HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-03-20 Public Comment - K. Meeker, N. Bond, M. Brody, N. Ritter, C. Ritter, T. Johnson, J. Vollmer - Community Collaboration for Police AccountabilityFrom:Chris Mehl
To:Agenda
Subject:FW: Community collaboration for police accountability
Date:Wednesday, June 3, 2020 10:13:20 AM
fyi, received this letter this morning from several citizens. Also received an email from Judith Heilman of the MT
Racial Equity Project; but it was just one line saying she'd like to chat about the Bozeman Police Commission and
have not heard back from her yet about any details or thoughts.
Chris Mehl
Mayor, City of Bozeman
cmehl@bozeman.net
406.581.4992
________________________________________
From: Kelly Meeker [kkmeeker@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2020 8:23 AM
To: Chris Mehl
Cc: Miracbrody@gmail.com; Nfbond@gmail.com; Tyler Johnson; chipritter70@gmail.com; Jennifer Vollmer;
rosenleaf@aya.yale.edu
Subject: Community collaboration for police accountability
Mayor Chris Mehl
City of Bozeman
121 N Rouse Ave,
Bozeman, MT 59715
June 3, 2020
Mayor Mehl:
We are current and former Bozeman residents who appreciate the Bozeman Police Department’s excellent work to
protect our community. We’ve been alarmed, though, by recent events in other communities where law enforcement
officers have treated people of color in dehumanizing ways.
The Bozeman Police Department has an excellent reputation for including positive, community-focused techniques
in training programs<https://dojmt.gov/mlea/professional-programs-schedule/>, including de-escalation training and
CIT training. We were also pleased to see in the 2021 Budget Report that the Bozeman Police Department has been
utilizing a co‐responder model with a therapist to better address mental health calls.
After researching best practices for community policing, however, we believe that more can be done to ensure that
our police department is prepared to provide a high level of service to all members of our community. We also
believe that these changes can serve as a progressive example of successful police and community collaboration to
other communities.
We respectfully request that you consider the following suggested measures, and share how you feel they fit in with
your vision for Bozeman’s future:
* Civilian Review Board: The current Police Commission<https://www.bozeman.net/government/citizen-
advisory-boards> “conducts hearings and decides on appeals brought by any member of the Police Department who
has been disciplined, suspended, removed or discharged”. We’d like to see a venue for community representatives towork with the City of Bozeman to provide additional oversight for the Bozeman Police Department. Ideally, aCivilian Review Board should be independent, operate transparently, and have the authority to investigate policeactions.
* Fair contracts: We’d like to have transparency and citizen involvement in negotiating police union contracts.TheBozeman Police Department contract will be up for renewal in 2021; please invite citizen representatives to givefeedback on draft contracts and participate in discussion.
* Focus on de-escalation: Please appoint an independent evaluator to annually review organizational culture toidentify opportunities for holding officers accountable for de-escalating situations and operating with empathy andkindness.
* Transparency around personnel diversity: While Bozeman is primarily white, we believe that it’s vital to hireand promote police officers from marginalized backgrounds to enhance communication with diverse communitymembers. Please release the racial and gender composition of the current department, along with annual reports onhiring and departures.
We’re eager to work with you and our local police leadership to help review and implement these changes.
Sincerely,
Kelly Meeker
Natalie Bond
Mira Brody
Nicole Rosenleaf Ritter
Chip Ritter
Tyler Johnson
Jennifer Vollmer