealt with the unrest,who will protect them and their children.
Ms. Welch stated the resolution is awesome and she appreciates it because it is a first step but there
are many more to go, which is what she wants to emphasize today. She hopes she was transparent
as they are looking for the City to step up and say this is the first step and there are many more,
we see there is an issue, and this is how we're going to resolve it.
OS/08/21 -16-
Ashfey Long stated she lives in Brooklyn Center and is very fearful of the police and their actions.
She is scared to go on walks because she thinks what happened to Kobe Heisler and how that could
have been her as she as an anxiety disorder and PTSD and because of her mental health disorders,
can act in ways that make other people feel uncamfortable or feel like their life is endangered. She
stated at those times, she does not need police officers to attack her and put her in handcuffs. She
needs someone there to calm her down and make her feel like she is safe. Ms. Long stated for
police officers, she feels that if they can't control themselves in stressful situations or feel like their
life is endangered when the pull somebody over, then that should not be their job. Their job is to
protect people not murder them. She stated police officers definitely need more training. Ms.
Long stated she saw a post on Facebook and it said, `Your skin color isn't blue, you wear blue,
you signed up to wear blue, you get paid to wear blue, and when you go home at night you get to
take off the blue, think about that, Black lives matter.' Ms. Long stated she completely agrees.
Kianna Williams stated she has been working with some community leaders with events and
organizing things and wasn't prepared to speak but thought she could say some things. She is 22
years old, a nursing student with a minor in Autism Spectrum, and has worked with many
individuals who have gone through mental health crises who are on the Autism Spectrum. She
asked how can someone who is 22 years old be taught how to deescalate a situation,calm someone
down to the point where they can communicate what is causing them to have this crisis, but a
police officer who is supposed to serve and protect our community cannot use this de-escalation
tactic. She stated it is hard to see the justification of Kobe Heisler and Travis Jordan who were
having a mental health crisis.
Mark Allen stated he voted for the Mayor once and does not always agree with him, has had
conversations with him, but in this case the resolution is a good start. He made notes on some
things that need a little more attention, which Mr. Thompson also touched on that need some
additional clarification, but it is definitely a good start. Mr. Allen stated like others have said, we
are at a better place than our fellow City of Minneapolis in similar regard. He extended his heart
out to their family because he also has Autism in his family as well as the Daunte Wright family.
He stated he looks forward to moving on to a more healing part of this process, get beyond it, and
be a light for other communities to see around the Country in how they have done things here in
Brooklyn Center.
A speaker offered a greeting in Islam and commended the Mayor for bringing this new resolution,
noting it is important to recognize that although it is a new step towards something different that
might work, it will never bring back Daunte Wright, Kobe Heisler, or take away the pain and grief
these families are feeling. She stated the City Council has an opportunity to make a difference in
an historic moment that is sad to be a part of and if there is any humanity left in elected officials,
in all of you, then you'll recognize what we have right now. The Brooklyn Center Police
Department has been alive for 68 years and it has not worked. It does not serve the community
and this is your moment to recognize that. She stated it should not take all of these people to come,
share their grief, share their stories, and tell you to please help us. It should not have to take that
especially year after year when you knock on their doors and say you are going to do something
different. She stated to the City Council that this is your moment to do something different and
pass this resolution and listen to your Mayor.
OS/08/21 -17-
Randy Christensen,Brooklyn Center resident who was born in Minneapolis and came to Brooklyn
Center 55 years ago, stated he has disagreed with the Mayor on a ton of things but today it is not
about that. He stated the shortness of this, in trying to read through it, by in large he loves what is
going on with it and there is a lot of great stuff in it that we need to support and there is no problem
there. But there are some things that are of concern from a couple of different standpoints and he
would like the opportunity to at least work through those things. Mr. Christensen thought that
acting on something this fast is not in the best interest, though he understands striking while the
iron is hot, it is important to get it done soon, but this is too soon today for this vote. He believes
this should be voted on and 95% is going to be what is needed to move us forward. He is not
disagreeing with this in whole but is saying let's hold on the vote because there are a couple of
things that need to be talked about. Mr. Christensen stated he appreciates taking a breath and
saying let's get this going but let's make sure we are doing it right because he does not want to
miss something else that will do harm somewhere else in the community and costing too much
money because we can't afford it. He wants to make sure it is being done correctly.
Ishmael Dorray stated as a Black man living in America, like all Black men in America, he wants
the right to be able to go to the store and make it back home. He stated he believes everybody
should have that right, all of our youth. He thanked the Mayor for taking such courage in
introducing this resolution because this is what it looks like when you have an elected official who
is a leader and works to solve the community's problems. He thanked Mayor Elliott.
CJ Jessup, Executive Director of Second Chance Project, greeted everyone and stated he wants to
be mindful and careful of the words that come out of his mouth and today he speaks for himself.
He stated the last time you heard him speak, he spoke on accountability and it is good to see that
conversation didn't fall on deaf ears because being part of the proposed resolution today shows
him that some individuals are holding themselves also accountable and making real life changes.
Mt•. Jessup stated he is all about healing and wants to announce that this coming Wednesday, May
12, from 2-7 p.m., there will be a Heal the City event to show the world about Brooklyn Center
strong. They will show everybody that we can collaborate, come together in spite of our
differences, and will make this work.
Mr.Jessup stated he believes this resolution is not the entire answer but is a start that with repeated
conversations will continue to grow with hopes that many more will join and follow and we can
begin the healing process of what we have been facing for far too long. He stated his heart and
prayers and condolences go out to Kobe and his family, to the family of Daunte Wright, and to all
the individuals who lost their lives by the hands of people that were sworn to protect and serve.
However, we can all heal from this and move together. CJ stated he believes in his heart, as a
personal opinion, that as long as we hold onto this anger, that it will continue to put us back so he
decided that his part in this change is to create the Second Chance Project movement and the Heal
the City movement because he believes the folks in this room, folks who are watching, and those
who surround us,know how to come together and show uniformity,and represent Brooklyn Center
strong.
Mr. Jessup repeated the Heal the City dates and encouraged folks to check their website at
www.SecondChanceProjectMinnesota.org and see the event information that will occur including
OS/08/21 -18-
a trust circle because that is where we have to start, with trusting each other in spite of our
differences. CJ stated in spite of what he may believe,what you may believe,at the end of the day
it's all about the work we do so each one can wake up and go to sleep safely and soundly in our
own communities. He stated his thanks and God bless everybody.
Lori Bordahl stated she is 100% in favor of the resolution and feels like it should have been done
yesterday. She stated it is something the community has been talking about for a very long time
and were hoping to push something through before the murder of Daunte Wright. She is still
grieving the loss with Amity and her children. She stated people should not have to live in fear of
the police who are supposed to be protecting us. To the City Council, she stated she has seen the
comments on this event and within the community, mainly from the White community about the
cost of something like this. She stated it should not have to come down to cost when this is your
child and if you felt this could happen to your own family, your child, your cousin, your brother,
you would have empathy with what our Black and Brown people are going through. In addition
to that, we pay 40%of our tax money to the Police Department so we do have the money to make
this happen. She noted that with groups like CAHOOTS, it's been proven that it actually saves us
money. If you want to look at the cost factor it will be saving us money in lawsuits alone that is
costing us. She stated the Brooklyn Center Police Department is costing us money and costing the
community our lives. She asked the City Council to deeply take that into consideration when
passing this resolution as it is very important and she feels it needs to be done yesterday.
Mayor Elliott invited Council Members to say a few words before this Listening Session is closed.
City Council Member Comments
Councilmember Butler greeted everyone and thanked them for being here today. She offered her
sincere condolences to the families that are here today and Daunte Wright's family who could not
be with us. She stated like many in this room who have already testified, she too has seen and
experienced things happening that should not have happened and trauma that should not have taken
place. From a young child, her father was a Hennepin County social worker, a D.C. police officer,
a respected person in the community yet having an interaction with the Minneapolis police and
with children in the car. So, as a young person, she remembers hearing that story and nothing was
done to rectify the situation even though they were in the wrong. She stated on the University of
Minnesota campus, sitting on the passenger side of the car, her boyfriend and now husband, was
pulled over while wearing the word `Alpha" on his chest, which is a fraternity, and University of
Minnesota plates on his car so clearly, he was a student. But when pulled over, he was asked for
his license because he didn't look old enough to drive. Luckily, they left that situation unscathed
but the trauma is still there.
Councilmember Butler stated three weeks before Daunte Wright was murdered, about four
complaints came to her inbox, either phone or voice mail, from Black men that had been profiled
by our police officers and one was from her brother. She stated because of the platform she has,
she was able to call a meeting right away to get to the bottom of what was going on. In that
moment, he said he feared for his life. Unfortunately, those fears were dismissed by the former
Chief and three weeks later we all saw what happened. She stated she understands the hesitation
around passing a resolution like this and understands that a lot of the community does not share in
the trauma that, unfortunately, many of us Black and Brown people have had to experience.
OS/08/21 -19-
Councilmember Butler stated we have lost two people's lives within a year at the hands of our
police officers so while yes, we have been inconvenienced with extra meetings and extra phone
calls and e-mails, but two families don't have their sons. She stated she is operating these days on
very limited sleep and time with her family because the urgency is right now. We don't have time
to wait around for something else to happen. With George Floyd's murder in June, she
immediately,within a week or two,tried to pass some police reform but we didn't have the urgency
to get it done. We passed a few things but didn't have the urgency that maybe could have saved
Daunte Wright's life.
Councilmember Butler stated she is tired of waitinb and almost didn't run for reelection because
it takes up a lot of time and for those who don't know, it's a `part-time'job. She is a co-leader of
a department with 30 people in her full-time job, she's a mom, a wife, and does not have a lot of
time, but something was calling her to run again and she is glad she did.
Councilmember Butler stated these last three weeks have not been easy on any of us or the
community, but if we have the opportunity now to make a difference and try to lessen the trauina
our community continues to experience, to save another person's life, we have to do it. She was
prepared to move the resolution today, but one of the Councilmembers has left so it's her
suggestion we wait to take the vote once we have a full Council. She believes the City Council
has to recess the meeting, propose a new date, and hopefully next Saturday works or a date next
week when the full City Council can be present so they can take a vote on the resolution.
Councilmember Butler again thanked all for being here and for their time.
Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson thanked all for being here and those who are staying late as
this is a very important meeting. She noted that as Councilmember Butler said, the City Council
is not going to make a decision this evening but there is a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday.
She stated this is a very serious topic and it needs to be thoroughly looked. The City Council just
received this resolution so she has not had time to really dig deep into it and look into it.
Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated certainly we do need change but we need to make sure
we make all the right changes, at least to the best of our ability, so we definitely will be looking
into this when we have a full City Council available to vote. She again stated her appreciation to
everyone for coming and delving into this.
Councilmember Ryan introduced himself and stated he has lived all of his life in Brooklyn Center
and this is his 15t" hear of service on the City Council. He thanked each and every one for being
here,for sharing,and for staying late. He stated his heart goes out to the families who have suffered
this terrible loss,which is a tragedy and it grieves him deeply to hear that anyone in his community
that he serves lives in fear. He stated it is not enough to look at statistics that say certain activities
in certain places in certain neighborhoods, that people are statistically safe. That is not good
enough and he does not want people to live in fear.
Councilmember Ryan stated he learned a great deal from his brother-in-law who married his wife's
sister 22 years ago. When they first visited his home in Brooklyn Center,his brother-in-law offered
to give him a hand with a little project so they went to Sears to get some things. He was getting
the hardware stuff and they were about ready to go and he couldn't understand why his brother-
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in-law was so angry so he said, `Clark, what's the matter man?' His brother-in-law said, `I hate
going into stores because detectives are always following me around just because I'm Black.'
Councilmember Ryan stated it had not been his experience, obviously, as he won't be mistaken
for someone who's Black.
Councilmember Ryan stated that's just so wrong,what we're discussing here tonight is of profound
importance, and he is trying to bring the whole community together on this. He stated he hears
extreme views here, or other extreme views over there, but when you try to be a bridge, you
shouldn't be surprised if you're walked over. But that doesn't bother him as he's not important,
the people he serves are important and the job is important so he wants to do right by everybody.
Councilmember Ryan stated he thinks people with good will, with good hearts, and good minds
will find that we will disagree on things but the reason we have a democracy and why people can
express their views and opinions is part of the democratic process. That is how we can settle our
differences and come together.
Councilmember Ryan stated he has great hope that we can build something better through this
process. He stated his agreement with Councilmember Butler that we should do that when the
City Council is all together. Also, he had only seen this resolution very late the day before
yesterday. He noted that Mr. Thompson just saw it, he had a lifetime of public safety, is a veteran
police officer,and indicated he needed to look at it more thoroughly. Councilmember Ryan agreed
that is what the City Council ought to do, but without delay. Councilmember Ryan again thanked
each and every one for being here, for sharing, to help him open his heart to yours:
Amity Dimock stated she's just going to be honest right now, it seems like the only people who
feel like we should sit and wait, surprisingly, are White folks. People who think that the time is
not now,the people who think that we need more time,there's always an excuse and there's always
a reason why this stuff can't get passed. She stated pass it and figure out the kinks later on, don't
make any more excuses because these are people's lives. She wished she had the power to put
you in my shoes or Katie Wright's shoes or any of the other 470 murders in the State of Minnesota
in the last 20 years alone. She stated at this point, she is not asking, she is demanding the change.
She is not sure why one of the Council Members left but she is demanding a one-week answer to
this question being posed to you and, quite honestly, there is only one right answer and that is to
pass the resolution.
Ms. Dimock stated she does not want to have to be doing this time and time again and as she
mentioned earlier,this is not the first time this stuff has been brought up. She felt there is a certain
group of people that always seem to come up with the reasons why it can't be heard or why it can't
be passed, some little this or some little that. She understands the City Council needs a little time
to look at it but all the testifiers are saying,and the facts from other cities are showing,that it works
so what more do you need.
A speaker stated they have come to the City Council many times and she would just hope that after
all of this looking at the details of the resolution, there would be a commitment from the City
Council that at the end of the day, this is something and an opportunity of a lifetime to make a
change for generations. He encouraged the City Council to not lose that and stated he hopes what
happened in this City, that Brooklyn Center will be taking the first step in the Nation, and do not
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lose that opportunity. He stated he had mentioned before that Brooklyn Center is a city unlike any
other city because this is the only City that is so diverse where all people live together. That is the
opportunity for the City Council to set a great example to the whole Cow�try, and he encouraged
the City Council to not lose that. He stated he hopes to secure a commitment from the City Council,
noting they have the right to look at it but, by the way, all the resolution is doing is creating an
opportunity to set up a committee. The committee will then do some studies and come back with
a recommendation that the City Council will actually act upon. He agreed we want to do these
things and that is what the resolution is about. Then, within the resolution, there is a committee
that the City Council will set up so he hopes he can get a commitment from the City Council. He
stated the City Council has always been there so he has no reason to doubt them and, hopefully,
maybe Monday, the City Council can pass on this.
Mayor Elliott thanked all for being here today and taking time to come as it is very important for
them to be with us, noting this has impacted our community more than any other issue that the
City has ever encountered before.
Mayor Elliott stated the City Council has heard today that there is really deep hurt in our
community over the kind of tragic deaths that have been experienced, killings in our community.
We have also heard from experts about the proposed resolution and that the components are going
to save lives and add more tools to our tool box to more appropriately respond when members of
our community are in grave need.
Mayor Elliott stated he is so impatient and his City Council Members know that. He wants this
solved, really, last year, and he has no more time to wait or to debate or to discuss. He knows
there are experts in this area and has discovered what works around the Country and yes, there are
going to be financial and other considerations but this needs to be worked out as a community once
they pass the resolution. Then the recommendations of the committee will come back before the
City Council before acting to create these new visions or departments and the work that will be
done. But this sets us solidly on the path to change.
Mayor Elliott stated to his City Council Members, he really does appreciate all the work they do
together and is confident they will all land somewhere that's going to support what is in this
resolution. He is confident of it and just wants to get to work before there's another killing in our
City. Mayor Elliott stated if his math is correct, and Amity can correct him, there were 18-20
months from when Kobe was killed and Daunte was killed. Statistically, it is every 18 months.
He noted this work is going to take a year, or more, to actually implement. Statistically, if they
don't get to work right now, we will have another killing before this all gets implemented.
Mayor Elliott stated he is ready to pull an all nightery with all of us if we need to, noting he has
already had to work 18-19 hours a day during this crisis but is willing to pull an all nightery or
whatever we need to do, get into a room, talk to more experts, talk about the details of the
resolution, get our staff involved, or whatever is needed, even spending five hours in this room.
He stated he will do whatever it takes to get to the point the City Council can pass this resolution,
and we need to do it as if there were an emergency and people are at the Police Department
protesting again. There needs to be that level of urgency. He asked the City Council about
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committing to coming back tomorrow and working on this since it cannot afford to have the same
process as every other item in the City.
Mayor Elliott stated Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson will not be available some parts of next
week. He noted he had heard someone ask about moving on this on Monday and he wants to move
on it on Monday. But he also wants to make sure the Council Members have enough time to look
through it and get their questions answered to feel comfortable. He noted Amity asked the City
Council for a week. He stated he is willing and hopes the City Council is willing, to commit to
one week. He noted the City Attorney has indicated he thinks that is doable. Mayor Elliott stated
he doesn't want to put the City Council on the spot but this is really urgent and staff can be lined
up,the City Council can go through it, and take action on it.
Mayor Elliott stated he will continue this meeting to next Saturday at 3 p.m. so another special
meeting does not need to be called but it is really possible that before then, the City Council can
get together, look through it, make some hard decisions between now and then, and are ready to
roll. He restated there is a fierce urgency as of now and the City Council should not be waiting
too long.
4. RECESS TO SATURDAY,MAY 22,2021
Mayor Elliott stated hopefully, before then, the City Council will get all of their questions asked,
telephone calls made, experts talked to, staff and City Attorney talked to, and get this done. He
noted this is just a framework and the other analysis about budget impacts, how much things are
going to cost, where the money will come from, will be asked by the Implementation Committee
and then it will be brought back to the City Council for anything to be acted upon. He noted in a
way, approving the resolution is just approving the process to get started so it is not that scary.
Mayor Elliott restated that Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson won't be available to attend but
could attend virtually if she chooses to do so. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson indicated she
would be available to attend virtually.
Mayor Elliott stated staff will get working on this and the City Council will be ready for a vote by
then. He stated Brooklyn Center, in his vision, is the best place to live in the State of Minnesota
and that is what we are working for based on all the indicators whether housing and education,
though we are currently far off. But in his vision, anybody who moves and lives in Brooklyn
Center,whether White or Black, or if you built your home here,this will be the absolute best place
for you to live, hands down, by any single measure. That is our vision and this resolution is a start
to making sure that public safety is guaranteed here in Brooklyn Center for everybody. Mayor
Elliott again thanked all for attending.
At 6:53 p.m., Mayor Elliott declared the special session meeting continued to Saturday, May 22,
2021, at 3 p.m. in this same room.
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STATE OF MINNESOTA)
COUNTY OF HENNEPIN) ss. Certification of Minutes
CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER)
The undersigned, being the duly qualified and appointed City Clerk of the City of Brooklyn
Center, Minnesota, certifies:
1. That attached hereto is a full, true, and complete transcript of the minutes of the Special
Session of the City of Brooklyn Center held on May 8, 2021.
2. That said meeting was held pursuant to due call and notice thereof and was duly held in
Community Center Constitution Hall.
3. That the City Council adopted said minutes at its May 24, 2021, Regular Session.
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City Clerk Mayor
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