HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-05-11 TranscriptionPage 1
Council Present: Bergus, Mims, Salih, Teague, Taylor, Thomas, Weiner
Staff Present: Fruin, Monroe, Kilburg, Dulek, Platz, Liston
Others Present: None.
Review of Recommendations from the Preliminary Plan:
Teague: It is 3:00 PM, and today is Tuesday, May 11, 2021, and this is the City of Iowa City work
session, and welcome everybody on, uh, this Tuesday. I know it's an off Tuesday for us, so
really appreciate the extra time that Councilors have taken, as well as staff, uh, to be here today,
and those in the public, appreciate your presence as well. We have one item on our work
session agenda today, and we will probably jump right into that item, which is our ...the
preliminary plan that was submitted by our City Manager for the police, um, police preliminary
plan, so I'm going to turn it over to our City Manager to get us kicked off.
From: All right, thank you, Mayor, Council. Good to see you. Um, in your work session packet on
page 8, there is a spreadsheet that you've seen before. It's the same spreadsheet that was sent to
you back in March, when you went through the OIR and the CPRB recommendations. If you'll
recall, we just didn't quite make it through to the preliminary plan during that special work
session, so that's our task today. Um, I can share my screen, and we can walk through these one
by one, unless you have a different approach that you want to take. Chief Liston is also joining
me and you should feel free to, um, ask him questions about any of these items or other issues,
uh, that come up in the course of our discussion. As a reminder, this was ... this preliminary plan
was presented to you back in December. Uh, Chief Liston started in January, so it's something
that, uh, he inherited upon starting here, and ... and did not have a hand in crafting as well, so he
may have some ... some other thoughts, um, along the way, and I've encouraged him to ... to chime
in if he has anything to add. Any questions before we get started, or can I share screen and
jump right in? Okay. Um .... uh.... take a look at this, um, so again, this has not been updated
since March. So in some cases the ... the status may be a little different and I'll point that out
along the way. Recommendation one dealt with a local option sales tax and considering that to
boost our Aid to Agencies grant program. Certainly back in December, I did not anticipate the
federal relief funds and with the American Rescue Plan funds that are coming our way. Um,
I ... I would not think that this is probably the best time to take up a local option sales tax and that
we should be focused on, um, using those Rescue Plans to the best of our ability, and certainly
we'll be looking very hard at how to support our social service infrastructure here in Iowa City.
So that's probably the biggest change right off the bat is ... is the, uh, the impact of that Rescue
Plan on the local option sales tax. So my recommendation now would be to shelve this item for
at least at least another year, if not longer, while we work through the ARPA funds.
Teague: I wonder if, um, Council wanted to kind of go item by item, and just give some thoughts.
Because I personally think what you just mentioned about this, just holding off on the LOST
discussion, I ... I think that's appropriate.
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Taylor: (muffled) I agree.
Fruin: I'll keep moving and if I'm going too fast at anytime ... I can't ... I can't see everybody's, uh, can't
keep track of everybody's head nod, so if I'm moving too fast just let me know. Um, number
two is the partnership that's already underway with the Shelter House for the street outreach
worker. So again, this is part of the police department budget being, um, shifted over. Actually
I ... I take that back. Uh, we ... the Council took this out of the police department budget, my
apologies. So this is actually in our Neighborhood and Development Services operation now,
but essentially the City is funding partially a position at Shelter House for street outreach and
engagement. Uh, my understanding is this position has been hired and they're doing internal
orientation at the time. So, Chief, do you have anything to add to that?
Liston: Yes, I spoke with the Shelter House today. It has been filled, it was filled in early March, and
we have already met, uh, with the person they made an internal hire. So, um, we are in contact
with them and we've got some plans coming up to ... to do some joint operations with them, so
it's... it's working so far.
Fruin: Okay, nothing further needed from Council on that one. Moving on, the budget that you
approved back in January that takes effect in July does have a new half-time position for a
civilian outreach assistant. This position as designed right now would target outreach and
engagement with our growing immigrant and refugee population, and it would be our goal to
hire from within this pop ... that same population to increase or...or build capacity in our
relationship with our immigrant and refugee population. So we have not posted this position.
That's something that we would normally do in the coming weeks, in anticipation of those funds
being available in July, and before we post that position, we just want to make sure that the
Council is ... is comfortable with us making that commitment. Obviously if we're hiring staff,
that's a long-term commitment that we're prepared to make from a financial standpoint, but
operation we want to make sure you're, um, comfortable as well.
Salih: What's the name of the position again?
Fruin: Community outreach assistant.
Salih: And is this a full time job or part-time?
Fruin: It's... it's budgeted at a half-time, so 20 hours per week.
Salih: But I think, uh, and this 20 hour is ... is like a set of (mumbled) like three days a week, or what it
is like, how you... or every day, but less hour?
Fruin: Yeah, I think we have some flexibility to structure that how we want. I think Chief would
probably have to talk with his other outreach staff and see where those hours are ... are our best
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needed. It may not be daytime hours either. It could be evening, weekend hours, uh,
when ... when we could do more effective outreach.
Salih: Yeah, yeah, because if you want the candidate to be from the immigrant and refugees, you have
to keep in mind (mumbled) most of them are low-income people and if they're going to have a
job, at least if they're going to have part-time job, that is not enough for them. They have to
look for another job, so you have to keep in mind if it's part-time, they pretty soon could have
two jobs. So it have to be like really three days a week, so they can have another days
(mumbled) or weekend, as you said, and evening. You know, just give them a chance to do
something else with their job, because it's not going to be enough for them, or otherwise make it
full-time. I don't know, it's ... if needed, or...unless you want to do by communities (mumbled)
are you thinking of hiring is two position or just one position?
Fruin: Just one position to start, and we thought we would, um (both talking) see how it goes and then
eventually increase hours and ... and over time, ideally, you know, build that outreach staff.
It ... it's a civilian position, so ... so build that outreach staff over time.
Salih: Okay. Sound good (mumbled)
Fruin: I think it'd be helpful, uh, Chief, before we go out with this position, and maybe, Mayor Pro
Tem, you can help us with this, but you can help us connect with ... with the immigrant and
refugee population to understand what ... what hours may be best to target and what types of skill
sets, uh, be it language skills or otherwise may be desired, um, as we ... as we go through the
recruitment process.
Salih: I will love to do that. Thanks.
Fruin: Thank you. Okay, we'll move, uh, we'll move forward with getting that position posted.
Number four is shown in white at the top of the screen. This is taking an active role in
marketing local crisis services, including the Mobile Crisis Unit. The Mobile Crisis Unit is
back on the mobile status now. They were doing telehealth throughout most of COVID, but
they are back on the streets, so to speak, and we have started in a very small way promoting
those services, um, and we expect to do more after the Public Safety, Communications position
is hired in another month or two.
Weiner: Do you envision this sort of also coordinating in terms of outreach with ... with the GuideLink
Center or the ... um, and ... and what role is the new Community Director going to have in it, cause
she clearly has a lot of experience.
Fruin: Right, well I think ... I think there's definitely a tie-in with GuideLink, particularly as GuideLink
looks to open up to the public. If you recall, right now it's just open for law enforcement
referrals, but later this summer they will begin to open up to, uh, public, as well. So there's
definitely some promotion that'll need to happen around that. We can assist with it, and you
know, we look forward to working with ... with CommUnity and excited to work with Sarah in
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her new capacity. She certainly brings a lot of expertise to that position and, uh, there'll have to
be very close cooperation and planning. Obviously this is promoting somebody else's services,
so we just have to make sure they're very comfortable with the messaging and the timing, and
that it ... and that it really ties in well with ... with their current marketing strategy.
Bergus: Geoff, do you know is all of Mobile Crisis is located at GuideLink now? Is that the only place
that they're housed and dispatched from?
Fruin: I am not 100% sure on that, Laura, that's my understanding, but I'm not sure. Chief, do you
know?
Liston: That's my same understanding. I ... I'm not sure if it's 100% out of there, but they are out of
there, at least partially.
Bergus: Okay, thank you.
Taylor: Geoff, how will this ... how do you envision this to align with the 9-1-1, if we continue with the
9-1-1 dispatch system, if, uh, calls to 9-1-1 would be better, uh, served by this Mobile Crisis
Unit?
Fruin: Yeah, so, um, you know, I think there's a whole other level of..of marketing and communication
once that takes place. Um, and remember there's also a national, uh... uh, three -digit suicide
hotline number that's in the works as well. So at various stages we'll have different marketing
objectives. Um, right now I think a lot of it is just awareness, making sure the public is aware
that the service is out there, um, how to access it, when it's appropriate to access it versus
dialing 9-1-1 for emergency assistance, those sorts of things. As a ... as we move hopefully
towards integration into 9-1-1, that ... that messaging can ... can change a little bit from .... from,
you know, you don't have to promote the, uh, the phone number as much and that sort of thing.
It's more just making the community aware that this is part of our emergency response system,
if we get to that point. So I think we continue to promote, but it's just slightly different angle on
that messaging.
Liston: Councilor Bergus, it is 100% out of GuideLink now, just a follow up on that.
Bergus: Thank you.
Fruin: And then Councilor Taylor's question really is ... is tied in with number five and that's really...
really working with CommUnity and other local governments on ... on evaluating the expansion
of...of mobile... Mobile Crisis. It's a fantastic resource, and we're so fortunate that we have it
already established here in Johnson County. But ... but clearly, in order to get the response times
that ... that would ... that we would seek with something that's integrated into the 9-1-1 system, we
would need to look at expanding that, and as we market it more people become aware, we'll
need to make sure that we have, uh, we're supporting that capacity for CommUnity to ... to
respond. So this is number five and, um, number six are, um, those are big, big undertakings,
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and we can lead a little bit at staff, but we'll need Council as well to work with your elected
peers, and we'll have to see what ... what the other governments are interested in ... in pursuing. A
few of you, I think Councilor Mims and Weiner, you serve on the JECC Board. We'll need you
to have some of those conversations at that level. So just like GuideLink was ... was multiple
years in the making, that's probably what we're looking at with... with number five and number
six.
Weiner: Yeah, it'd be really good if we can along along the way in the not too distant future, uh, put
together talking points on it, speci... specific information so that we can ... we have the ability to
get it on the agenda, start to talk about ... sort of just start the conversation on ... at JECC, for
example, where... how else would the conversation take place, among... among staff of different
entities largely, as well as electives, or what ... how do you envision that?
Fruin: Well I know the Mobile Crisis team has already been giving this a lot of thought. I know in the
last several months they've been studying mobile crisis units from across the country and
looking at how they scaled up their operations. So they ...they have some good ideas on ... on
how they ...how they think the service can grow here in Johnson County. Becky Reedus and
team have, um, sat down and talked with me about that a couple times over the last few months.
So I think the first thing is to ... is to make sure that we understand how CommUnity, as the
operator of the service, really sees how this can grow and how it can be sustainable within their
operation. And, um, then it's exploring that model or a couple of maybe viable models with the
other government agencies and ... and seeing what resources are needed to back those. I mean
we're going to be ... probably going to be talking about a lot of staff. They rely heavily on kind
of non -full time staff right now in different capacities. They're on-call quite a bit. Um, you're
really looking at a large investment in staff, so that they, um, are more reliant on full-time
positions and less on-call, uh, so that we can limit turnover in positions. We'll have to really
look at pay and benefit levels associated there, and of course that's... that's a lot of resources that
CommUnity doesn't have, um, and won't expect to get, and so they'll be looking to the local
governments to, uh, really fund that expansion, and then on top of labor you're going to have
vehicles, equipment to integrate into 9-1-1, uh, so that's radio systems and dispatch systems,
um, things of that nature that we're going to have to consider.
Teague: I think when we do start having these conversations, because of CommUnity's long-term
experience now with mobile crisis ... a mobile crisis team, might want to include some other
entities that might be interested in being at the table when these discussions occur. For instance,
the East Central Region. Um, that's who is really responsible for the mental health portion of
our community, and I think that they would be interested in being at the table. Jail Alternatives
would be interested at being at the table as well, because, um, any time we can do, um, you
know, really help someone with their mental health and divert from, um, and you know,
inappropri... inappropriate interactions, um, I think that would be good, and so I think having all
these people at some point at the table would be great to get their input as well.
Fruin: Yep. I agree that's... that's very much the model that the ... the County followed with the
GuideLink Center is bring everybody together and, um, I think we saw that can work really
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well. So if I'm hearing general agreement on ... on five and six, I think probably my next step is
to circle back with the CommUnity folks and ... and get a good understanding on where they sit
now. Obviously with the transition in executive directors there, uh, it may take some time for
Sarah to evaluate, um, that operation and... and... and... and give that some thought herself, but I
think we'll be able to start to make some process on that this summer, and then for Councilors
Mims and Weiner, um, I think we can just plant some seeds at the JECC level, um, and ... and get
those other communities and the staff at JECC thinking on what this could look like, even
though that's a step much further down the room. Okay, on to number seven here. This is really
looking, uh, taking a good hard look at the community service officer position, uh, that we have
and ... and really studying the types of calls for service they're responding to and ... and then
looking at also the other calls for service that they're... they're currently not responding to,
whether that's because of differences in work hours or just kind of business as usual, but calls
that may be able to be diverted to them, uh, should they, you know, receive the proper training
and ... and supplemental staffing and anything else that may be needed, but if you're not familiar
with our community service officer, for the... for the folks in the... that... that are watching this
work session, those are civilian, um, positions often noticed by the white pickup truck that they
drive. So they're often doing a myriad of..of activities for the police department, but it's been a
while since we did a really comprehensive review of that position, and ... and really gave a lot of
thought to what else they could be doing, should they have the... should they have the time and
capacity and training to do so.
Teague: I certainly think since, uh, we have some people in those roles, get their thoughts on what else
they could be doing, um, and ... and doing a comprehensive review would be appropriate if it's
been a while.
Thomas: I ... I would agree. It does seem to be, um, something that police departments are looking at
now in terms of expanding, uh, you know, the community service component of their operations
and reducing the number of sworn officers, if that's possible. So, yeah, it does seem like this is
an opportune time to consider how to ... how to expand their ...their role within the department.
Bergus: I think based on the statistics that you provided, Geoff, they ... and I don't know if it was 2019 or
what year, but it looked like they were hitting about 6% of calls for service. I saw 4,400 out of
the 72,000-ish, um, if that seems right. So seems like there's a few different ways we could go
about trying to expand that role, which I'm, I mean, I really do think having, um, unarmed
officers is a high priority, and we identified that even in, you know, the resolution when we
were talking about making this plan. So whether it's a certain percentage of calls as sort of a
benchmark, or categories or, you know, however creative we can be with it, I do think that it
seems likely with what I understand of staffing shortages, that maybe, um, the folks who are
already doing those roles might have different ideas than ... than the sworn officers as to which
functions could be shifted over. So maybe just making sure we're prioritizing, um, volume on
that, I think would be great.
Taylor: I agree with Councilors Bergus and Thomas on that, and I think now is ... is a really opportune
time. It's kind of staggering the numbers we're seeing of the decrease in our sworn officers, but
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this... this I would think would be an opportune time that we could kind of look at all the jobs
that all of them do and perhaps more of our budget could be diverted towards these community
service officers, and I'm just thinking of, off the top my head, uh, I've seen a number of, uh,
actually armed officers that are responding to motor vehicle accidents, and I would think that
that might be something, uh, but I'd like to hear from the ones that are in this position now if
that could be something that could be added to their duties also, that we would not need an
officer that's... that's carrying a lethal weapon.
Liston: The issues with those are, um, through the State in order to investigate accidents, issue
citations, you have to be a sworn officer. Um, so we do have some issues with that, and we
certainly are constantly looking at ways we can increase the calls that they ...they go to. We
have sent them to... we try to send them to any training that we can, through the ILEA. Um, we
currently send them to crime scene training, so they can assist with that. So there are .... any
opportunity we can that we're legally, uh, that we can legally allow them to handle situations,
we certainly are amenable to that.
Weiner: That... that's an interesting point. I also at some point would be interested in learning more
about what ... how we're constrained by...what we're... what State law constraints are in terms of
what we can do with ... with an armed personnel and what we cannot.
Fruin: Yeah (garbled) good piece of that review that we could include in there (mumbled) put those
kind of -here's the guardrails and then here's where we see it. Um, one thing I just want to
make sure the Council knows, you know, for those existing positions that we have,
they're... they're operating at full capacity right now. So this isn't a situation in which we can
work with current personnel to expand that volume. Um, this is more defining what this role
should become, and then over time providing those resources to ... to grow that, uh, grow that
role, which likely means more hours, more ... more personnel, more vehicles, that sort of thing.
Teague: I did want to just make mention about staffing patterns, uh, would be I think something we
need to consider, uh, from a big picture point of view where we have sworn officers, we have,
um, certainly these CommUnity, um ... uh, individuals are part of that. We ... we are partnering
with other entities. I don't know if that would be in our scheduling, um, our staffing patterns,
but to look at this globally, I think, would be good, so that we can identify what all ... what all we
do have and what pieces might be missing and what pieces we want to shift around.
Fruin: Okay. Number eight is the automated traffic enforcement, and this is one that we noted that at
some point we're going to need some Council direction on this, whether you want us to proceed
or not. Um, and then if you do want us to proceed, uh, the type of enforcement that you're
looking for us to ... to pursue, or at least what data you would find useful in helping to ... helping
you to make that decision. There was discussion at the state level again about a ban, um, this
year. While the session's not over, it does not appear that a ban on automated traffic
enforcement is going to make it through, but it has been on the table each of the last ... at least
probably four if not five -plus years.
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Thomas: Well I ... I've often, as you in our our conversations we've had over this particular item, uh, I've
tried to expand it beyond the use of the ... the cameras, the automated traffic enforcement, uh,
technologies, uh, to look at it more broadly in terms of, you know, how do we address issues of
community well-being and safety, uh, in as broad a sense as we can when it ... when it relates to
traffic enforcement. Uh, you know, there are several aspects to this that we have identified.
One ... one we've made some progress on, and that is trying to reduce the number of traffic stops
for minor infractions. I think that's an important piece. Um, but moving forward from that, you
know, the ... the question of how do we engineer our streets to promote traffic safety, I think, is
an important component. And, you know, in looking at this and considering it, I've also tried to
step back and ask, you know, what ... what are in general the ... the goals that we're trying to
achieve with traffic enforcement, and in a couple of them that I've identified would be reducing
the calls for service by a sworn officer, whether in response to a public request or if the officer
initiated. And the second would be that ... how can we make it easier for people to comply with
our laws. Uh, you know, we have a number of laws, as I've tried to emphasize, related say just
the ... where we've designed our roads to, um, in effect induce breaking those laws. So that ... that
has put both our... our public in terms of its driving behavior, as well as our police officers, in a
very awkward situation in that we have, um, you know, individuals driving at speeds that our
road designs are telling them to drive at when in fact they're well over our speed limits, and then
we have the question of are police officers, uh, engaging in the enforcement of those illegal
speeds. So my hope is we can ... we can certainly re-engineer our streets. I think we
need ... perhaps need to do a better job educating the public in terms of the, uh, concerns, um,
and ... and impacts of driving at illegal speeds, uh, you know, in terms of if we're trying to
promote biking and, uh, greater pedestrian activity. That interface can be a very dangerous one
if we don't address speeds. I do believe cameras have a role to play in this. I, you know, from
the readings that I have ... I have done, uh, they have improved traffic safety where they've been
employed. I ... I would just... simply at this point like to carry on that conversation, um, with staff
and the Chief, to see what role they could play, um, you know, looking especially at how we
make decisions about where they would be deployed, how they would be, you know, the
citation fines would be addressed, a whole range of issues, making sure that should we deploy
them that we address the potential issues that have arisen, and I think been identified with
respect to equity and fairness. So I ... I would like to have that conversation. Again, I think it
should be part of this larger framework that we're looking in, uh, within, but personally I ... I
would like to see the cameras, as well as some of these other initiatives that I've been
describing.
Weiner: Councilor Thomas and I have had some extensive conversations on this and I would agree with
them. Essentially we've been pursuing one, um, one public policy approach with respect to
traffic, which is sort of the, you know, get them through the city fast, which is not necessarily
the best way to keep people within the speed limit or keep kids safe or...or anything else. So,
um, there need to ... I think there need to be a number of different... number of different
approaches to switching our public policy standpoint, um, and that this can be a piece of it and
the ... and potentially some of the funding from it can also go to changing the ... what the
streetscape looks like, what ... and how ... and how some of these streets look (mumbled) For
example, when... when, um, when Mormon Trek was switched, um, to (mumbled) when they did
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the road diet on Mormon Trek. I admit I was relatively skeptical, but I thought... didn't... didn't
have a ... didn't take a part in that. I'm going to see how it works and ... least from my perspective
as someone who lives near ... near there, it works just fine, um, and ... and not having more than
one lane in each direction for that portion of Mormon Trek does end up having people not travel
as quickly, I believe. So I mean I think it's just one piece. I would ... I too would like to ... to
continue the discussion, uh, in a larger framework.
Bergus: I was wondering about the call volumes for traffic. So I think the statistics that we know is that
traffic -related incidents are like 25% of calls for service, and overall, um, in terms of the
breakdown of calls for service between public -initiated and officer -initiated, the officer -initiated
is around 45, or just over 45%. So are most of the traffic, um, citations officer -initiated? I think
that's what ... that's what the data we have shows us, right?
Liston: Yeah, most of the citations are officer -initiated. There are several that are results of collisions.
One thing, and we'll be going over this I suppose in the next couple months as the traffic study
and the amount of citations that the department as a whole writes, comparatively to the number
of stops it makes, is relatively low. So it's not an enforcement, um, focused department on ... but
they do ... they do make a significant number of traffic stops. You can see that was cut in half
last year, more than cut in half. Several reasons, but predominantly because of COVID and
the ... the fewer vehicles on the roadway.
Bergus: When we talk about overall traffic safety, I think I just want to kind of be able to drill down on
what ... how much of it is sworn officers out patrolling, initiating stops, that then are reflected as
calls for service versus, you know, other ...other incidents and that kind of thing, and so again,
we have the breakdown as to public -initiated versus officer -initiated. We know most of it is
officer -initiated, but I'm also trying to tie this into what the Mayor was saying about staffing
patterns and staffing overall. We're down officers and we're having trouble potentially
recruiting officers. It seems to me that policy choices about how we're doing the level of
officer -initiated activity is ... should be part of that conversation, like can we choose in terms of
the patterns and the patterns of staffing, can't we choose to do less of that to focus on the
more ... I guess what I consider sort of value-added, uh, also non- enforcement positions
that ... that we're talking about not being able to staff, like the downtown liaison, those specialty
things.
Liston: Sure, one thing to consider is the majority of our traffic stops occur at nighttime and you can
imagine the reason for those stops are .... are OWI stops, looking for OWIs. So ... and I ... I believe
that's why we have a low number of citations because I think we do have a focus. We do have a
drinking culture in Iowa City, and we do ... those are things that we need to pay attention to. The
number of OWIs we arrested last year versus in 2019 is less than half, which corresponds with
the fewer number of vehicles on the road and the traffic stops. So I do want to just remind you
that our traffic stops, especially since December when we implemented the secondary stop
policy, they're not for secondary reasons. They are for primary reasons, uh, public safety
reasons, and many of those are to ... in looking for places where we've found OWIs.
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Weiner: Chief, I wonder if I could just ask briefly even ... even if this is (mumbled) um, non sequitur,
how ... how the non ... the secondary stop, the policy that we were piloting has gone.
Liston: Yeah, we're taking a look (mumbled) the deadline was, uh, we ... we extended it until April 30th
to take a look at it, and the issue still remains that we're really not comparing apples to apples,
um, because we implemented that policy during COVID and as I mentioned, the traffic stop
numbers in 2020 were half of that in 2019. Um, it's hard to attribute how much of that to
attribute to the traffic stop, the secondary stop policy, and how much to attribute to just lower
traffic numbers. So my suggestion would be to give that more time, but if you're asking for
personal opinion, I think the officers have adjusted to it well. So I think we're still ... it was
written in a manner that we're still able to perform our public safety mission. Um, so ... but I do
think going forward we need to give it time to be able to compare apples to apples and, um, I
know one of the City Manager's concern that I shared it was just its impact on OWIs, and as I
mentioned, last year's OWIs arrests were down almost half. So... but again, do we attribute that
to COVID or do we attribute that to the secondary traffic stop, and the... that policy was only
implemented at the very end of 2020.
Weiner: Thanks!
Fruin: Uh, one thing for the Council to keep in mind, and ... and this is something that we can build on in
further discussions, but as you look at calls for service regarding traffic enforcement and who's
initiating those, um, most traffic... most traffic enforcement is going to be officer -initiated, but
oftentimes it's rooted in public calls for service. So it's not necessarily, `Hey, there's somebody
speeding down Highway 1, 6. Please respond!' That would be a public -initiated call for
service. It's more that call, uh, you know, from Langenburg or, you know, several of the spots
where we get frequent speeding. The neighbors call, often in a non -emergency way. They just
call the department, they call the City, they email you as City Councilors, and they say, `People
are going up and down my street at fast speeds. Uh, it's unsafe for the children to be playing
on ... on the sidewalk. Can you please do something about it?' Well, the officers then respond by
doing speed enforcement over the next month or...or several weeks. Those get chalked up to
officer -initiated traffic stops, but they are rooted in the neighborhood complaints that came in.
So those are some of the complexities of the data that we can help sort out, and then as the
Chief mentioned before with the community service officer positions, we'd have to lay out, you
know, what ... what can a civilian really do when it comes to traffic enforcement in Iowa? Um,
you know, we can have radar signs out. You see that where we just make the public aware. You
could probably have civilians run radar operations and report back to the department on, you
know, what their... what their findings were, if they sat out there for two hours and ran radar.
But there may be some limitations, based on State law, on ... on whether they could actually
initiate a traffic stop and... and... and issue a citation.
Liston: I was just going to add to that, Geoff. I was speaking with Denise, and we get ... I would
estimate we get at least two traffic complaints a week, and I imagine ... I know we get some from
your office, as well, Geoff. So just to, uh, reiterate that point, a lot of our traffic enforcement
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certainly, um ... well I don't want to give a time of day, because sometimes we do get traffic
complaints at night, but certainly around schools are the result of citizen complaints.
Bergus: Some of this is getting into the larger scope of the plan, but in terms of traffic incidents that are
related to alcohol, I really want to make sure we're focusing on that front-end prevention and
diversion too, and, you know, when we talk about alternatives and limitations based on the State
law, I think about something like the University of Iowa SHOUT program, right, where these
are not police officers, they don't have to operate in that way, they're not looking to issue
citations, but they are actively preventing alcohol-related incidents and ... and conflict, um, and
so I really want us to be thinking not just like in the confines of policing, but what can we do to
prevent those interactions or situations from even occurring in the fust place, knowing that we
have an alcohol -oriented culture, especially at night and especially downtown.
Thomas: (several talking) Yeah, I would ... I would agree with that. I did, again, over the last several
months having conversations with Ryan, you know, our former student liaison, on, you know,
how... and... and perhaps in a similar way apply this notion of self-regulation to ... that I've been
applying to ... to street design to, uh, you know, alcohol consumption and the abuse of alcohol.
Is ... are there other ways at the front-end of this, uh, where we can prevent things happening,
um, subsequent to ... to the drinking in the bars or what have you. So I, yeah, I'm ... in terms of
this, you know, continue (mumbled) response. I'm ... I'm really trying to focus my attention on
the front end before it gets to the point of enforcement, to see what we can do.
Teague: I just want to mention that (mumbled) the Partner... the Partnership for Alcohol Safety that I sit
on for the Council, and ... and that's an, uh, great partnership with the University of Iowa and
many, many community, um, different entities and agencies that are ... that are also partners with
that, and I would agree that ... kind of that preventative is, uh, something that has always been
discussed here, and I think that can even be a ... kind of pushed a little forward for them to
consider as well, uh, looking at what other avenues can be taking place to really do that
preventative type measure. So thanks for mentioning this, Councilor Bergus.
Fruin: Okay, so it sounds like eight is a future work session discussion and maybe a little bit broader
than automated traffic enforcement, but maybe as a starter just, uh, some ... some information
that ... that our police department, we'd present on traffic stops in Iowa City and just kind of give
you the big picture on what the stats tell us. Okay. Moving on to number nine, um, that is the
Foundation 2, CommUnity co -response model that we're implementing. Chief, you want to
give a quick update on that?
Liston: Yes, uh, they are in the hiring process as we speak. I believe they're starting the interviews
soon. So we're just waiting for them to select their person and we'll start implementing that
program as soon as they do. (talking in background) Yeah, we're also going to be, uh, we'll
have representation during the interviews.
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Fruin: Okay, um, we're proceeding ahead with, uh, CIT training, which has been standard protocol for
us for several years now, but just making sure that as we welcome new officers, uh, be it brand
new officers or certified officers that ... that we're investing in that CIT training for them.
Liston: Doing that as well with our non -sworn staff, so the ... CSOs and...
Fruin: Number 11 is something that the department implemented earlier this year or late last year, and
that's that the officers are ... are carrying NARCAN to assist those that are having opioid
overdose incidents. And, uh, I asked the Chief today, and he said that our officers have had to
use it about four... four times. Chief, if that's... that's... my memory serves me correctly this
morrung.
Liston: Yes, since, uh, we implemented it, I think we implemented in January, uh, four ...we've used...
utilized it four times, and I'm happy to report that all four of those people survived so ... it's good
news.
Weiner: That ... I mean that's particularly important right now because the ... the sas... the statistics we've
been hearing about overdose deaths and the increase in overdose deaths over the last year are
really, um, heart thumping.
Taylor: I agree with Council Weiner. I ... this is really an important thing, and thank you, Chief, for
continuing this and ... and hopefully we won't have to use it very often, but when we do need it,
it's important that it's there cause it does help and save lives.
Fruin: Right. Moving to page nine of your work session, we're on recommendation 12. This is the
implementation of the coordinate, assess, respond, engage recording tool or the CARE reporting
tool, um, which will help officers make referrals and ... and keep an open dialogue with our
social service providers. The legislation that we were seeking unfortunately did not get, uh, did
not get taken care of this year, so we'll have to try that again. But we are trying to move
forward with ... with this as best as we can, without the State legislative changes that we really
felt were needed. Chief, am I missing anything on that?
Liston: Um, no. Uh, as Geoff mentioned, the legislation... and what the legislation was going to do was
help us share with more people and ensure confidentiality. That did not pass, so we're going to
move forward just in a much more local manner. We've already got approval to ... for us and
Johnson County Sheriffs Office to use it, and again what it is, just like the acronym says,
it's... it's a report that will allow us to access, when we're dealing with someone in crisis, on past
practice things that have been successful, things that have worked. So every ... if..if someone
two years from now deals with someone that Johnson County had dealt with and they found a
certain strategy that worked well for them, that will be in that report and we'll be able to share
that. Hopefully, uh, maybe the next legislative session we can get that passed and that would
just allow us to share it with a larger area, big ... with more organizations and agencies, but we
are ready to move forward at the local level on that.
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Fruin: Okay. We do have a GuideLink Advisory Board and the police department's active in ... in that.
Chief, anything you want to share from the ... from the fust few months of operation on
GuideLink?
Liston: Um, it has, uh, I think we're four months, three months in now. Uh, the good news to report is
the sobering unit is going to open on Wednesday, so that should be helpful as a jail alternative.
We're excited about that, and as Geoff mentioned, it's not going to be until later this summer
that it's ... it's going to be open community -wide. It's still a soft opening with law enforcement.
Um, the Iowa City PD are their biggest law enforcement customer. Unfortunately they ...it's an
open facility, so not all of our people that we try to take there are good fits, and that's fine, but
they've, uh, we've had a good partnership with Abbe and really impressed with what they're
doing over there, so it's been working well so far.
Fruin: Okay, we, uh, very much appreciated the Council's support in creating the new victim services
coordinator position. Uh, we are fully staffed and and moving forward. Uh, I know, Mayor,
you got to talk with Ann, uh, during one of your Community Connection episodes, which
was ... it was great to get the word out on ... on the services that she offers, but this is ... this is
definitely underway, and she is continuing to strengthen those relationships with local providers
so that victims can feel connected and supported, um, throughout the whole process. Okay,
number 15, um, looks at our field training program. So if you're not familiar, after an officer
goes to the State academy they come here to Iowa City again, whether they're brand new officer
or they're... or they're coming in from another department, they go through our local field
training program, which is essentially our own local orientation, and this is a really... looking to
bring more of the community into that process and doing some community -led training, uh,
through that, um, really some more kind of history and education on disproportionate...
disproportionate impacts of policing on minority communities, uh, really focusing on de-
escalation, which... which we already do, but really kind of just looking at that curriculum that
we have with a very critical eye and making sure it's ... it's balanced in the way that ... that we
want it to be balanced and that we're not, uh, certainly rushing anybody, um, through that
program and onto the streets by themselves. So this is something that the police department
intends to ... intends to do and would welcome your feedback and community feedback on, um,
as they get started on that process later this year.
Bergus: Geoff, do you have community partners identified at this point, as far as who will be helping
with training or providing feedback, or what's that process going to look like?
Fruin: Yeah, and it kind of ties in with number 17 as well. Uh, that's not necessarily tied to field
training program, but just training in general. I've had conversations with, uh, Black Voices
Project about doing something like that, um, and we have done community -led training with
other partners, uh, NAACP being one that we've worked with in the past that we would really,
um, look to partner with going forward as well. But the whole ... a whole myriad of local service
agencies, uh, United Action for Youth was one that our department recently partnered with on
some training. Certainly DVIP and ... and groups like that can ... can really play an important role
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in ... in educating our officers and helping them guide the situations they encounter to ... to the
most positive outcome.
Teague: I think one thing that these, um, some of the people that you mentioned that we'll be partnered
with is they would offer opportunities for the officer... for officers to really hear from individuals
that have a story that they want to share about their experiences and how that made them feel
and ... because I think that that it's ... is important for that to be heard and maybe that'll be a part of
some of the opportunities that will come forth through some of these trainings is hearing
firsthand some of those stories that officers sometimes may not even be aware of, um, how they
may make someone feel, uh, by saying certain things, and so I think it's important to have these
entities, and even expanding at some point, uh, maybe potentially to have individuals from the
community that will be a part as well, but yeah! I ... I think this is good to really have that
community involvement.
Weiner: Just as we were discussing earlier, the part-time position ... of outreach to refugee and
immigrant populations, I would think that if...if at all possible, it really ought to go the other
way as well, because there are a lot of different people come with different cultural norms and
so forth, and there needs to be a real exchange there, so that, um, that can be beneficial both
ways.
Bergus: Tying it back into number four and the different... that was relating more to crisis referrals, but
is part of this also making sure that officers are aware of places that they can help refer, divert,
you know, not necessarily what the officers are doing themselves, but ... but raising that
awareness of resources to make those connections to?
Liston: Absolutely, that's, I mean, that's part of the field training program that ... as you can imagine,
that's a big part of our job is referring people to the agencies that can provide the services, so
absolutely that is part of the (mumbled) program.
Bergus: Great!
Fruin: And that's a ... that's a prime example of what the field training program's setup for. Obviously
not every community is fortunate to have Mobile Crisis or the GuideLink Center, so when they
get out of the academy, those are exactly the types of things that ... that we have to educate
officers on as they go through field training. These are the resources that are available here in
Iowa City, here's how you access them, here's when it's appropriate to access them, and this is
the protocol for doing so. Uh, 16 is the (mumbled) training. Chief, you want to talk a little bit
about that?
Liston: Um, sure. We are ... actually by the end of this week, all of our officers will have completed the
training. We sent, uh, this spring we sent the officers away for the `train the trainer,' and two
officers and now they are training the department over the course of this week. So we're happy
to report that. I know this is gaining some traction across the state, I was just seeing some ... got
some emails today from some other chiefs that are looking into this as well, so once again Iowa
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City is kind of leading the charge on this. So ... and again for the, I think most of you are aware,
but if you're not, it's ... it's a, um, it's a peer intervention training, just like it says, and not
only ...as you know, we updated our general order with the duty to intervene if officers see, um,
illegal or unethical behavior, but also this not only has a focus on while it's happening, but has a
focus on before it's happening, making sure officers aren't going down the wrong path, and
obviously that's key for us. We'd rather identify a problem or identify some behaviors before it
becomes an issue.
Fruin: Yeah, if you recall the ... the NAACP really led an effort last summer to bring law enforcement
agencies together to enter into that Memorandum of Understanding, which basically said that,
you know, we will intervene. This is the next step, so what the department did is they looked
for the ... the best training program out there, found the ... the Georgetown Innovating ... Innovative
Policing Program, urn ... uh, Active Bystander Training Program, and then, uh, was able to get
two of our officers out there. We do appreciate, you know, the NAACP not only helped us with
that initial memorandum with other law enforcement agencies, but they wrote a critical letter of
support to gain us entres ... entrance into the ... the Georgetown program. So, um, we'll have to
give a lot of the credit to ... to them, uh, for... for supporting us at all steps, uh, through this
journey. Okay, we touched on 17 a little bit. Um, 18 is a civilian accreditation manager. This
is just civilianizing the part of our operation that is currently staffed by a sworn position. This
did not, uh, I did not recommend this position in the budget. I do still think it's worth looking at
in the future, but I didn't feel like the resources were there this year to pursue that. So this is ... at
least in terms of where I stand, uh, kind of on a list with several other positions that would be
nice to have, but ... but not critical at this time. And if you're ... I think you're all familiar with the
CALEA accreditation system, but basically you have to have somebody full time, to constantly
review your policies, update your policies, ensure that your practices are consistent with your
policies, and if you don't have that position, you're... you're not going to continue to be certified.
You're just not going to be able to keep up with all the requirements. So the crux of this one is
should that be a sworn position or do we want... would we find value in bringing a civilian into
that, so that you have kind of a civilian set of eyes that are reviewing these policies and ... and
looking at compliance, um, and I think that could provide a lot of value. It's probably not a very
common model, but I think it could work well in the future.
Liston: Geoff, I ... I agree. I think that is something in the future that we should look at. I think it would
require someone who probably has some experience in it would be very helpful, because the
CALEA process is quite cumbersome, but right now the person who does it for our department
wears several hats. He's also our training sergeant, but that, as you know, we're trying to put
things in place that'll help alleviate some of that load, and I think maybe civilianizing it in the
future would be a good idea.
Fruin: That kind of spills into 19, which is, uh, we had on our ...have on our to-do list, many have been
accomplished, uh, 36 general orders scheduled for review this year. Uh, as a reminder, every
time we review a general order and make changes, those go to the CPRB for, uh, for a quick
review, um, before they're finally incorporated. One of the things we'd really like ... would like
to do, I'm sorry, the ... that I would really recommend that we do is ... is look at implementing
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some some type of racial impact statement along with every general order that we review. Um,
we're currently trying to look at the best ways to do this, and whether we need some type of
help from... from other parts of the organization, be it our Human Rights office or...or elsewhere,
to look at that or whether we need some some training within the police department, but
someone to not only review it, um, the way that we always have, but to really give a lot of
intentional thought to the impact that that general order has across the spectrum of our
population, and look for any kind of disparate impact issues. So, um, I think we do this
informally now, but this recommendation calls for a more intentional review with an actual
statement of finding that would be presented to the CPRB, along with the actual red -line policy.
Teague: Hats off to our CPRB for all the work that they've been doing, and I think that incorporating
this racial impact statement would be very beneficial, um, because it would just allow time for
a ... really a ... an assessment to make sure that we're really meeting our goals and our standards in
hopes of fulfilling our, um, really our mission. So I think that'd be great.
Fruin: Okay, 20 is the unbiased policing ordinance, you previously adopted that. Um, and then we did
advocate for that similar language at the State level, and while the policing legislation that we
expect to be, uh, we do expect some policing legislation this year. It is not going to include the
unbiased policing language that was advocated by several organizations, including the NAACP
this year. So that'll have to be kicked in next year, but we'll ... we'll continue to look for that and
just like we said when you... when you adopted that earlier. Um, this makes a lot more sense to
adopt statewide than it does city by city. I'm glad we did it, but it really needs to be very clear
throughout the entire state that that is the expectation and the standard. Okay, on to page 10 of
your packet. This is the secondary stop policy that was put into place. It still is a temporary
policy. The Chief spoke to it earlier, and he can answer any more questions that you have on it.
Bergus: Just as to the timing on this item, it says that a final decision would be made in the fall of 2022.
Are you, I mean, I'm hoping we're keeping it in place, but just assessing and collecting data
during that time. We're not stopping it and then reimplementing it, is that correct?
Fruin: Yes, that's... that's absolutely correct and, you know, I make the commitment to you and the Chief
would ... would certainly do the same, that we will not, um, pull back on this policy without fust
talking with you and explaining the reasons that we're doing that. We realize this is of great
importance to you and to the public, and so you should assume that it will continue to be in
place while we're monitoring it, and if for some reason our ...our perspective on it changes, um,
you will have that opportunity to, um, have that dialogue with us before that decision is made.
Taylor: On those lines, would ... would we ever consider as a city, I think I've talked about this before,
cause the fire department does the, um, child safety seat checks. Would ... would we ever be able
to finance or provide, maybe even the community service officers, some type of safety check,
uh, place, a safety check village, once a month or something, where folks could come and have
their light bulbs replaced and headlights or whatever it is, those kinds of little safety things, uh,
that ... that the City could help with?
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Liston: That's a good question, Pauline. If you remember a few years ago, Captain Brotherton
implemented the bulbs program, and that does just that. It, uh, if we pull someone over, instead
of giving a citation, we fill that out, they take it to a couple of cooperating mechanics, and
they'll replace the bulb at ... and they'll send us the bill. So we do do something like that already,
and I think it's been pretty successful. Obviously with our secondary stop, we're not pulling
over people for that reason right now, but sometimes we do pull over people for a primary stop
and notice that they do have bulb out or something like that, and ... and so we still are using that
program.
Weiner: (echoing) ...um, I ... I do like the idea of essentially a, um, much like the child safety seats, the...
as ... as Councilor Taylor mentioned, sort of a community relation building... come and we'll see
what... what needs to be fixed, you know, see if we can get some folks there to help fix it
(mumbled) simple things like bulbs and so forth, but that can ... that can ... that can be prohibitive
for a lot of people.
Bergus: I agree, I think not tying it to traffic stops would be helpful.
Liston: Sounds good.
Fruin: Um, 22 is an issue that has been in the works for several years. As we were designing the ped
mall renovation several years ago, we made sure that we had basically all the connections we
needed to implement a ... a public safety camera network in the... in the pedestrian mall, in and
around the pedestrian mall, um, not intended to be surveillance, but recognizing that over the
years we've... we've spent significant investigative hours over some serious... pretty... several
serious incidents, um, that a camera system would help us solve. So whether it be shots fired
incidents or assault incidents, we've had missing persons incidents and things of that nature.
Unfortunately when you don't have a good type of camera system, you can lose valuable time
conducting hundreds of hours of interviews, and so we made the decision and previous
Councils budgeted for the cameras, and we're to the point now where we can bid that project
out, but we certainly also understand how sensitive this issue is when it comes to cameras in
public spaces. We want to be respectful of the ... of the ... of the public's desire to understand how
the department would use that camera system. So we want to present that policy to you at a
work session and explain to you exactly how it will be used and explain to you exactly how it
will not be used, which is active surveillance. But really an investigative tool that could take
place after the fact, so that's just ... that's on us to present to you. This is more just making you
aware that we'll ... we'll want you to ... to look at that and to help us make any final tweaks before
we move forward with that installation.
Thomas: And I take it that has the Downtown District's support?
Fruin: Yeah, I don't know if we ... we've, um, received any kind of letter of support over the years, but
certainly I would ... I would fully expect that they would be supportive. Uh, they have their own
camera system that they maintain, and it's ... it doesn't, uh, it's certainly not comprehensive, but
anytime that we're looking for videos right now, we'll ... we'll go to the Downtown District
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and... and... and work with them. So this would be of higher quality and have much better
coverage and kind of remove them from being in charge of maintaining and being the steward
of...of some of those cameras.
Salih: Wait, when you say public spaces, where you think like, is this like on a traffic stop or this is
something like in certain building?
Fruin: Yeah, so ... so this would be no ... this is really an extension of the camera system that we have at
our public buildings. So we have cameras in our parking decks and here at City Hall, both on
the interior and exterior of the building. This would be kind of interconnected system to that
network and ... and for... for right now we're looking at just the, uh, the pedestrian mall area. It
could be something that could be expanded over time. I know when we, for instance, when we
did the Washington Street project, we also made sure that we could add security cameras to the
light poles if we ever wanted to. That wouldn't be necessarily in this phase one, but we could.
It wouldn't be something that we would, um, you know, this isn't `blanket the entire city' type of
operation, but obviously we have a lot of activity downtown, and at times we have 10,000 -plus
people that can be packed into a couple of square blocks, and that's where a lot of the
investigative hours are spent. So it's very much kind of a data -driven `this is where ... this is
where the need is fust,' and we'll ... we'll see how effective it...it proves to be before we consider
any type of expansion.
Salih: But have nothing to do with like traffic camera (both talking)
Fruin: No, it's not an enforcement. It's an investigative tool. So it would not be used to monitor for,
um, a traffic stop or anything like that or issuing citations.
Salih: Okay.
Fruin: And that would be part of the policy we present to you, again, exactly how it would be used and
explicitly how it would not be used.
Bergus: Geoff, do we have a policy regarding the use of the aerial camera that I assume is like the
Communications department, like the quad-copter that I think (mumbled) just on a similar, for
having policies about how we use cameras in public places and being intentional to not use
them for surveillance, can we ... are we covering more than fixed cameras?
Fruin: Yeah, the ... the police department does not have any drone type of camera systems. You're right,
our Communications operation does, and I don't know if there's any policies explicitly
prohibiting that use. It's not a use that we would consider right now, but whether that's written
policy, uh, I don't know. I know that there are some ... some policies that they use. They
obviously have to adhere to FAA, uh, Federal Aviation requirements. We make sure that those
drone cameras stay over public property, that they don't go over private property. There's things
like that that we're very sensitive to, but I'm not sure if it explicitly bans surveillance. It's
something we can look at.
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Bergus: Yeah. Thank you.
Fruin: Okay, the next two issues deal with relationships with some of your boards and commissions.
The fust one is CPRB. You're aware of some of the process ... uh, progress that's going on there.
Uh, the Chief and staff have had some productive dialogue with CPRB in recent meetings.
There's going to be some enhancements to reports. Um, you're already aware of some of the
enhancements to reports, such as the use of...use of force, uh, monthly reports that are now
provided to the CPRB. So that is definitely a work in progress. And then, uh, 24 is the the
Human Rights Commission and Chief Liston has met with the Human Rights Commission and
we'll continue to kind of think about how the department can best stay plugged into, um, their
efforts, cause I definitely feel like there's some ... there's some time and that open communication
would be very valuable there too. Any questions or thoughts on CPRB and Human Rights
Commission relationships?
Bergus: I wonder about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I mean in its mandate we talk about
examples of maybe specific relationships that we know ... that includes specifically police, but I
don't know if having some kind of consistent communication dialogue between the department
and that commission, if we're also doing others.
Fruin: Yeah, I think ... I think we're ... we're open to that certainly. Um, think we'll allow the ... the TRC
some space and at least our... our thinking was allow them some space to ... to develop their ...their
vision, their process, and ... and when ... when they're ready or the time is right, we could certainly
engage and... and start to build that relationship.
Mims: Yeah, I would ... that's what I was going to say after Laura's comments. I think we need to give
them the space, but make sure that they're aware that the police department is ready and willing
to, you know, communicate, engage with them in whatever way they would like, but let them
lead that process.
Liston: I have been in contact with, um, I guess the co-chair of it in the ... uh, several times, but I'm with
you. I kind of want them to lead that. I don't want to make them, anyone, feel uncomfortable if
they're not ready for our presence.
Fruin: Um, 25 is ... is basically getting that supporting statewide reform and, uh, again, the reform bill
has not been taken up, uh, could be this week or next week as they wrap up session, but I don't
think we're going to see the type of reform that ... that we set out to, uh, that we set out to see
with your legislative priorities.
Weiner: Indeed, it looks more like going backwards instead of forwards at this point. We'll see what
comes out of it.
Fruin: Uh, 26 gets at the issue of race -based calls to law enforcement. So these are calls that come into
law enforcement, that there are ... there is no apparent emergency or criminal activity, yet it
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seems to be racially motivated, whether that is kind of explicit or ... or not by the caller. We did
not pursue this at the state level this year, frankly just didn't think the timing was right and the
support would be there, but that doesn't mean that we can't move forward with a public
education or awareness campaign and those sorts of things. So that's... that's something that we
can look at, particularly with the new Communications position coming online, is just kind of
carefully thinking how ... how best to begin to raise awareness on these types of issues. But
certainly wanted to make sure you're comfortable with that. That could be, you know, could be
a controversial type of public, uh... urn, education campaign. But one that I think is
worth ... worth strong consideration. So whether... whether now or later, I'd just like to make sure
you're ... I ... I know where you stand as a collective group before we ... before we go down that
path.
Mims: I think one piece of information that might be helpful for Council is how much discretion, and
Janice and I can maybe bring this question up at the JECC meeting, but, you know, how much
discretion do the dispatchers have when they receive a call, if it is not to their mind an
emergency to not even dispatch it, and if they do dispatch it, either because they don't have that
discretion or because they just do dispatch it, how much discretion do officers have based on
that information to either respond or choose not to respond?
Weiner: Those are definitely good issues, but I mean I ... to me it's... it is something that... that... that needs
to be at a minimum part of it public awareness campaign, and I think this too could eventually
link in with some... depending on which way the TRC goes, with ... with some of their
educational efforts or...or outreach to the community, so people have a better understanding of
how something like that comes across or has an impact on people when ... when such calls are
made.
Thomas: These calls, um, maybe I'm thinking we may have had this conversation before, but is this ... do
these require a response by a sworn officer or is it something that could be a community service
officer responding to?
Liston: I guess it would depend on what the call is. Again if it's ... if it's just a completely race -based call
that... certainly I think we could all agree is a ... is a frivolous call at the very least. The issue, and
I think the conversation that needs to happen with the JECC is ... I'm sure there's some liability
issues if.. if someone, um, it would really depend on what ... what type of call it is. Don't get me
wrong, I ... I can imagine that they get daily calls that they do say are frivolous and might not
send a unit to, like, uh, I'm just thinking off the top of my head. `My child doesn't want to go to
school,' or something like that. You know, but I will tell you that having said that out loud, I
have been to some of those calls before. So I think a lot of times it's a ... there may be a fear of
liability for someone making the determination that they didn't think it was an emergency, and it
was just maybe a communication issue between the caller and the call taker that they didn't
understand what the situation was. So I, again, not being a dispatcher or a call taker, I am sure
that they receive extensive amount of training, but I think ... I know other states have talked
about legislation prohibiting those things specifically.
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Fruin: Okay, well we'll continue to give it some thought. I sense there's some interest there, and we'll...
we'll, um, give that some thought and probably circle back with you before we initiate anything.
And then for our JECC representatives, maybe we should touch base too after you have the
chance to bring it up at a future board meeting. Ile ... 27 was kind of an exploration of a
regional CPRB, and I won't get into all the reasons why that could be a good idea, but it was
trying to simplify things for the public, recognizing that there are, uh, multiple law enforcement
agencies in a very small geographic area here in Johnson County. This is one that obviously
would require some buy -in and work on the elected front, selected to elected peers, um, but I'm
happy to initiate conversations with ... with my...my peers, if this is a direction the Council wants
to go, but make no mistake, this is a ... this is a very large undertaking, and I know you're
currently have a lot on your plate right now when it comes to just our own CPRB and ... and
making sure that it's structured in the most effective way possible.
Teague: I don't think there's any harm in just getting a sense of what other communities might be
interested in, but also talking to our own CPRB members to see if they find that this will be
helpful.
Weiner: Would definitely be a heavy lift, I mean I wouldn't put it at the top of the priority list right now,
but worth talking, um, and I also just wanted to mention, I apologize in advance, but I need to
get off at 4:30.
Mims: Yeah, I would agree with Janice. I think it's a good thing to pursue, but I'm not sure it's...it...it is
not on the top of my priority list. I think we have so many other more important things at this
point to work on.
Taylor: I agree, and I think some of the other communities are already looking at it on their own, uh, to
develop ones, and I think tonight recently here (mumbled) Coralville already has one in place
and Ce, uh, Cedar Rapids was looking at it. So I think, you know, let them and then once
everybody's got theirs in place, maybe we can coordinate each ... each of them.
Fruin: Okay, 28's another big heavy lift, um, a local public safety apprenticeship and skill building
program. You can think of this as kind of a local jobs -corps type of program, which is
becoming more common in large metro areas, um, but something that I think would hold a lot
of value here. It wouldn't just be police, but we'd bring in fire, public works, and really trying
to engage the young adults in our community, in these public service positions; give them
the ... the tools, uh... uh, and perhaps help them attain the certifications that they would need to
be, um, very successful candidates for these positions, and in the meantime, you know, allow
them to earn some money through the apprenticeship program, perhaps perform community
outreach and service on behalf of these ... these operations. So again, it's a big picture item. Uh,
but recognizes that, you know, in police, fire, and public works, we ... we can run into significant
recruitment issues, and we have long-standing challenges of obtaining the diversity that we
really seek to achieve in our ...in our departments.
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Thomas: I ... I think it's an interesting idea, uh, and I think I would just suggest adding public health to
the scope of this, especially in that it's I think an area that we're seeing expanding and so
including... including that piece, I think, would also be helpful.
Fruin: We have initiated our recruitment process. We did make some changes to better support
candidates through that process, that's number 29 there. We are probably too early to tell, uh,
but we're going to try to remain flexible and make sure that we're reaching out to as many as
possible and that we're supporting them along the way with the different written and physical
test initiatives.
Liston: I think we've really, as you can imagine, everywhere across the country and certainly in the
state and the county are hiring right now, so it's a difficult time to recruit, but I'm confident that
our Community Outreach Assistant Daisy Torres has done a great job with our recruiting plan
and really focusing on diversity, so I am optimistic that we're going to have some good
candidates.
Bergus: I wanted to circle back to the ... the question of calls for service that can be handled by not
sworn officers, when we're looking at a challenge in recruitment and right now looking to fill
positions that have been open for, you know, as I understand, uh, awhile. Um, certainly I know
last year we had this conversation about positions being open as well. So as we're looking at
recruitment and what positions we're trying to fill, um, Geoff, you made the comment that
the ... the community service officers are kind of full up. The ones who we have already are
doing ... are at their maximum capacity. Can we not divert some of these positions to ... to
additional community service officers, um, at this stage, knowing that they can handle more
calls for service?
Fruin: Yeah, I think that's where we really have to review what their job description allows them to
respond to. You know, we have to make sure that they're... they're appropriately compensated
for the work that they're doing and ... and that they have the training and background they need,
if we're going to expand that volume of calls for service. So over time, possible. I think we
need to do that evaluation fust and really think about what it means to be a community service
officer, because as it sits today, it may look very different than how we envision it in three or
four years, um, and if we can shift calls for service over there and expand that staffing, uh, that's
great, but we should expect that there'll probably be change in those basic job duties in the
classification of the position itself, uh, and maybe even the minimum skills and qualifications
that we seek.
Liston: I do think it's valuable in doing... conducting that research and looking at it, but we do need to
be honest. Um, I don't think there is going to be a large group of people who are going to want
to respond to traditionally police related calls as non -police officers. Um, we see that currently.
We've... we've been using, um, Crisis, uh, Mobile Crisis Outreach and, uh, they won't respond
to dangerous calls, and they shouldn't... because it's not safe to them. So we need to ... it's ... it's a
worthwhile discussion, and we certainly constantly look at ways to improve efficiency and send
the best people to the calls that they can handle it, but we also have to keep in mind the safety of
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our employees. Again, uh, Councilor Bergus and I have had this conversation in the past. Not
all calls are that simple when they come in. That's why they come into 9-1-1. So those that we
can divert we see ... certainly need to look at that, and it's... it's a worthwhile discussion, but we
do have to understand that we have the safety of our employees to look at as well. So we can
certainly look into that, and I ... I do see a way where we can increase the responsibility of these
people, but they still can't do police work. They can do things that we might not traditionally
consider police work, and that's a fantastic idea, but they don't have, uh, they can't enforce
criminal law and, uh, and again, they may not be the best people to respond to a situation that
could... could turn violent and unfortunately those aren't always obvious, so...
Fruin: Okay, 30 really looks at the officer well-being aspect, which... which is, um, there's definitely a
lot of, uh, a lot of attention being paid to that across the country right now, but making sure our
officers have access to professionals who can help them through their own stresses and traumas,
so that when they are on the street, they are performing at their ...at their peak ability and they're
not distracted from doing their... their best work. So we have started this. We have a fantastic
peer support team in the department, um, officers that dedicate their time to that peer support
network. Really, really proud of what they do and, uh, we've got a little bit of a pilot program
going here just to make sure officers have, you know, reduce... basically have reduced barriers to
seek the help that they may need to process, um, any troubles they may be having.
Liston: Just want to echo what the City Manager said. It's, uh, the EMDR pilot program we're doing, I
think, is,um, going to be very positive, and then we also have officers utilizing resources that
we may not know about, but the peer support group does a fantastic job and they're really
dedicated to the well- being of the officers, and I really appreciate that.
Fruin: Uh, 30 is a ... a ... a bigger concept that involves officers spending a portion of their shift time
on ... on some type of volunteer work, community, um, service type of project. We're not in a
position right now, with our staffing levels, to be able to do that. I really don't have ideas on
necessarily, you know, how this would look even if we were at full staffing. But it's a ... it's a
thought that I had to, um, really try to build some relationships at a very micro level with each
individual officer, as opposed to that more traditional model of...of having specialty positions
do it or having civilian specialty positions do it, but really try to make it a focus of every officer,
um, in some way, shape, or form, and again, I don't pretend to have all those answers.
We ... we'd want to sit down with the officers and have that discussion. Many of them already
volunteer their time outside of work, uh, and have, you know, have shown how valuable
those... those experiences are. So this is more of a long-term item that I'd be interested in
discussing with the officers first and then, uh, as ... as staffing time would allow in the future,
really think about encouraging this through... through some type of, again, on -shift allowance.
Liston: If I can just add to that as well. Um, you mentioned it, Geoff, that many of the officers do this
on their own and don't ... they certainly don't pat themselves on the back about it. I find out
about things third -hand of officers taking, um, taking kids McDonald's. Uh, you guys might
know about one of our detectives taking senior pictures for, uh, students that otherwise would
not have been able to get those. So I know a lot of officers do this on their own, um, and ... but
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I ... I agree. It's... it's something we might need to advertise a little more that we do. They don't
do it for the recognition, but if..if we had staffing to the levels that we'd like to, we would like
to spend more time building those community relationships and just responding to calls.
Fruin: Thirty-two is the communications professional position. You approved that at your last meeting.
So this one is ... is ... would be shaded a different color. We're actually, uh, have posted this
position. So applicants can submit on that, and we hope to have somebody in place in the next
month or two. One of the duties for this new position will be to really overhaul our website,
particularly our police website, uh, make sure we're providing the information that the public's
interested in, in a very easy to read and digest manner. We're not achieving that objective right
now. We do have an overhaul... overhaul of the website underway or the process underway, and
so it's really good timing to bring in somebody from the outside in this ... in this communications
position and let them work with the department to redesign the site and the content of the site,
uh... uh, from kind of a clean slate vantage point. Uh, 34, as we get to the last three here, uh, the
police data initiative is one example, but there may be others of just, um, kind of a national data
reporting systems, um, and I think you're probably going to see these become more and more
common, uh, with the focus on policing that we have in this country, um, but ... but, you know,
what it tries to allow you to do is for... for different departments to ... to submit data to a
centralized place so that people can compare data a little bit more effectively and understand the
context of their local data a little bit more. I often use the example of use of force. If I told you
that we had 50 use of force incidents, you know, last month, I don't know that, you know, you
probably wouldn't know, is that good, is that bad? How does that compare with other
departments, other communities of our size.? And there is no centralized recording. You'd have
to literally call and, you know, check with Cedar Rapids and check with Coralville, and ... and
then you'd have to understand the policies behind how they're reporting use of force. So really
any effort to standardize, whether that's through a state -level system, a state -sanctioned system
or nonprofit think tank type of system. I think we need to look at that and really see how we
can participate to ... to not only bolster our transparency, but to better understand how..how our
policies are influencing our actions on the street compared to another department that that may
have a different policy that leads to different outcomes. So the police data initiative is one
that ... that we came across last year. I think it's still growing in participation, but it's... it's... it's
definitely one that we think that, um, is worth participation in, and we'll... we'll give that a look
this coming year.
Liston: You may also be surprised to see how, um, different agencies handle their own data. I was. I
think you guys know Iowa City Police Department collects a lot of data. We provide that data
to, um, monthly use of force reports to the CPRB. That's not the standard, that's not the
standard at all. So, um, when we do look at to compare what we're doing to others, sometimes
it's disappointing to find that people aren't even collecting that data and they couldn't tell you,
um, how many incidents they've had in the last year, or how that compares to the years
(mumbled) and the Iowa City PD, we can tell you that over decades. So we can at least
compare against ourselves, and I do agree, I think this is a good thing so we could start
comparing with the broader law enforcement community to see, uh, just see how things are
happening elsewhere.
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Thomas: One ... one thing that I came across in ... in looking at practices elsewhere was developing a, um,
what was referred to as a real-time public safety community dashboard, which will be linked to
GIS. So it'd be possible to view calls of service in real-time. Community members would be
able to view information about calls for service, you know, at a county scale or perhaps just
within the city or a neighborhood, um, and from what I gather, this is ... this is something that has
been adopted by cities. It was ... it was reco... where I ran across it was in a series of
recommendations for Ithaca, New York, and, um, they ...they partnered with
Thompson... Thompson... Tompkins County, which I think was a mandate that was driven at the
state level. But it sounded like an interesting concept. I'm always drawn, uh, the geographer in
me is always drawn toward seeing information spatially and, um, certainly the real-time aspect
of it, I think, is pretty compelling as well.
Mims: The things I've heard about that real-time is there's a real safety issue there. I would really,
really want to hear from law enforcement on their thoughts, because things I have read on a lot
of that real-time stuff is ... is it's dangerous. It's dangerous for the police, it's dangerous for
potential victims at the scene, um, just depending on what those circumstances are. So I would
certainly want to have a lot more information before I was, uh, would consider any kind of real-
time, uh, data for people.
Liston: When ... when I was running a (mumbled) we did a lot of dashboarding, when a lot of this GIS
and plotting the point, and I will tell you that, uh, you guys know Officer David Schwent.
He ... he works a lot in this field, and there are some possibilities with that. I agree with
Councilor Mims, real-time calls for service could pose some problems and there might be some
legal issues there, but real- time or slightly delayed maybe a day later. Offenses like where
we've had burglary vehicles, where we've had thefts, I think that would be very helpful, and that
is something we are looking at. That is possible. Like you said, there are cities that do that. At
the Fusion Center that I worked at, we did that. Someone could just go on to the city website
and look to see where the hot spots were for assaults or thefts or ... or whatever, and it was
updated very regularly. You can... depending on the schedule you set up, you could ... you could
do that daily, and I think that'd be great (mumbled)
Fruin: Okay, the last two, um, are ... are more geared at keeping the conversation going, and in my intro
letter on the preliminary plan, I said ... I said it's, you know, one of the most important aspects is
we don't look at this as a finite set of recommendations, but ... but we have mechanisms in place
to ... to develop another set of recommendations after this or to refine these, to build on them,
and that's really what the last two recommendations look at. Um, 35 is, uh, frankly inspired by
the listening post that... that you all conducted in the fall, um, or summer and fall last year.
There's no reason we can't do that on an ongoing basis, whether we have 400 people show up or
four people show up, I think there's value to that, um, and ... and I like the idea of us not doing
that here at City Hall, but ... but rotating around the community and public spaces to do that. So
that's something that the Chief and I will... will... will talk about this fall., uh... uh, as things, uh,
as things open up and we're ... we're safer to be outside and in crowds. And then 36 is, uh,
reconvening of the Diversity Roundtable that's been established for probably seven or eight
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years now, but has been on hiatus during... during COVID, um, is to really engage that group in
a document that I found to be really, really, um, influential in my thinking in developing this
plan, which was a 2019 report from the Leadership Conference in civil and human rights
entitled "The New Era of Public Safety." I encourage the Council, if you haven't flipped
through that report, to do so. Again it...it...it helped me think through a lot of these
recommendations. And I think it would be valuable to sit down with this group that we have
established a rapport with over... over the last ... short of a decade now, and get their reaction,
because my read on it may be different and they may see some different opportunities. The
police department may see some some different opportunities as well. So that's something I ... I
personally want to be involved with, um, as we get that group back together.
Thomas: Well, on number 35, um, the town hall concept, I've long been interested in seeing that. I ... I
would simply say, or suggest, that, um, I feel the ... the representation of the City could be
expanded, uh, beyond the police department and have broader representation. And perhaps City
Council Members could be there as well. And just open it up, you know, kind of just a
conversation about.... focused on, you know, life in wherever the town hall meeting is taking
place. I think that can be really, um, really useful in so many different ways.
Teague: I would agree with that.
Taylor: Yes the speak up, speak out events that were held, uh, also last year, along with our town hall
meetings, the speak up, speak outs were ... were really well attended, and people really opened
up and gave their stories and how they've been affected by racial inequities in the community.
Teague: All right, well thanks to Geoff and to Chief Liston for helping us navigate those today. Um,
wanted to offer any other comments or items that Council would like to take up,
address... addressing this item on our agenda?
Thomas: I'll just mention quickly, um, something that I, again, ran across in the Ithaca report in
recommendations, and that is looking at the organizational structure of our police department,
you know, what ... from a workload standpoint or a performance based standpoint might
influence, uh, or suggest other ways of structuring the operation. Um, and you may already be
having these conversations, Geoff. I don't know, but insofar as we're kind of opening up this
discussion, and I must say, you know, as ... as long as ... certainly I've been involved in ... in public
life in Iowa City, I'd never really given much thought to the police department, you know, it was
kind of just this separate entity um, but, you know, I think we are having that opportunity now,
and it's happening nationwide, so it's sort of an interesting opportunity to ... to see what is
happening elsewhere. Uh, you know, the draft was ... was generated quickly, you know, partly
due to our own schedule. But I ... I do think it's interesting to see how much is being generated
now on this subject, uh, so that was another aspect that I was seeing was being considered by
cities and counties in terms of their police ... their police departments.
Bergus: Mayor, I just wanted to comment a little bit. This last weekend you all may have seen a, um,
provided a column in the Cedar Rapids Gazette talking about the possibility of -the possibility
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of talking about not having an armed police department in the future, and as we went through
these 36 recommendations, I just want to be candid with all of you and anybody watching, that's
my lens and moving away from armed responses. I very much appreciate the ... the good
conversation that Chief Liston and Geoff Fruin and I were able to have a couple weeks ago, um,
leading into this, but I think that we made a commitment last June to restructure our police
department, and what I see here is a lot of what has already been underway and already in the
works and reinforcing things that we've been doing, which is great and I think we've all learned
a lot about the things we have been doing that are different from a lot of the harshest and most
difficult aspects of modern policing that came under, you know, the ... the spotlight in the last
year in particular. But I really just want to challenge us to ... to consider what ... what did we think
we were committing to last summer, and are we achieving that with this plan, and how are we
going to measure that? I think for myself the ... the goalpost is ... is, you know, established, it's
pretty far out there. Um, but I really want us to be looking at how else are we moving away
from armed response to emergency situations. We've identified here today a lot of chicken and
egg issues, right? We need 9-1-1 integration. We need to increase mobile crisis. We need to
have maybe more community service officers, but we need to evaluate those positions fust and
see what all they may be able to do. We need to educate the public so they understand what
calling for an emergency response might be, but right now there aren't a whole lot of
alternatives to police, so why are they going to call (laughs) You know, I mean there's just a lot
we need to try and -and wrap our arms around, and so I guess I just wanted to ... to push on that a
little bit and just really let you all know where I was coming from and hope that we can
continue this conversation in an open way, and also as we continue to get input from the public
on this plan. There aren't a whole lot of things that need our continued input here on these 36
recommendations, and so I think we just need to ask ourselves what are ... what are we asking
from the community, as far as additional input? What direction are we looking to go, and ... and
how are we going to ... how are we going to measure that going forward?
Mims: I would just comment, since you brought it up, Laura. I read your article and I guess I just want
to put out there publicly, and I ... and I think I'm going to write a response to it because I think it's
really important. I am I guess diametrically opposed to your position, and I say this with all due
respect, because I've (laughs) I've just really, you know, you and I have really gotten to know
each other over the last 16 months you've been on Council. We've worked together on a lot of
things, and I have a great deal of respect for you, but on this particular issue, um, of even .... I
guess really even entertaining the idea of abolishing the police department. Um, yeah, you and
I are on opposite ends of the pole with that one. Um, I think you knew that from when we
talked before you wrote the article. Um, from my perspective, um, human nature is such that
we can never be without a police force. Now I am absolutely and totally open to the
discussions we're having and other suggestions and ideas that people can bring forth on how
we, you know, reduce the number of calls for service or reduce the calls that have to be
responded to by armed officers, while maintaining the safety of the public and those people
responding to those calls. So I'm totally open to innovation, I'm totally supportive of more
training, I'm totally supportive of holding officers accountable when they do not act in a way
that is ... is appropriate or safe or respectful of the community, but to me the human nature is
such that if we go to that idea of an abolition of a police department, I don't know if all of you
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read the very, very I think the longest email I've ever received in the 11 -plus years I've been on
Council. I think it was from Mr. Thompson. He talked about, you know, in the absence of
power you have a vacuum. Somebody will fill that, and to me the idea of abolishing an armed
police force does just that, creates that type of vacuum. So to me even putting the word
abolition out there related to the police force raises ... um, I don't know, maybe an expectation or
a thought process, um, that is very different for people, but to me it's a very unequivocal word.
It means getting rid of And I am not at all supportive of getting rid of a police department. I
am totally supportive of reimagining, restructuring, um, and holding accountable, what I believe
is already a very, very good, very professional force, not without fault, but very good, and I
want to make sure, Chief Liston, that as you go back to your staff, I would appreciate that you
take that message back to them.
Taylor: I agree with Councilor Mims, and ... and with all due respect, Councilor Bergus, I looked up the
definition of abolish and it ... as Susan alluded to, it's put an end to, do away with something
completely. And that just seems very extreme to me, and I ... I thought more about and I looked
up rethink and redirect is what I kind of have in mind, and that's just a think again about
something, especially in order to make changes to it, which is what we're looking at now, or a
reassessment to result in changes being made, and one of the changes I think that was brought
out from everything last summer and ... and since that time is ... is the need for more of a mental
health response team. Um, the CAHOOTS team was referred to an awful lot, and we only had
just that CommUnity... on-call CommUnity Crisis Team, that was limited in the numbers they
had and what they could do, and I think we're looking at expanding on that and ... and that's very
positive. I like that, because, uh, also as I'd sort of alluded to, and asked that question earlier, I
think our current 9-1-1 system is ... is kind of a one -size -fits -all solution and so I'm happy to see
that we're looking at expanding on that and ... and making that a better resource, cause as
Councilor Mims sort of alluded to, I mean, people are people. There are individuals out there,
and we do have to hold them accountable, and there are those who, uh, may press the laws
and ... and cause harm to others and ... and in that case we, I believe, we do need, uh, some law
enforcement officials that, uh, that can handle those kinds of safety situations.
Teague: The word abolish, um, we've heard the definition, and my...my issue with the word abolish is
the general public certainly don't know many ...many other people that I've talked about abolish
the police, they certainly don't know what that could mean. They don't know that it can mean a
re ... a reduction in the number of police officers or a reduction in the number of...of things that
the police do. I think the word abolish in its truest meaning mean to end, and so even right now,
uh, Council Bergus, and sorry to, you know (laughs) direct this to you, but I ... I feel it's
important for me to speak to this, but the word abolish that you're suggesting that you just
ended with was actually to end the police department, um, if..if I understand correctly, and so I
do believe that what I committed to, and what the Council committed to, uh, when we looked at
the words that we wanted to use for this plan, we ... we took considerable time talking about
abolish (laughs) and some other terms, and we went with restructuring, and so I am not at all in
agreement with the use of .. utilizing the word abolish. Now in the process, could there be some
duties or some, you know, things that they're doing that might be abolished that is actually
transitioned somewhere else, it's restructuring. I ... I, so the word abolish for me, I think is very
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dangerous, and I think not only for us locally, but statewide. If we really want to create the
change that we need. We have people responding to that word negatively. Now when I look at
the word and... and... and I know what abolish mean. Abolish can mean a lot of things. (laughs)
It can mean, you know, the reduction. When it comes down to police abolition, people have
different terminology, but I think, again, the general public hears that word and I think it's very
misleading and quite honestly, it's ... we certainly can make it ... we can do a lot, um, and will do a
lot to make our police department what we want it to be for our community, and we're going to
have community involvement in this process, to make sure that we're getting what we need. So
for me the word abolish, I am not willing to put a part of this process, but respectfully, um, I
think you know that. Well, hearing no more comments or thoughts for today, I want to bring
(both talking) oh, sorry!
Salih: I guess for me the abolishing the police and the meaning that I ... I, as you said, Mayor, this is
could have a lot of meaning. But for me really it doesn't mean that we like really get rid of the
police. I think police is needed in many ways, but it means... for me it means like reduction. It
mean like, uh, you know, like direct some fund to something else instead of like reducing the
funding for the police. That was I believe we should consider somehow ...uh, because we have a
lot of fall in a lot of things, and I ... I believe that it is ... the fund for the police is really high. And
that doesn't mean I'm going to (garbled) doesn't mean get rid of the police, for me. But it means
a lot of another thing that we have to consider, uh, you know, and ... and value and just like
(mumbled) if we ... whether we have a ... we need all this fund just to go and to have like police,
like officer, or we need to direct some fund to something else.
Mims: I just want to make one additional comment, and that is, and Councilor Taylor said this. Look
up the actual definition of the word abolish. It does not mean to reduce, it does not mean to
defund. As Councilor Taylor said, and I've got it up again, the definition is to do away with
completely, to put an end to, and so, for me, with that being the definition of abolish, I think it is
totally inappropriate for anybody to use it unless they believe in the meaning and using that
word in its meaning to get a way to do away with our police department. If you're thinking
anything else, restructuring, defending, changing budget, you should not use the word abolish
because that's not what it means. Abolish means to get rid of the police department, so I think
it's important that everybody work with the definition of the word, not create their own
definition.
Salih: I thinks we made it clear in our (mumbled) in our 17 -point (mumbled) we said restructure the
police department. And we should go what we ... about what we said. What we mean by
restructure, you know, but if you want ... don't want to use the word, but it's still ... you understand
the concept of like when we said restructure the police department. We don't have to use the
word. The word is ... doesn't matter right now. We just really need to do something about this,
about the restruction of our police department.
Teague: All right, well I want to thank the Councilors for your time today. And we will, of course,
not ... this won't be the end of this conversation, it will continue. Thanks and have a good
evening.
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Salih: Mayor, I'm sorry, but one last thing.
Teague: Yes!
Salih: For somehow I have a problem with my email. I have to go to City and fix it, but do we have
any input right now from the public that you send it to us, I miss it or anything, because I was
looking up in both from the public for somehow I didn't find it.
Fruin: Yeah, I can respond to that, Mayor, if you ... if you'd like. Um, we have input that's been ... that
was submitted through our website that we can share with you. Most of that was gathered in
the early part of 2021 when the plan fust came out and was published on the site. We have been
exploring some in-person public outreach with community partners, and we fully expect to
move forward with that this summer, when we can more safely gather outside. This
conversation here will help kind of focus in on particular elements of the plan that ... that may be
worth, uh, kind of targeting for public input, but there will also be kind of that open-ended.
What ... what else do you want to see, what ... what else are your thoughts when it comes to, uh,
the Iowa City Police Department. So that is a part of it. Um, we were holding website
comments to combine with the in-person comments, but if you'd like to see those sooner, I'd
be... we'd be happy to compile those in some digestible manner and get those out to you.
Salih: No, I just like... for me they (mumbled) and the people who go to the website is the people who
come to the Council, the people who do all that. I really looking forward to see the input from
the people of color. You know, and if there's something not been done yet, that's no problem.
still ... I ... I know that you said we just want like maybe during the summer, everybody get
vaccinated and we can have those events. There is no problem, but those really important for
me.
Teague: Great, sound like we'll get that in some fashion compiled, so thank you, Geoff, for agreeing to
getting that to us, and anything else before we end our time here today?
Salih: No, I promise I don't have anything, thanks.
Teague: Thanks again and have a good evening.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special work
session of May 11, 2021.