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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes August 23, 2016 Page 9 1 Ms. Kristine Lizdas, 3013 Townview Avenue, stated the Council needs to pay attention, provide 2 leadership, and the Council and staff need to take actions to better bridge the St. Anthony 3 residents with the Police Department. She stated Mayor Faust served 23 years in the armed 4 forces and she assumes he did that to protect his country. She felt law enforcement lays outside 5 the institution's checks and balances and there are very few controls over law enforcement. She 6 has worked with many police departments over the years and with some great public servants. 7 She felt individuals have no rights to hold law enforcement accountable under the US 8 Constitution and quoted some case studies, noting suits are very difficult to bring to court. She 9 stated a healthy democracy needs checks on the police department. 10 11 Ms. Amanda (Unknown last name) stated she wants the Council to view things from their 12 viewpoint, feeling it was scary that Officer Yanez was put back into service and it is a slap in the 13 face to everybody. She stated she is not part of St. Anthony Village but is part of the community 14 and this affects everyone as the actions happening here are being seen worldwide. She stated she 15 lives in fear when waking up every morning and believes the Council has privilege. 16 17 Ms. Kelly Wilson, 3319 Belden Drive, stated she was pulled over 15 years ago and was let go 18 because "she didn't look like a criminal ". She is a teacher of theology at University of St. 19 Thomas and teaches about Martin Luther King to her students. She believes if Mayor Faust's 20 loved ones were affected he would move quickly and not be telling people to wait, stating time 21 will not fix injustice. 22 23 Mr. Garcia stated he lives in New Brighton, drives through St. Anthony three to four days per 24 week, and is of Cuban descent. He has worked for City of Minneapolis for last 20 years and 25 thinks the police have much privilege. He felt the Police Chief protects the white population and 26 that Officer Yanez has 25% blood on his hands, the Police Chief has 25% blood on his hands, 27 and the Mayor and Council have 50% of Mr. Castille's blood on their hands. 28 29 Ms. Rachel Rivard, a resident of St. Paul, shared stories of her experiences at the protests. She 30 experienced white privilege at the protests. She doesn't know if she should be grateful but that 31 would have never happened if she was black. Ms. Rivard stated she has been pulling over many 32 times, believes the dialog needs to be changed, and the Council needs to listen and understand. 33 34 Ms. Loren Peterson, 3420 Skycroft Drive, stated she is a new resident and regrets buying a home 35 in St. Anthony. She has heard the stories about racial profiling in St. Anthony but never been 36 pulled over or stopped. She stated she needs more from the Council and for the Council to do 37 something as delaying the conversation will only make it worse. She stated the residents deserve 38 better from Council and there will be pushes for new a Council and Mayor. 39 40 Mr. Davian Sampson, a St. Paul resident, stated he wished the Mayor and Council would do 41 more. 42 43 IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS - NONE 44 45 X. ADJOURNMENT 46 47 Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 10:00 p.m.