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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes <br />June 27, 2017 <br />Page 6 <br />1 community divided, actions of the Council were just checked off on a list and her 50+ emails <br />2 were ignored. She stated there has been no reaching out to the community. Ms. Kennedy- Carlson <br />3 recapped the meetings she had with Councilmembers, asserting the Mayor controls the <br />4 councilmembers. She stated the murder of Philando Castile has been referred to by Council as an <br />5 incident and the amount of the contract with Falcon Heights did not cover the liability St. <br />6 Anthony had. Ms. Kennedy - Carlson stated there was a resolution that put all risk and liability to <br />7 Falcon Heights and Falcon Heights had also questioned the capability of the St. Anthony Council <br />8 to lead the City. She stated she had a conversation with the Middle and High School students, <br />9 was there to listen first, and heard that the black and brown youth in the community are terrified <br />10 as those students are racially harassed. Ms. Kennedy - Carlson believed that Mayor Faust is not a <br />11 leader, is a bully, a liability, and he should step down as Mayor of St. Anthony. <br />12 <br />13 Ms. Rebecca Erler, 3151 and Edward, stated she moved here seven years ago. They chose St. <br />14 Anthony as an amazing place to raise kids. She asked the Mayor and Council why they are in <br />15 public service and stated she is ashamed to say she voted for the Mayor and Council. Ms. Erler <br />16 stated the last year has been very tough and this whole situation has opened her eyes. She <br />17 appealed to the residents and stated the Council did not want to deal with what was happening in <br />18 front of them, thinking they were not charged with solving the race problem in the nation. She <br />19 feels if she were in place of Philando and being pulled over, she would be alive. Ms. Erler stated <br />20 running for office is a huge responsibility. She regrets not knowing who she voted for and will <br />21 never do it again. <br />22 <br />23 Mr. Steve Hanson stated he has lived in St. Anthony for 30 years and is ashamed to be a resident <br />24 of St. Anthony. He could not believe Officer Yanez could get off and that the Lowry Grove <br />25 situation was horrible. Mr. Hanson asked if the Council ever thought about what they were <br />26 doing to those people and if they attend church. <br />27 <br />28 Ms. Vanessa Gadberry, resident of Minneapolis, stated she has lived in Twin Cities her entire <br />29 life. Her grandfather villainized the Black Lives Matter movement. She stated she works full <br />30 time and is passionate about her career, just like Philando Castile. Ms. Gadberry stated whether <br />31 or not a person has a job does not speak to their worth. She is a human who values other humans <br />32 and believes the Council should note the faces that appear before them. She stated Black Lives <br />33 Matter and this should be heard from the City officials and police department. <br />34 <br />35 Ms. Erin Jordahl - Redlin, 3012 Armor Terrace, described her experience while attending a racial <br />36 bias training session with St. Anthony employees. She paraphrased comments made during the <br />37 training, finding most of the people were respectful but several St. Anthony employees acted <br />38 hostile and unwilling to be at the training. These employees were members of the Police <br />39 Department. Ms. Jordahl - Redlin relayed that several police officers shared their thoughts, felt <br />40 they were under attack, asked why people of color did not like members of their profession, and <br />41 whether they should continue in their jobs. She stated she heard very much anger and pain and <br />42 left the training upset by what she heard. Ms. Jordahl - Redlin believed mental health counseling <br />43 should be available to the police officers and that there is a culture of bias problem within the <br />44 Police Department. She stated officers attend warrior training to make them think more like <br />45 warriors but believed they don't spend enough time working to de- escalate situations. She stated <br />46 she is worried about the training for the police officers and lack of mental health counseling. Ms. <br />