CC PACKET 09132016 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Ms. Kokish stated this was the wrong thing to do and asked the Council to look at the policing 1 practices and do their job. 2 3 Ms. Sandy Sherman, Mirror Lake Condominiums, read a story from the newspaper about a 4 carjacking in Indianapolis. She stated the whole world is watching St. Anthony and real change 5 needs to happen. Ms. Sherman felt the City’s leadership failed to address the racism in this town 6 and stated she will continue to demand that Officer Yanez be removed from service, charged, 7 and prosecuted for murder. 8 9 Mr. David Jones stated he is no longer a resident but his mother and sister live in St. Anthony. 10 He shared an incident that happened to him in November 2015. He was pulled over for a faulty 11 tail light. He stated he has been pulled over a number of times since he was 16 years old, has had 12 a gun put into his face on more than one occasion, and heard a family talking about the St. 13 Anthony incident two states away while traveling. He urged Council to listen to those speaking 14 today. 15 16 Ms. Annka Larson, 2800 31st Avenue NE, asked where the Chief of Police is and why he isn’t 17 here. She stated the Police Chief should be here. She referenced an incident where a car was 18 pulled over and lights were flashing for more than one hour. There was a woman with two small 19 children that were walking and Ms. Larson would have liked to help her. She stated there needs 20 to be an advocate for people targeted by police as 67% of those let off with a warning were white 21 while 17% were Black. She had witnessed racial and possibly economic profiling. Ms. Larson 22 stated these issues can be addressed on a local level using kindness and empathy instead of a 23 police response. She stated the Police Department should remember their role as public servants. 24 25 Ms. Nancy Robinett 3408 31st Avenue NE, stated she has lived in St. Anthony for two years and 26 is a member of the Police Advisory Committee. She asked if John Mangseth is the temporary 27 Police Chief or the permanent Police Chief as of September 1, 2016. She stated there should 28 have been a public process of residents meeting the new Chief. She would like Chief Mangseth 29 to communicate to the community and be asked a number of questions for the Chief to answer, 30 noting records of all traffic stops should be documented. She asked Chief Mangseth and City 31 Manager Casey to make themselves available to answer the questions asked. She felt racial 32 profiling was a problem and it needs to be fixed. The questions will be provided to the Chief. 33 34 Mr. Bernard (Unknown last name) resident of St. Anthony, shared an incident where a black 35 motorist was driving a car and was pulled over. He stated this City was Lake Wobegan, feeling 36 he lives in a fictional city when hearing the Police Chief’s response to the situation. He felt the 37 Police Chief showed no sympathy for the survivors, the Council is not listening and does not 38 care what the evidence shows, and the Council is defending the police officer and Department. 39 40 A Roseville resident, stated he is a recent immigrant, is a concerned citizen, and father of two bi-41 racial kids. He never had to learn to deal with racism because where he grew up all were black. 42 He stated his experience here has been a challenge when it comes to racism as people are very 43 defensive when talking about racism. After Mr. Castille was killed, he stated he had to speak to 44 his children and explain how they may be treated by the system. He believed that honest 45 discussion is needed with face-to-face truth telling, that racism is reality, and to talk to neighbors 46 of color as life concerns are the same for all. He stated he is an infectious diseases doctor and 47 9