* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [1. A series of discussions on improving racial equity in policing by:] [00:00:09] HI. GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY. WELCOME TO OUR MEETING OF COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY. UH, MS. UH, NANCY CANO. COULD WE HAVE A ROLL CALL, PLEASE? COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN. HERE. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ. COUNCIL MEMBER GRO AND A CHAIR. SANDOVAL, DO YOU HAVE A QUORUM? MADAM CHAIR, PRESENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, NANCY. I WANNA WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE SECOND OF THREE SPECIAL COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EQUITY COMMITTEE MEETINGS THAT WILL FOCUS ON POLICING IN SAN ANTONIO. IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR, MAYOR BERG TASK, UM, MULTIPLE CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES WITH DIFFERENT ISSUES. OUR COMMITTEE IN PARTICULAR, WAS CHARGED WITH REVIEWING BEST POLICING PRACTICES TO HELP PROMOTE RACIAL AND GENDER EQUITY IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND REVIEW MENTAL HEALTH DEESCALATION MEASURES. EACH OF THESE TOPICS IS VAST AND NOT ONE OF THEM CAN BE SOLVED IN A SINGLE MEETING. TODAY'S MEETING MERELY BUT SIGNIFICANTLY OPENS THE CONVERSATION ON RACIAL EQUITY IN POLICING. IN PREPARATION FOR TODAY'S MEETING, I'VE HAD MY TEAM AND I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PANELISTS YOU SEE HERE TODAY AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND HAVE LEARNED A LOT. THEY'VE TOLD US, WELL, I'LL LET THEM TELL YOU THEIR, THEIR INSIGHTS WHEN THEY GET TO THEIR SPEAKING PART. UM, I DO WANT TO CLARIFY WHAT OUR GOAL IS IN HEARING FROM THESE SPEAKERS. IT'S TO OPEN THE CONVERSATION ON RACIAL EQUITY IN POLICING, AND IN THE SHORT TERM, OUR GOAL IS TO, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT STANDS OUT THAT WE WANNA RECOMMEND FOR NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, WE'LL COME BACK AND BRING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COMMITTEE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT. I ALSO WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT WE CAN ALSO COME UP WITH LONG-TERM RECOMMENDATIONS, EVEN IF THEY DON'T ALIGN WITH NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. I WANNA BE CLEAR, WHAT WE TALK ABOUT TODAY IS NOT EXPECTED TO AFFECT OUR BARGAINING NEGOTIATIONS AT THE TABLE RIGHT NOW. AS WE KNOW, UH, THOSE GOALS WERE ALREADY SET AND, UH, AND DISCUSSED BY COUNCIL, AND THIS CERTAINLY HAS NO BEARING ON THE PROPOSITION THAT'S ON THE BALLOT RIGHT NOW. AS WELL. WE ARE FOCUSED, UH, ON OUR BUDGET AND, UH, THE FUTURE OF OUR POLICING, DEPART OF OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. OKAY. THAT SAID, UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA THANK OUR PANELISTS THAT ARE WITH US TODAY. UH, EACH, EACH PERSON WHO'S WITH US BRINGS TREMENDOUS INSIGHT AND KNOWLEDGE, AND IS A WONDERFUL HUMAN BEING. I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF INTERACTING WITH ALL OF THEM, AND THEY'RE ALL, UH, EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE. SO I, I HOPE THAT YOU'LL APPRECIATE THEM AS, AS MUCH AS I DO. UH, AND SECONDLY, I WANT TO THANK THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR JOINING US ONCE AGAIN AT THIS LATE HOUR OF THE DAY. WE DO NOT NORMALLY HAVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS AT THIS TIME, BUT THERE'S CERTAINLY A LOT OF, A LOT ON OUR PLATES. UM, SO I, I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I'M CONFIDENT THAT THE GUESTS WE'VE INVITED TONIGHT, WE'LL COMPLIMENT YOUR OWN EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND WHERE OUR POLICING SYSTEM IS AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF WHERE IT COULD GO. ALL RIGHT, ENOUGH THAT NOW NOW I'M GONNA TELL YOU WHAT OUR OUTLINE FOR THE DAY IS. I MEAN, FOR THE MEETING, WE'RE NOT GONNA HEAR ALL DAY FOR THE MEETING IS, UH, WE'LL HEAR FROM EACH OF OUR GUESTS. EACH GUEST WILL PRESENT, WILL HAVE ABOUT 10 MINUTES TO PRESENT. THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO COMMITTEE MEMBER QUESTIONS. EACH COMMITTEE MEMBER WILL HAVE 10 MINUTES, UH, PERHAPS A LITTLE BIT MORE SINCE THERE ARE ONLY THREE OF US. AND THEN BEFORE WE CLOSE THE MEETING, WE'LL GO BACK TO OUR PANELISTS AND ALLOW THEM AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO GIVE US SOME CLOSING REMARKS. SO AT THIS POINT, I AM GOING TO TRANSITION TO, UM, MR. MCCAREY, AND I'D ASKED MR. MCCAREY, WHO'S OUR CITY MANAGER OFFICE LIAISON, TO SET THE CONTEXT, UH, AND ALSO REMIND US ABOUT OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY, WHAT THEY DO, AND WHERE DOES, UH, POLICING FALL INTO THE OFFICE [00:05:01] OF EQUITY GRAND PLAN. SO, THANK YOU, MR. MCCARRY. THANK YOU. CHAIR SANDOVAL. HELLO EVERYONE. I'M DAVID MCCAREY, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M GREATLY PROUD OF AND HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY IS TO KIND OF MAKE CERTAIN THAT BOTH OUR PUBLIC AND OUR COUNCIL ACTUALLY IS REMINDED OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING. THE OFFICE OF EQUITY CURRENTLY PROVIDES A LOT OF DIFFERENT SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE. IN FACT, THE OFFICE OF EQUITY HAS BOTH SHORT AND LONG-TERM, UH, EMBEDDED EQUITY GOALS THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE. IN FACT, YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED, BUT OUR CITY ACTUALLY HAS 50 CITYWIDE EQUITY COMMITTEE, UH, MEMBERS AS WELL AS EQUITY TRAINERS. THESE EQUITY COMMITTEES AND EQUITY TRAINERS ALSO INCLUDE OUR SAFETY DEPARTMENTS, WHICH IS BOTH POLICE AND FIRE. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT FOR OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE EIGHT EQUITY TRAINERS, OR OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE FIVE EQUITY TRAINERS. THOSE TRAINERS WILL UNDERGO TRAINING THIS COMING MONTH OF, UH, MAY THE 17TH, I THINK IS THE ACTUAL DATE. WHAT I WANTED Y'ALL TO PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO, OR TO BE AWARE OF IS THAT WE HAVE A BUDGET EQUITY TOOL. OUR BUDGET EQUITY TOOL ALLOWS THE OFFICE OF EQUITY TO ENGAGE WITH ALL 39 DEPARTMENTS WITHIN OUR CITY STRUCTURE. NOT ONLY ARE THEY ENGAGING INTO EQUITY AND HOW DOES THEIR SERVICES AND DEPARTMENTS IMPACT OUR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, HOW DO THAT ALIGN WITH SOME OF OUR REDLINING THAT HAS TAKEN SHAPE WITHIN OUR CITY OVER TIME? NOT ONLY THAT, BUT EACH DEPARTMENT WILL BE EXECUTING A WORK PLAN, THE OFFICE OF EQUITY, IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR BUDGET DEPARTMENT, OFFICE, OFFICE OF BUDGET, AND MANAGEMENT, MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET. UH, THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT, CONNECTING, MAKING CERTAIN THAT WE'RE ALL DOING OUR PART AS AN ORGANIZATION CITYWIDE. SO YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE THAT MUCH ON THE GROUND. EVERY DEPARTMENT UNDERSTANDING THEIR ROLE AS IT RELATES TO EQUITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO, UM, AGAIN, UH, CHAIR SANDOVAL, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO, JUST TO PUT THE FRAMEWORK IN PLACE OF OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY, WHO IS LED BY Z GIBSON. UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT AS WELL. NO, UH, SORRY, IT'S A DELAY ON THE TOGGLE THERE. UH, NO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, MR. MCCAREY AND I, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT REMINDER FOR US THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY GET SOME UPDATES ON, ON THE PROGRESS THAT THE OFFICE OF EQUITY IS MAKING ON SOME KIND OF, UH, REGULAR BASIS HERE AT COMMITTEE. SO MUCH APPRECIATED. UH, ONE QUESTION, UH, JUST FOR THE, THE SAKE OF THE GROUP, CAN YOU REMIND US WHEN THE PLAN WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT? THE EQUITY PLAN WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. SO THE FIRST FIVE DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED GOING INTO THIS BUDGET PROCESS AS A PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW, THAT NEEDS TO ALSO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS. I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT CALENDAR, BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY ARE NEXT, UH, IN LINE AS A PART OF THIS PROCESS. SO WE'LL HAVE TO GET BACK WITH YOU ON EXACT DATES, BUT IT IS A PART OF THE PROCESS PROCESS THAT WE'RE ENGAGED IN TODAY. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. MCCAREY. UM, OKAY. UH, AND I HAVE ASKED, UH, MY FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, TO HELP ME WITH THE, WITH THE SHOW TONIGHT. AND SO AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AND THANK YOU MR. MCCARRY. AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PANELISTS WHO ARE ON TONIGHT. THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAS TRULY BEEN HISTORY MAKING AS WE DECLARE RACISM A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. BUT WHAT DOES THAT TRULY MEAN? AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? AND SO, AS WE GO FORWARD TONIGHT, WE ARE, UH, SPEAKING ABOUT THIS AND MAKING A CHANGE HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO THROUGH OUR POLICING AND LOOKING AT IT, LOOKING AT THIS THROUGH THE EYES OF OUR COMMUNITY. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU. I HAVE THE PLEASURE AND THE HONOR OF INTRODUCING DR. DOSHI PIPER. SHE IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD. SHE EARNED HER DOCTORATE IN PHILOSOPHY IN JUVENILE JUSTICE FROM PRAIRIE VIEW [00:10:01] A AND M UNIVERSITY. SHE ALSO HOLDS A MASTER'S OF SCIENCE AND A BACHELOR'S OF SCIENCE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI, CINCINNATI, A SPECIALIST IN COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS. DR. PIPER IS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN INTERSECTION OF REINTEGRATION AND FAITH COMMUNITIES, CAPACITY TO DEAL WITH REENTRY CHALLENGES. HER TEACHING EXPERIENCE INCLUDES DRUGS AND CRIME IN SOCIETY, WOMEN IN CRIME, RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, PROBATION, PAROLE, AND COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS, AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE. DR. PIPER IS INTERESTED IN ENGAGING STUDENTS OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM. HER COURSES TYPICALLY INCLUDE A SERVICE LEARNING COMPONENT TO EXPOSE STUDENTS TO THE REALITIES OF JUSTICE WORK. AS A SCHOLAR, DR. PIPER HAS ENGAGED IN NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES TO PUBLISH. SHE HAS PUBLISHED AL ANALYSIS OF FEMALE JUVENILE OFFENDING FROM THE NATIONAL YOUTH SURVEY, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, PSYCHOLOGY AND COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS, THE ETHICS OF GENDER AND FAMILY, THE FEMALE THREE THIEF AND POLICING AMERICA'S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS AND BOOKS, JOURNALS, AND NEWSPAPERS. HER RESEARCH AGENDA HAS PRIMARILY BEEN GENDER SPECIFIC AND RESPONSIVE. SHE IS CURRENTLY RESEARCHING GENDER AND JUVENILE JUSTICE AND SCHOOLS. DR. PIPER HOLDS MEMBERSHIPS WITH INTERNATIONAL, NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL CRIME JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS. SHE IS A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY AND THE ACADEMY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE. WITHIN BOTH OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS, SHE IS PART OF VARIOUS SECTIONS AND DIVISIONS, JUVENILE JUSTICE SECTION, MINORITIES AND WOMEN'S SECTION, RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY JUSTICE SECTION, THE DIVISION OF PEOPLE OF COLOR AND CRIME, AND WOMEN AND CRIME. DR. PIPER SERVES THE COMMUNITY WITH MEMBERSHIP TO SOURCE OF LIGHT CENTER, WHERE SHE HAS BEEN ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. SHE IS ALSO A PART OF THE SAN ANTONIO SPONSORING COMMITTEE, THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING ADVISORY BOARD, EACH POINT PROMISE PREVENTION COALITION AT SAN ANTONIO, FIGHTING BACK AND THE SAN ANTONIO BRANCH OF THE NAACP. ADDITIONALLY, SHE IS A COMMITTEE MEMBER ON THE BEXAR COUNTY FAITH-BASED REENTRY COMMITTEE. IT IS AN HONOR TO BE IN FRONT OF SUCH A DISTINGUISHED WOMAN AND SUCH A GREAT RESOURCE TO OUR COMMUNITY. DR. PIPER, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN SULLIVAN. THANK YOU CHAIRMAN SANDOVAL FOR INVITING ME TO TALK TONIGHT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE BUILD RACIAL AND, UM, EQUITY IN, IN OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES. SO I HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR YOU ALL TONIGHT, AND I'LL STICK TO THE SCRIPT AND I'LL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. SO I WANNA SAY, UM, JUST, JUST AS BY WAY OF INTRODUCING A WAY THAT WE BUILD, OR A WAY THAT WE MOVE TOWARDS A MORE RACIAL AND EQUITABLE POLICING, I BELIEVE, IS TO INCORPORATE PRACTICES THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN TRIED AND PROVEN. SO, MOST RECENTLY, THE ISSUE THAT HAPPENED WITH, UM, AMY COOPER AND, AND THE BIRD WATCHER IN, IN NEW YORK, THAT WAS VERY MUCH A WAY RACE WAS WEAPONIZED AGAINST ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL. AND THE WAY THE RESPONSE TO THAT WAS A RESTORATIVE RESPONSE. SO I BELIEVE THAT THE WAY WE MOVE TOWARDS, OR THE WAY WE BEGAN TO MOVE TOWARDS RACIAL AND EQUITABLE POLI POLICING IS TO REALLY INCORPORATE SOME RESTORATIVE PRACTICES AND POLICIES IN THE WAY WE POLICE. AND SO, CAN I HAVE MY FIRST SLIDE? PLEASE? PLEASE. SO, IF WE WANNA MAKE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE HAPPEN IN POLICING, UM, THIS NOT GETTING INTO, UM, THE WEEDS OF IT, [00:15:02] BUT, BUT ON A SURFACE, UM, POLICE HAVE TO REALLY BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT BUILDING SUPPORT, REACHING OUT TO INDIVIDUALS THAT THEY DON'T TYPICALLY REACH OUT TO, AND WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES THAT THEY DON'T TYPICALLY WORK WITH. AND SO THIS COULD, THIS COULD APPEAR TO BE CONTROVERSIAL AND CONFLICTUAL, HOWEVER, EVERYBODY WANTS TO LIVE IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT. HOWEVER, HOWEVER, FOR SOME COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, MINORITY COMMUNITIES, THE POLICE DO NOT KEEP THEM SAFE. THEY, THEY VICTIMIZE. AND SO BUILDING SUPPORT TO MAKE RACIAL AND EQUITABLE POLICING HAPPEN, I BELIEVE IS THE FIRST STEP. AND THEN WE NEED TO FIND NATURAL ALLIES. AND I'LL GET INTO WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION. UM, OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT THEY PARTNER WITH NEED TO AVOID BEING LABELED, NEED TO AVOID, AVOID BEING LABELED. AND SO WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THEY MAY BE ENGAGING IN RESTORATIVE PRACTICES, WHICH HAVE RESOLVED CONFLICTS ALL OVER THE WORLD. AND, AND INSTEAD OF, INSTEAD OF, UM, SUCCUMBING TO THIS IDEA OR THIS NOTION OF BEING SOFT ON CRIME, OF BEING A, AND, AND EXCUSE MY, MY VERBIAGE, BUT, BUT THE, THIS IS THE LINGO THAT PEOPLE USE. INSTEAD OF BECOMING A HUG A THUG PROGRAM, THEY REALLY NEED TO REALLY NEED TO REJECT THOSE LABELS AND THOSE STEREOTYPES AND SAY THAT WE ARE, WE ARE POLICING THE PEOPLE THAT WE ARE TASKED TO POLICE. SO AVOID BEING LABELED. I'M LISTENING TO THOSE WHO DISAGREE. NOT EVERYONE, NOT EVERYONE IS ON BOARD WITH USING A RES BEING RESTORATIVE IN POLICING, ESPECIALLY THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN IN, IN LAW ENFORCEMENT. AND THEY'RE, THEY REALLY HAVE THIS LAW AND ORDER MINDSET. SO LISTEN TO THOSE WHO DISAGREE. ALSO, PUT VICTIMS FIRST. PUT VICTIMS FIRST. AND, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT CRIME VICTIMS. I'M TALKING ABOUT VICTIMS OF POVERTY. I'M TALKING ABOUT VICTIMS OF LIFE, CIRCUMSTANCES AND SITUATIONS. AND LOOK AT HOW SYSTEMS HAVE CONTINUALLY VICTIMIZED MINORITY POPULATIONS AND, AND, AND NOT FOR THEM NOT TO PERPETUATE THE SAME TYPE OF BEHAVIOR. ALSO BE FIRM ON VALUES AND VISION. THE VALUES AND VISION OF RESTORATIVE POLICING IS TO BECOME MORE RACIAL IN OUR POLI RACIALLY EQUITABLE IN OUR POLICING PRACTICES WILL BE FLEXIBLE ON PRACTICE. AND SO THAT GIVES THE DEPARTMENT LEEWAY AND ALSO BE AWARE OF ASSUMPTIONS AND STEREOTYPES. AND THAT GOES BACK TO, OR THAT REALLY SUPPORTS THE NOTION OF AVOIDING BEING LABELED. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, A WAY THAT, A WAY THAT YOU, YOU BUILD SUPPORT TO MOVE TOWARDS RESTORATIVE POLICING. AND IT IS THROUGH FINDING NATURAL ALLIES. IT IS NECESSARY TO BUILD A BROAD BASE OF SUPPORT FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES, ESPECIALLY IN THIS AREA OF POLICING, WHICH IT HAS NOT TYPICALLY BEEN USED OR HAS NOT TYPICALLY BEEN USED HERE WITH OUR SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT. I APOLOGIZE YOU ALL MY, MY DOG IS GOING CRAZY AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HER. SO THAT NOISE IN THE BACKGROUND, THAT'S MY DORY. BUT, BUT, BUT BUILD OR FIND NATURAL ALLIES. SO THERE ARE NUMEROUS, THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, NUMEROUS ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS WHO REALLY BELIEVE IN FIGHTING FOR AND SUPPORTING RACIALLY MARGINALIZED AND OPPRESSED GROUPS. SOME THAT COME TO THE TOP OF MY HEAD IS TEXAS ORGANIZING PROJECT. IN THEIR MISSION STATEMENT, THEY TALK ABOUT HOW THAT ORGANIZATION WAS FOUNDED FOR EQUITABLE EQUITY FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES. THEY ACTUALLY SAY BLACK AND BROWN GROUPS IN THEIR MISSION STATEMENT. ANOTHER ORGANIZATION THAT, THAT IS A COMMUNITY ALLY THAT REALLY BELIEVES IN ENGAGING IN CONVERSATION [00:20:01] IS THE INTERFAITH COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK. I CAN, I CAN, THEY HAVE THESE SMALL GROUPS CONVERSATIONS, BUT WHEN POLICE OFFICERS OR WHEN A POLICE DEPARTMENT ENGAGES IN THESE SMALL GROUP CONVERSATIONS, THIS IS THE ENCOUNTER PART OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, THIS IS THE DIALOGUE PIECE. THEY DON'T COME TO THE CONVERSATION AS POLICE OFFICERS. THEY COME TO THE CONVERSATION AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH CONCERNS ABOUT HOW DO WE MAKE OUR COMMUNITY SAFER? HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DO OUR JOBS BETTER? NOT AS POLICE OFFICERS, BUT AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY HAVING TO ENFORCE CRIME. SO THE COMMUNITY CONTAINS NATURAL ALLIES IN FIELDS OUTSIDE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE WHO CAN BRING A DEPTH OF CREDIBILITY TO THE ADVOCACY OF A RESTORATIVE APPROACH. AND SO I MENTIONED TWO, TWO CORNER POSTS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. THERE MAYBE EVEN THREE, BUT CERTAINLY TWO. I MENTIONED INCLUSION. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO INVITE THESE GROUPS TO THE TABLE. WHEN THE INVITATION IS NOT EXTENDED, THEN IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT WELCOMING. SO WE, YOU, YOU DON'T WELCOME OUR OPINION, OUR INPUT, OUR FEEDBACK. SO WE IMPOSE IT ON YOU THROUGH PROTESTS, THROUGH THE, THE MANY WAYS THAT COMMUNITIES ENGAGE IN TO SHOW THEIR DISCONTENT WITH POLICE PRACTICES. AND, AND SO I'M, I'M NOT GONNA, YOU, YOU ALL HAVE A COPY OF THIS, BUT I THINK I MADE MY POINT ON NATURAL ALLIES. WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE 'CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE I TOUCH ON ALL OF THESE POINTS AND ALLOW MY OTHER PRESENTERS OR PANELISTS TO, TO TALK. SO IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT NOT TO BE LABELED. SO CORRECTION AGENCIES ARE NOT TYPICALLY ORIENTED TOWARDS GRASSROOTS PARTICIPATION AND ARE GENERALLY VERY HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATIONS. SO REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS, IS SOMETHING THAT THEY DON'T TYPICALLY DO. AND IF YOU WANT TO DO POLICING BETTER, IF YOU WANT TO BE MORE EQUITABLE IN YOUR POLICING PRACTICES, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THE PEOPLE YOU ARE POLICING ARE FACING ON A DAILY BASIS. AND THE ONLY WAY YOU GET THAT INFORMATION IS THROUGH CONVERSATION. AND THERE ARE NUMEROUS GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS, NUMEROUS, NUMEROUS GROUPS THAT CAN EDUCATE, THAT CAN EDUCATE POLICE OFFICERS ON HOW THEIR BIAS, DISCRIMINATORY POLICING PRACTICES AFFECT THEM ON A DAILY BASIS. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE ON, ON THE OTHER HAND, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS HIERARCHICAL. THE EXAMPLE I GAVE IN A PREVIOUS SLIDE ABOUT BUILDING ALLIES OR FINDING NATURAL ALLIES TALKED ABOUT WHEN A POLICE OFFICER OR OFFICER'S, PLURAL COME TO THESE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS, THEY DON'T COME TO THEM AS POLICE OFFICERS. THEY COME TO THEM AS CITIZENS ENGAGING IN A CIVIL DISCOURSE OR CONVERSATION WITH OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS. SO WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU ARE, WHEN, WHEN THAT'S THE APPROACH, WHEN THE APPROACH IS WE ARE EQUAL, YOU, YOU NOT, YOU'RE NOT OVER ME AND I'M NOT OVER YOU, BUT WE ARE EQUAL AND WE ARE ENGAGING IN CONVERSATION TO REALLY PROBLEM SOLVE AND THINK ABOUT THE BEST RESPONSE TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES BETTER AND SAFER, THEN, THEN I THINK THAT YOU, YOU GET MORE WORK DONE. SO, YOU KNOW, SO WE ARE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A VERY HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION IN NATURE VERSUS A PROCESS THAT IS PARTICIPATORY IN DECISION MAKING. SO YOU ARE, AND, AND THERE ARE NUMEROUS INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE PART OF THESE CONVERSATIONS. SO BY, BY THAT BEING THE CASE, SO SINCE YOU HAVE LIKE THESE TWO DIFFERENT PROCESSES AT WORK CORRECTION AGENCIES PROMOTING CHANGES TOWARDS THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MODEL, THEY'RE CHALLENGED TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP IN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS WHILE NOT USURPING THE POWER OF THE PARTICIPANTS. SO YOU TAKE THAT INFORMATION BACK TO WHOEVER YOU NEED TO TAKE IT BACK TO YOUR DEPUTY CHIEF, YOUR CAPTAIN, YOUR SERGEANT, THE THE CHIEF. BUT, BUT YOU DO THAT AFTER THE CONVERSATION. YOU, [00:25:01] YOU LET THE PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE MEETING WITH KNOW, I AM GOING TO TAKE THIS BACK AND WE'LL DISCUSS THIS, DISCUSS AND, AND DON'T MAKE PROMISES. I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT, THAT THE COMMUNITY IS, IS, IS FED UP WITH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THESE UNFULFILLED PROMISES. AND I KNOW THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS THIS, THIS, UM, I CAN'T THINK OF THE TYPE OF POLICING THAT THEY ARE DOING. OH, LET ME HURRY UP. NEXT SLIDE. . I APOLOGIZE AND LISTEN TO THOSE WHO DISAGREE AT THE EARLY STAGES OF DISCUSSION, PARTICIPANTS MAY BECOME IMPATIENT WITH PHILOSOPHIES AND JUST WANNA BE TOLD WHAT TO DO. BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE POLICE OFFICERS, THE DEPARTMENT, THE CITY, WHOEVER IS PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROCESS IS FULLY ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS. THE QUESTION OF HOW TO CAN BE TURNED BACK TO INDIVIDUALS WHO BECOME IMPATIENT. AND, AND WE CAN ASK THEM TO APPLY THE PRINCIPLES AND IDENTIFY PRACTICES THAT FIT EACH OF THE PRINCIPLES. AND I IDENTIFY TWO RESTORATIVE PRINCIPLES HERE THIS EVENING. NEXT SLIDE. PUT VIC, PUT VICTIMS FIRST. THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING RESTORATIVE APPROACHES MUST MODEL THE PRINCIPLES THEMSELVES. VICTIMS MUST HAVE A VOICE. AND, AND DESPITE, DESPITE WHAT THE SYSTEM THINKS OR BELIEVE, VICTIMS OF CRIME, VICTIMS OF RACIALLY DISCRIMINATORY POLICE PRACTICE, THESE ARE VICTIMS TOO. EVEN IF THEY HAVE ENGAGED IN LAW, VIOLATING BEHAVIOR THEMSELVES, THEY HAVE A VOICE. THE, THE COMMUNITY MUST BE INVOLVED. IN FACT, EVERY CITIZEN SHOULD BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO THE COMMUNITY'S VISION OF RESTORATIVE PRACTICE. OR TWO, THE CITY'S VISION OF RESTORATIVE POLICING. NEXT SLIDE. BE FIRM ON VALUES AND ON PRACTICE. AND, AND IN A NUTSHELL, WHAT THIS SLIDE IS SAYING, THIS SLIDE IS COMMUNICATING THAT IF THE GOAL IS RACIALLY EQUITABLE POLICING TO MINIMIZE, TO MINIMIZE THE DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN RACIAL, RACIAL, AND ETHNIC GROUPS IN HOW THEY ARE POLICED, THEN THAT'S THE GOAL. AND THE WAY YOU DO IT, THE ACTUAL PRACTICE OR PROCESS OF DOING IT THAT CAN BE NEGOTIATED, BUT BE FIRM ON VISION AND VALUES, BUT BE FLEXIBLE ON THE PROCESS. AND SO IT IS, IT IS CRUCIAL THAT THIS IS ARTICULATED AT THE ONSET. IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY DECIDES TO IMPLEMENT, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE BE SAID AT THE ONSET. NEXT SLIDE. BEWARE OF ASSUMPTIONS AND STEREOTYPES. AND I THINK I DISCUSSED THIS SLIDE WHEN I WAS IN MY FIRST SLIDE, WHEN I WAS GIVEN THE OVERVIEW OF WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE. AND EVEN THOUGH THIS IS SOMETHING THAT RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MOVEMENT HAS CHANGED AND RESOLVED CONFLICTS ALL OVER THE WORLD, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE UTILIZE VERY MUCH HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, ESPECIALLY NOT HERE IN TEXAS, AND ESPECIALLY NOT HERE IN SOUTH TEXAS. OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS, THEY USE RESTORATIVE DISCIPLINE TO, TO CHANGE BEHAVIORS IN SCHOOLS. BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH IN THE BEGINNING TO HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE ASSUMPTION AND THE STEREOTYPES THAT THIS IS A SOFT ON THE BEHAVIOR APPROACH. AND, AND SO THIS HAS BEEN UTILIZED IN MANY OTHER SYSTEMS, BUT NOT VERY MUCH IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND NOT VERY MUCH TO THE BROADER PUBLIC POLICIES. SO, SO THERE WILL BE OPPOSITION AND THERE WILL BE STEREOTYPES IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY DECIDES TO IMPLEMENT SO THAT THEY CAN BECOME MORE RACIALLY EQUITABLE IN THEIR POLICING PRACTICES. AND I THINK I HAVE, UM, ONE MORE SLIDE. SO I THINK THIS IS THE NOW WHAT, AND, AND THIS IS THE, SO I WILL STOP. SO I WILL STOP HERE. AND MY LAST SLIDE IS MY CONTACT INFORMATION. SO HOW DO WE DO THIS? HOW DO WE BEGIN TO MOVE TOWARDS RACIAL AND EQUITABLE POLICING PRACTICES? WE INCREASE KNOWLEDGE, WE INCREASE AWARENESS. THIS IS THROUGH WORKING WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZING ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITY [00:30:01] ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS, OR COMMUNITY EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. AND I HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE AND I'M DONE . AND HERE'S MY CONTACT INFORMATION FOR, FOR YOU ALL. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHAIRWOMAN SANDOVAL FOR INVITING ME, AND I YIELD THE FLOOR TO YOU OR THE NEXT COUNCIL MEMBER WHO, WHO, WHO'S UP TO SPEAK. THANK YOU PROFESSOR PIPER. I KNOW WE'LL HAVE A A LOT OF QUESTIONS WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT. UM, COUNCIL VIN IS GOING TO INTRODUCE OUR, OUR NEXT SPEAKER THANK YOU CHAIR, AND IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE, UH, OUR NEXT NOTABLE SPEAKER AND A FRIEND, CHRISTIAN REED AGBA. UH, SHE'S THE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND OWNER OF ECU PUBLIC RELATIONS CHRISTIAN REED AGBA IS FOUNDING PARTNER AND PRINCIPAL PUBLICIST AT ECU PUBLIC RELATIONS. SAN ANTONIO'S ONLY BLACK-OWNED FULL SERVICE PR FIRM FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS. SHE'S WORKED ALONGSIDE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS TO EXPAND CONVERSATIONS AROUND URBANISM, TRANSIT INVESTMENT, EQUITY, AND COMMUNITY GROWTH. MOST RECENTLY, CHRISTIAN CO-FOUNDED BLACK FREEDOM FACTORY, A SOCIAL DATA-DRIVEN FIRM FOCUSED ON INTRODUCING EQUITY PROGRAMMING AND TRAINING TO CORPORATE BRANDS. MS. REID GRA PROUDLY SERVES ON THE BOARD OF THE DIRECTORS FOR COMPASS ROSE CHARTER SCHOOL. MS. ALBA REID ALBA. HELLO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COUNCILMAN VINEO. THANK YOU SO MUCH COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL FOR HAVING ME. I AM, I DO NOT HAVE A PRESENTATION, UH, BUT I REALLY DID ENJOY YOURS, DR. PIPER. THAT WAS AMAZING. UH, SO I AM AN ENTREPRENEUR HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. I'VE LIVED HERE FOR 10 YEARS. ORIGINALLY, I AM FROM DETROIT, MICHIGAN. UM, AND I'M GOING TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, MY PERSONAL STORY IN TERMS OF POLICING AS A NON-CRIMINAL IN SAN ANTONIO THAT IS ALSO AN OUTLIER ENTREPRENEUR. I AM A MINORITY WOMAN, OF COURSE, I'M A BLACK WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR. UH, AND I OWN A BUSINESS THAT DOESN'T REALLY FOCUS ON, UM, A SINGULAR NICHE AUDIENCE. AND SO I REALLY EXERCISE A LOT OF FREEDOMS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, SITTING ON BOARDS AND BEING ABLE TO BE ACCESSIBLE, UM, NOT ONLY TO OUR COMMUNITY, OUR BLACK COMMUNITY, BUT AS WELL AS TO, UM, CORPORATE LEADERS AS WELL AS CITYWIDE DECISION MAKERS. AND I, I TAKE MUCH PRIDE IN THAT. UM, BUT I WANNA TELL YOU FOUR SEPARATE STORIES ON OCCASIONS IN WHICH I INTERACTED WITH THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE OR, UH, SOME TYPE OF POLICING. UM, THE FIRST IS WHEN I FIRST ORIGINALLY STARTED MY BUSINESS, I WAS ABLE TO SIT ON A PANEL WITH, UM, MR. MCMANUS, CHIEF MCMANUS. AND IT WAS DURING DREAM WEEK, I DO BELIEVE. AND, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO DISCUSS, UH, ANTI-BLACKNESS AND POLICING ON THE EAST SIDE. AND AS I WAS AN EVENT HOST DIFFERENTIATIONS AND HOW MY EVENTS WERE POLICED VERSUS EVENTS I ATTENDED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE TOWN OF TOWN, UM, HE INTRODUCED ME TO THE SAFE OFFICER PROGRAM AND I WAS ABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH OUR SAFE OFFICER. UH, WE LIVED ON ZAMORA IN THE GARDENS AT SAN JUAN SQUARE, WHICH WAS A LOW INCOME HOUSING, BUT WAS FIGURING OUT THEIR, THEIR FEET IN TERMS OF BUILDING COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS. SO WE LIVED IN A LIVE WORK UNIT THAT, UH, OFFICER VISIT. OUR SAFE OFFICER WAS ACTUALLY VERY PLEASANT OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICER ASKING US VERY DIRECT DIRECTLY IF WE HAD ANY WEAPONS IN OUR HOME. NOW, MY HUSBAND AND I ARE, UH, IMMIGRANTS TO SAN ANTONIO. I'M BEING A, UH, US CITIZEN, MY HUSBAND NOT BEING A US CITIZEN. WE, UM, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY WEAPONS IN OUR HOMES, BUT WE DID FIND IT A LITTLE BIT ODD THAT THAT QUESTION WAS, WAS, WAS, WAS CHARGED. UM, WE WENT ON ABOUT OUR VISIT AND OFFERED COFFEE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THE OFFICER LEFT AND WE NEVER HEARD FROM HIM AGAIN. I HOPE HE'S ALL RIGHT, THOUGH. I'M PRETTY SURE HE'S CLEAR. UM, NEXT WE HAD AN INTERACTION AT AN ACTUAL EVENT. SO IN AN EFFORT TO BUILD BUSINESS IN SAN ANTONIO, WE PUT A LOT OF THINGS ON THE LINE IN TERMS OF HOW AND WHY WE MARKET IT. WE USUALLY MARKET OUR, OUR BUSINESS AND OUR BRANDS ALONGSIDE, UH, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. WE'VE WORKED WITH A NUMBER OF CITY SAN ANTONIO OFFICES, A NUMBER OF BAYER COUNTY OFFICES, UM, AS WELL AS LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS. AND WE DECIDED AT ONE POINT TO HOST AN EVENT SERIES CALLED GOOD PEOPLE SAN ANTONIO. IT WAS A VERY POPULAR SERIES. AND FOR ONE OF THE, UH, ITERATIONS WE HOSTED, UH, THE EVENT AT, AT THE HAYES STREET BRIDGE. AND WE TOOK UP NOT ONLY THE ENTIRETY OF THE HAY STREET BRIDGE, BUT ALSO THE STREETS, BURLESON AND AUSTIN. SO WE CREATED THIS T-SHAPED EVENT THAT HAD COOLING CENTERS OFFERED BY VIA TRANSIT. [00:35:01] WE HAD NINE OF 10 FOOD TRUCKS, LIVE MUSIC WITH A GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING ARTIST. AND OF COURSE, SECURITY AS ALWAYS, WE WILL ALWAYS PRE MAKE SURE WE IN, UH, INCLUDED SECURITY IN OUR EVENT PLANS BECAUSE OUR EVENTS WERE USUALLY OUTSIDE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND THEY WERE FREE. AND MORE LIKELY THAN NOT, WE WERE SERVING ALCOHOL FOR THIS PARTICULAR EVENT. WE HAD TO LOCATE OFF-DUTY. HOWEVER, UM, UNIFORM COPS, UH, AND WITH THAT, WE SET OUT TO SECURE OFFICERS. AND IT WAS A STRUGGLE. AND WE HAD NOT ONLY US, OUR OFFICE, BUT SECURING OFFICERS, BUT ALSO, UM, THE CITY OFFICE THAT WAS SPONSORING THE EAST POINT OFFICE. IT WAS ALSO SPONSORING THE EVENT. UM, WITHIN THE MELEE, BAYER COUNTY SHERIFFS WERE CALLED, AS WELL AS SS A P D OFFICERS WERE CALLED. THESE WERE PLAIN CLOSED OFFICERS. THEIR UNDERSTANDING IT'S ALWAYS THAT THEY TAKE CASH AT THE END OF THE NIGHT, WHICH I'VE ALWAYS HAD MY RESERVATIONS ABOUT. UM, SO WE WERE TOLD WE DID, WE NEEDED SIX OFFICERS FOR OUR EVENT PLAN, MUCH MORE THAN ANY EVENT I HAD EVER ATTENDED, SAY, NEAR THE STONE OAK AREA OR, UM, LOS OF THE ALAMO HEIGHTS. UH, BUT MIND YOU, THIS IS A VERY LARGE EVENT, BUT WE STILL WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PAID ATTENTION TO THE RULES AND REGULATIONS. WE SECURED OUR SIX OR SO WE THOUGHT ON THE DAY OF. I MET MY OFFICER, MY HUSBAND ALSO MET AN OFFICER, AND THEY WERE BOTH TOLD THAT WE WERE, THEY WERE THE PEOPLE WE WAS TALKED TO. AT THE END OF THE NIGHT, WE REALIZED WE HAD PAID EITHER THE WRONG OFFICER, BUT THERE WERE, OR THERE WAS TWO SETS OF OFFICERS. SO WE HAD 12 OFFICERS, UM, THAT WERE THERE, AND THEY ALL WANTED THEIR MONEY. UM, AT THAT END OF THE NIGHT, IT WAS MIDNIGHT. I REMEMBER DISTINCTLY TALKING TO AN OFFICER THAT REPEATEDLY COVERED HIS BADGE AND WOULDN'T LET ME KNOW HIS NAME. WE OFFERED TO PAY, UM, THE LE THE REMAINING OFFICERS WITH CHECKS THE NEXT DAY. WE OFFERED TO BRING THEM, UH, TO INCLUDE THEM IN OUR W NINE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WORK OUT A METHOD IN WHICH WE CAN GET THEM MONEY, BUT JUST NOT THAT NIGHT. WE HAD PAID THE WRONG, THE WRONG OR SO WE THOUGHT OFFICERS. SO, UM, THEY WEREN'T HAVING IT. AND AT MIDNIGHT, I WAS TOLD THAT IF I DID NOT GO TO THE A T M AND FIND A THOUSAND DOLLARS TO PAY THESE OFFICERS THAT I WOULD HAVE A PROBLEM. AND SO I WAS SENT IN MY CAR AT MIDNIGHT FROM THE EAST SIDE TO DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO TO MY FROST BANK TO RETRIEVE A THOUSAND DOLLARS CASH. WHILE THESE OFFICERS, THE REMAINING SIX, HELD MY HUSBAND ON A CURB AND REFUSED TO ALLOW HIM TO MOVE ANY WHICH WAY DURING HIS EVENT. SO HE COULDN'T TELL OUR VENDORS TO HOW TO PACK UP AND CLEAN UP. HE COULDN'T HELP, UM, ORGANIZE THE REMAINING OF OUR EMPLOYEES. HE WAS BEING WATCHED, HE WAS BEING POSITIONED UNTIL THESE OFFICERS GOT THEIR MONEY. I ATTEMPTED TO RECEIVE HELP FROM SS A P D TO EXPLAIN THE MISTAKE, AND THEY WANTED NO PARTS. AS SOON AS THEY HAD THEIR CASH, THEY LEFT. MIND YOU, WE STILL PROBABLY HAD A COUPLE HUNDRED PEOPLE ON THE STREET FOR THE EVENT. UM, I RETURNED WITH A THOUSAND DOLLARS AFTER CALLING FROST BANK AND TELLING THEM WHAT WAS GOING ON. UH, IN MY MIND I NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED, WHAT IF I DIDN'T HAVE THIS MONEY? MIND YOU, I'M, I'M DOING A BUSINESS TRANSACTION OR SO I THOUGHT IT WASN'T UNTIL THE NEXT DAY. I REALIZED THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A SCARY SITUATION THAT WE RING IN. UM, TILL THIS DAY, WE STILL HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT WHICH OFFICERS WE PAID AND WHETHER OUR CITY CONTACTS OR OUR OFFICE, UM, HOW WE WERE ABLE, HOW THAT MIX UP OCCURRED. SO WE KIND OF BRUSHED IT UP UNDER THE RUG RUG AND KEPT MOVING, UM, AS A NON-CRIMINAL AND AS A BUSINESSWOMAN, IT, IT, IT REALLY AFFECTED THE FUTURE IN WHICH I PLAN TO HOST OUTDOORS. EVENTS IN SAN ANTONIO EVENTS ARE HOW I MAKE THE MAJORITY OF MY MONEY EVERY SINGLE YEAR. UM, MIND YOU, DURING COVID WE WEREN'T ABLE TO HAVE A LOT OF EVENTS. SO I DIDN'T REALLY GET TO INTERACT A LOT WITH S A P D OR SO, I THOUGHT I WASN'T GOING TO POST THE B L M PROTEST. UM, I WAS ABLE TO INTERACT WITH A TON OF OFFICERS INADVERTENTLY AS WE HOSTED, EXCUSE ME ONE SECOND. THERE WE GO. AS WE HOSTED, UH, SOMETHING CALLED THE BLACK JOY POPUP, UH, BLOCK PARTY. UM, MY OFFICE SITS IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO, CONVENIENTLY BETWEEN TRAVIS PARK AND THE ALAMO. AND IT WAS RIGHT ALONG THE LINES OF THE PROTESTS THAT HAPPENED AROUND MID-JUNE. AND WE SAW A LOT OF DAMAGE IN MY VERY BUILDING. UM, WE ENDED UP PUTTING UP ON OUR WINDOWS PROTECT US TWO POSTERS, BASICALLY WRITTEN IN MAGIC MARKERS, SHARPIE MARKER AS AN EFFORT TO SHINE A LIGHT ON INEQUITABLE POLICING OF THOSE ACTUAL EVENTS. THERE WERE PLENTY OF POLICE OFFICERS AVAILABLE TO, UM, KEEP OUR BUSINESSES SAFE TO ENSURE THAT THERE WASN'T, THERE WAS MINIMAL DAMAGE. BUT I WATCHED VIA BEING IN MY OFFICE UP UNTIL THE [00:40:01] LAST MINUTE TO WATCHING AND TUNING INTO LIVE VIDEO ON SOCIAL MEDIA, HOW POLICE OFFICERS STOOD AND PROTECTED THE ALAMO FOR WHATEVER REASON, VERSUS PROTECTING THE BUSINESSES THAT SURROUNDED THE AREA. I FELT AT IT. AT, AT ONE MOMENT, IT WAS A SLAP IN THE FACE. I MOVED MY BUSINESS TO DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO. I WANT TO BE ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT YET I DID NOT FEEL PROTECTED AT ONE, AT ANY MOMENT. UM, AND IT WASN'T UNTIL, UM, THE NEXT DAY AFTER THE PROTEST DID I FIND, UH, SOMEONE HAD PUT IN ONE OF MY WINDOWS A BLACK-OWNED BUSINESS SIGN, WRITTEN ON SHARPIE MARKER. UM, THAT, UH, MADE ME FEEL PROTECTED. HOWEVER, AS I TURNED AND PUT MORE SIGNAGE ON MY WINDOWS, INCLUDING BLACK LIVES MATTER POSTER, THAT YOU WOULD PROBABLY SEE IF YOU WAS TO DRIVE DOWN BROADWAY RIGHT NOW, UM, I BEGAN TO GET DIFFERENT REACTIONS FROM POLICE OFFICERS AT MY BLOCK PARTY. WE WERE MET WITH MILITIA PERSONS THAT STOOD ACROSS THE STREET FROM, UH, A NICELY ATTENDED BLOCK PARTY WITH FULL ARMY GEAR AND ARMOR, AND GUNS AND KNIVES, AND EVEN A CANTEEN, EVEN THOUGH WE HAD PLENTY OF FOOD, UH, THEY, THEY STOOD ACROSS THE STREET FROM OUR PARTY AND WATCHED US. AND WE, WE FEEL LIKE IT, IT, IT, IT INTIMIDATED US FOR SURE, BUT THE MOST INTIMIDATING MOMENT WAS THE OFFICERS THAT FLOWED WITH THEM AS THEY CAME AND AS THEY LEFT, THE OFFICERS THAT DIDN'T EVEN INTERACT WITH THE BLOCK PARTY AT ALL, THEY DIDN'T SPEAK NOT ONE WORD TO SAFE. WE WERE MASKED. WE WERE SOCIALLY DISTANCED, WE WERE OUTDOORS, WE WERE ABIDING BY THE LAW. WE WERE BEING GOOD CITIZENS. THEY DIDN'T INTERACT WITH US, NOT ONE BIT. UM, AND AS THAT CONTINUED, I WAS TOLD THAT MAYBE IT WAS THE BLACK LIVES MATTER POSTER ON MY DOOR A FEW MONTHS AGO. I TWEETED THAT THERE WERE, UM, THERE WERE, THERE WERE THINGS THAT WERE SCARING ME DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO. THERE WERE THINGS THAT WERE ALERTING ME, UM, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE INSURRECTION IN OUR NATION'S CAPITOL. AND I VOICED MY OPINION TO AN OFFICER WHO SEEMINGLY BRUSHED ME OFF AND BASICALLY TOLD ME, YOU KNOW, WHILE THEY HAD COPS PLANTED ON EVERY CORNER IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO, THERE WAS NO DISTINCT THREAT. AND MY FEAR, UM, WAS FLIPPANT. I TWEETED ABOUT THE IN THE INCIDENT, AND I WAS MET WITH FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY 10 YEARS IN BUSINESS, THE PR DIRECTOR FOR S A P D, I BELIEVE. UM, HE WAS PLEASANT. HE WAS VERY KIND. AND WE HAD ACTUALLY SAT ON A PANEL, I DO BELIEVE, PRIOR TO, UM, AND HE OFFERED TO VISIT MY OFFICE. AND I WELCOME THAT VISIT. UH, I'M A NETWORKER. WE LOVE TO COMMUNICATE. AND PLUS, UM, WE THROW EVENTS. SO IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO KNOW PEOPLE IN PR. UH, HE VISITED, HE, WE SHARED STORIES BACK AND FORTH. WE CONVERSED MY WHOLE ENTIRE OFFICE WAS ABLE TO CONVERSE. UM, AND THEN AFTER THAT, OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW DAYS, MORE OFFICERS VISITED, UM, SIX OFFICERS VISITED MY OFFICE WITHIN A WEEK. AND IT WASN'T NECESSARILY DISTURBING, BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY A MOMENT IN WHICH PORTIONS OF MY FIRST INITIAL CONVERSATION WITH THE PUBLIC RELATIONS, UH, OFFICER, UM, WAS REPEATED, REPEATED, REPEATED EACH TIME BY THESE NEW SIX OFFICERS. IT'S LIKE THE, THE GHOST OF OFFICERS PASSED. THEY JUST KEPT BRINGING THE SAME STORIES BACK TO ME. AND EACH ONE WOULD THEN ALSO TELL ME THAT MAYBE I WASN'T FEELING PROTECTED BECAUSE I HAD A BLACK LIVES MATTER POSTER ON MY FRONT DOOR. I, I TRIED MY HARDEST TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT COULD THE BLACK LIVES MATTER POSTER MEAN ABOUT YOU ALL PROTECTING US AND MAKING US FEEL WELCOME? WELL, THEY WOULD ANSWER ALL IN THE SAME WAY. WHEN GUYS SEE THAT THEY THINK THAT YOU ARE ANTI-POLICE OR ANTIFA OR DIFFERENT THINGS. I SAID, YOU GUYS NEVER ASKED. YOU NEVER OFFERED. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN FRIENDLY. YOU KNOW, I TALKED TO THE GUY THAT, THAT, THAT PUTS THE TICKETS ON CARS PRETTY WELL. YOU KNOW, I DON'T SEE THE ANTI-POLICE. WELL, NOW WHY DO YOU ALL HAVE THIS? AND THEY WEREN'T REALLY ABLE TO GIVE ME THAT ANSWER. NOW, DR. PIPER TALKED ABOUT, UM, RESTORATIVE PRINCIPLES IN, IN TERMS OF CRIMINALITY. AND I FEEL LIKE THOSE, THAT SAME CONVERSATION CAN BE SHIFTED INTO NON CRIMINALITY AND HOW WE INTERACT WITH BLACK PEOPLE, BROWN PEOPLE ON OTHER LEVELS IN WHICH POLICE WILL GET INVOLVED. SAFE OFFICERS, FOR EXAMPLE, HA HAVING EQUITY TRAINING IN TERMS OF WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEEL BLACK AND AFRAID? YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES IT, HOW IS IT REASONABLE TO UNDERSTAND BLACK ANTAGONISTS VERSUS BLACK ACTIVIST? I BECAME AN ACCIDENTAL ACTIVIST THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF SPEAKING UP, BECAUSE I BELIEVE, AS DR. PIPER SAID, UM, WE SHOULD AVOID BEING LABELED, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, USE [00:45:01] OUR VOICES. I FEEL THAT THE RESTORATIVE PRINCIPLES THAT DR. PIPER SET, SET OUT AS IF SHIFTED INTO A NON CRIMINALITY SPACE AND OUTPUT, WE CAN CHANGE MORE OF THE SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS AND ISSUES THAT, UM, WE SEE IN OUR POLICING. WE CAN ACTUALLY DIVE IN TO CREATING A COMMUNITY THAT POLICES THEMSELVES AND ORGANIZES AROUND SAFETY AND INTERACTIVE MOMENTS. UM, I WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME. I WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS LATER ON. I HAD ANOTHER STORY I WAS GONNA SHARE, BUT I DON'T THINK I'M GONNA PUT THAT ONE OUT THERE JUST YET. I HOPE I WAS, UM, MY CONVERSATION WAS HELPFUL AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE REMAINING OF THIS CONVERSATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. UH, THE TIME IS 7 49. I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, CHAIR SANDOVAL WAS COMING BACK NOW, OR IS THIS THE 10 MINUTE MARK? THIS IS AFTER THE SECOND SPEAKER. SO UNLESS, UH, ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WANT TO RUN POINT AT THIS POINT, DOES THIS SEEM LIKE A GOOD TIME FOR THAT 10 MINUTE BREAK? I DIDN'T KNOW. UH, DAVID, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE TO TAKE A BREAK BECAUSE, UH, WE DO HAVE COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ JOINING US SO WE DON'T HAVE TO BREAK QUORUM. UH, I, I SAY WE, WE GO AHEAD AND, AND KEEP IT GOING. AND, UH, AND AWESOME. YEAH. SO IF WE COULD, UH, LET'S, LET'S, LET'S KEEP IT GOING AND, UH, LET'S SEE. LET'S INTRODUCE OUR NEXT GUEST. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER TREVINO. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER AND GUEST IS MARTIN HENDERSON. UH, MARTIN HENDERSON. UH, WE GREATLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. I DON'T HAVE ANY BIOS. I DIDN'T KNOW IF, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN, YOU'LL DO THE INTRODUCTION. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. NO PROBLEM, MR. MCCAREY. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN. SO, MR. MARTIN HENDERSON IS A STRATEGIC PRINCIPLES CONSULTING GROUP. AND SO WITH THAT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND JUMP INTO HIS BIO. HE IS A AUTHOR OF INSPIRING BOOK FATHERHOOD, A MESSAGE TO MEN, AS WELL AS A RESPECTED EXPERT AND PARENTING FIELD, SPECIALIZING AND EDUCATING MEN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FATHERHOOD. HE IS ALSO A TRAINED FACILITATOR IN THE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PARENT PROJECT CURRICULUM, WHICH HE TEACHES THROUGH HIS NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, FATHERHOOD MATTERS INCORPORATED HIS PASSION FOR HELPING PEOPLE, LED HIM TO THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM, STAND UP AS A, WHERE HE SERVED AS AN OUTREACH COORDINATOR AFTER MAKING SOME GREAT CONNECTIONS AND HELPING TURN A FEW LIVES IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION. MARTIN MOVED ON THIS MOVE, BROUGHT HIM TO A NEW POSITION AND A NEW WAY OF APPROACHING VIOLENCE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY GROUP. VIOLENCE INTERVENTION WAS THE PROGRAM SERVING AS A COORDINATOR FOR THE GROUP VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PROGRAM. HE WENT ON TO WIN THE F B I DIRECTOR'S 2017 COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR HIS WORK IN THE COMMUNITY. TODAY. MARTIN HENDERSON STILL WORKS IN THE COMMUNITY. THROUGH HIS SHARED EXPERIENCES, LIT LIVES HAVE BEEN INSPIRED, RELATIONSHIPS HAVE BEEN MENDED, AND FATHERS HAVE BECOME DADDIES. HE IS CURRENTLY A CONSULTANT WITH THE STARTUP COMPANY, THE STRATEGIC PRINCIPLES CONSULTING GROUP. WE ARE SO HAPPY AND HONORED TO HAVE YOU HERE TODAY, AND WE CANNOT WAIT TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY, MR. HENDERSON. SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING PART OF THE PANEL. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME. UM, IT'S AN HONOR AND A PLEASURE TO, TO SPEAK AND SHARE. AND, UM, AS, AS I WAS TALKING TO THE ORGANIZERS, UM, BEFORE THIS, I WAS GOING BACK AND FORTH ABOUT A POWERPOINT AND I SHARED A, A, A FEW OF MY EXPERIENCES AND IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST SHARE. YOU, YOU HAVE ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN JUST SHARE. UM, SO TALKING ABOUT, UM, RACIAL, UM, EQUITY BUILDING, RACIAL EQUITY, I, I REALLY WANT TO SPEAK FROM REALLY MY EXPERIENCES, UH, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE. UM, UH, IN MY YOUNGER YEARS, I HAD, YOU KNOW, A NOT SO GREAT, UM, INTERACTION WITH THE POLICE AND, UM, CHANGING MY LIFE, MAKING DIFFERENT, UH, CHANGES AND CHOICES, UM, AFFORDING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, TO WORK, UM, IN THE FIELD OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND, AND HELPING, UM, MEN HELPING INDIVIDUALS. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS, OR THE MAIN THING, UM, I [00:50:01] LIKE TO THANK DR. PIPER. UM, HER, HER PRESENTATION, YOU KNOW, IT WAS SPOT ON. UM, BECAUSE I, I REALLY WANT TO TOUCH ON WHAT I FEEL IS ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES, UM, WITH POLICE AND, AND THE COMMUNITY. AND IT IS VERY SIMPLE. IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN COMMUNICATION. UM, THERE IS A BREAKDOWN IN COMMUNICATION, UM, BETWEEN THE POLICE AND THE PUBLIC. UM, WE KNOW THAT THE COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, ARE PEOPLE ARE AT WAR, COUNTRIES ARE AT WAR BECAUSE OF A LACK OF COMMUNICATION. UM, I CAN TELL YOU, OR GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, UM, NOT ONLY DOING THE VIOLENT PREVENTION WORK, BUT JUST BEING A NORMAL CITIZEN, YOU KNOW, IN THE COMMUNITY. I GREW UP IN THE EAST SIDE, ON THE EAST SIDE OF, OF SAN ANTONIO, UM, BEING IN MY FORTIES NOW, UM, IN THE EIGHTIES AND IN THE NINETIES, IT WAS, IT WAS A LOT DIFFERENT TIMES WERE DIFFERENT. UM, BUT THE WAY THAT THE POLICE, POLICE REALLY HADN'T CHANGED. AND, AND I TELL PEOPLE TODAY, THE ONLY THING THAT HAS CHANGED IS, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA, SMARTPHONES. UM, EVERYBODY IS ABLE TO CAPTURE. UM, BUT A LOT OF THE, THE TACTICS, UM, GOOD AND BAD, UM, WERE GOING ON THEN AND IS GOING ON NOW. BUT ONE THING THAT I FIND, ESPECIALLY IN THE URBAN COMMUNITIES, AND I'VE HAD THE, THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING THE EAST SIDE AS WELL, AS WELL AS WORKING THE WEST SIDE. SO WE HAVE OUR BLACK AND OUR BROWN COMMUNITY. AND, UM, UM, AND, AND NOW THE EAST SIDE IS, IS, IS MIXED, UH, UH, WITH BLACK AND BROWN AS WELL. OF COURSE, WHEN I GREW UP ON, ON THE EAST SIDE, IT WAS PREDOMINANTLY BLACK. UH, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, THE INTERACTIONS WITH THE POLICE WERE THE SAME. UM, CASE IN POINT, UM, THERE'S A FEW STORES THAT, THAT WE KNOW ABOUT, UM, ON THE EAST SIDE WHERE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, HIGH CRIME, HIGH TRAFFIC, UM, A LOT OF LOITERING, UM, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. UM, WHEN I TALK ABOUT COMMUNICATION AND THE BREAKDOWN, UH, OF COMMUNICATION, THIS IS WHAT I MEAN. YOU CAN HAVE AN OFFICER PULL UP AND SIT RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET AND WATCH INDIVIDUALS AT THE STORE. THEY CAN WATCH THEM FOR 20 TO 30 MINUTES. I MEAN, LITERALLY SITTING ACROSS THE STREET AND WATCHING. UM, AND I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF ASKING A FEW OFFICERS, YOU KNOW, THE POINT IN THAT WHAT IS THE POINT OF WATCHING? AND, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TELL ME THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I I WORK THE SAME BEAT EVERY DAY, AND I SEE THESE GUYS OUT HERE EVERY DAY. UM, WELL, I BEGAN TO EXPLAIN, UM, OR, OR, OR JUST GIVE THEM SOME, SOME CHOICES OR, OR EXAMPLE, EXCUSE ME. AND HERE'S THE EXAMPLE THAT I GAVE. UM, IMAGINE IF YOU AS AN OFFICER, WELL, LET ME BACK UP. FIRST THING I HAVE TO TELL THEM IS THAT YOUR, YOUR BADGE, YOUR UNIFORM SPEAK FOR ITSELF. YOU DON'T HAVE TO, UH, GET OUT AND, AND, AND BE AGGRESSIVE, UM, WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH INDIVIDUALS. UM, CONTRARY TO A LOT OF PEOPLE BELIEVE, BUT IN THE URBAN COMMUNITY, THEY UNDERSTAND AND THEY RESPECT THE BADGE. UM, AND WHEN I SAY RESPECT, AT LEAST HAVE THE RESPECT OF KNOWING, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE. NOW, THE, THE THINGS BECOME DIFFICULT AND CONTENTIOUS WHEN I KNOW THAT YOU'VE WATCHED ME FOR 20 MINUTES ACROSS THE STREET. AND THEN YOUR APPROACH TO ME IS, YOU KNOW, NEGATIVE OR AGGRESSIVE. WELL, I PROPOSED TO THE OFFICER, WHAT IF YOU GOT OUT AND SPOKE TO THE, SIMPLY SPOKE TO THE INDIVIDUALS? HOW ARE YOU TODAY? HEY GUYS, DID YOU SEE THE GAME LAST NIGHT? HEY, GUYS, YOU KNOW, UM, THE WEATHER, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME STRANGE WEATHER HERE, AND I GUARANTEE YOU THAT IF THEY DID THAT OR START TO ENGAGE AND COMMUNICATE WITH INDIVIDUALS, THE ONES THAT ARE LOITERING, THE ONES THAT ARE SELLING DRUGS OR, OR HAVE A PROPENSITY TO COMMIT CRIME, THEY WON'T BE THERE ANYMORE. THEY WON'T FREQUENT THERE ANYMORE. WHY? BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT OFFICER SUCH AND SUCH IS COMING AT THIS TIME, AND HE IS GONNA BE ALL IN MY BUSINESS. HE'S GONNA WANT TO TALK, HE'S GONNA WANT TO CONVERSATE. AND ALSO, BY DOING THAT, YOU'LL ALSO HAVE THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT HANG OUT THERE AND WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO KNOW. THEY WILL DO YOUR JOB FOR YOU. BUT ONCE AGAIN, COMMUNICATING, YOU KNOW, EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATING, I, I, I, I SHOULD STRESS THAT AS WELL, BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY A LOT OF TIMES, IT'S HOW YOU SAY IT. AND I, I REALLY, REALLY, UM, FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE. UM, IT, IT, IT WILL MAKE THE COMMUNITY, UH, NOT FEEL LIKE IT IS US AGAINST THEM. UM, I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF OF, OF BEING IN CHICAGO. MY SON IS ACTUALLY IN CHICAGO. I MOVED HIM UP THERE. SO I WORK WITH, UM, CURE VIOLENCE AND, AND YOU KNOW, I SAW HOW [00:55:01] THE PROGRAM WORKED, BUT I ALSO SAW HOW OFFICERS WORKED. UM, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF EVALUATING, UM, G V I IN KANSAS CITY ON TWO OCCASIONS AND SEEING HOW THE POLICE CHIEF AND, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE OFFICERS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS COMPLETE BUY-IN KANSAS CITY. I, I, I, I LOVED IT. I MEAN, WHEN I SAY COMPLETE BUY-IN, OF COURSE YOU DO HAVE THOSE THAT DON'T BELIEVE, BUT FOR BELIEVE IN THE PROGRAM. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WHEN YOU HAVE THE CHIEF OF POLICE, YOU KNOW, BEHIND IT, I, I THINK EVERYONE WOULD GET IN LINE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, COMMITTEE, I, I JUST REALLY ONCE AGAIN FEEL LIKE COMMUNICATION, IF WE COULD STRESS, IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE DR. PIPER SAID, UM, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, MYRIAD ORGANIZATIONS, YOU KNOW, OUT HERE THAT, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD LINK UP WITH OFFICERS COULD LINK UP WITH. UM, I MEAN, JUST VOLUNTEERING, GOING TO SOME EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, WOULD HELP THEM UNDERSTAND. AND, YOU KNOW, LASTLY, I WANT TO WANT, WANT TO SAY THIS, IN ORDER TO, UM, COMMUNICATE, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHO YOU'RE COMMUNICATING WITH. UM, AND I BELIEVE IT WAS, IT WAS SPOKEN EAR, SPOKEN EARLIER. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PATROL IN THE AREA AND YOU'RE NOT FROM THAT AREA, I REALLY FEEL THAT IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS REALLY LEARN THEIR COMMUNITY, NOT LEARN WHO THE, BECAUSE I'VE WORKED WITH 'EM, I'VE DONE RIDEALONGS, THEY CAN TELL YOU ALL THE TROUBLEMAKERS ARE PRETTY MUCH, THEY CAN TELL YOU ALL THOSE INDIVIDUALS, BUT THEY CAN'T REALLY TELL YOU THE INDIVIDUALS THAT, UM, ARE OUT THERE TRYING TO HELP. THEY CAN'T TELL YOU ABOUT THE NONPROFITS IN THAT AREA THAT ARE REALLY TRYING TO, UM, DO SOME GOOD AND THAT THEY CAN ALIGN WITH. UM, SO, UM, ONCE AGAIN, COMMITTEE, I, I REALLY THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR DOING THIS. AND THAT IS MY TAKE. THAT IS REALLY MY TAKE. AND I, AND I DO, I HAVE SOME MORE THAT I CAN SAY, BUT I KNOW THAT WE, WE WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF PRESSED FOR TIME, AND I, I WANT TO BE FAIR TO EVERYONE. UM, BUT, BUT THANK YOU ALL AND I'M OPEN FOR ANY QUESTIONS LATER. THANK YOU, MR. ANDERSON. THIS IS, UH, VERY WELL SAID. UM, I'LL INTRODUCE OUR NEXT GUEST NOW, AND, UH, IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE OFFICER VANESSA WESLEY. VANESSA WESLEY IS NOW A RETIRED 29 YEAR VETERAN OF THE CHICAGO DEPARTMENT. AFTER A DECADE OF STREET EXPERIENCE IN PATROL AND TACTICAL UNITS, OFFICER WESLEY HAS SERVED AS A PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE CPDS COMMUNITY POLICING PROJECT OFFICER TO FURTHER IMPLEMENT THE CHICAGO ALTERNATIVE POLICING STRATEGY CAPS. AND LATER, FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF FAITH-BASED AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, MS. WESLEY TRAINED OVER 200 COMMUNITY POLICING, POLICING OFFICERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM AT THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT. MS. WESLEY CO-CREATED AND COORDINATED BRIDGING THE DIVIDE, A RESTORATIVE POLICING STRATEGY TO AUTHENTIC, AUTHENTICALLY ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY OF YOUTH AND EMERGING EMERGING ADULTS WHILE ASSIGNED TO THE OFFICE OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE STRATEGIES. I WANNA WELCOME, UH, MS. VANESSA WESLEY. UH, I ALSO WANNA MENTION THAT MY SISTER IS A CHIEF PARAMEDIC OFFICER, LADDER 13 IN CHICAGO. SO, UH, REALLY PROUD TO HAVE YOU HERE. AND, UH, YOU MAY HAVE RAN, RAN INTO MY SISTER AT SOME POINT, AT SOME POINT, AT SOME POINT. WELL, GOOD EVENING, UM, COMMITTEE AND MY ESTEEMED PAN PRE PANELISTS. I'VE NEVER FIGURED OUT WHAT TO CALL FOLKS THAT GO BEFORE YOU, BUT, UM, I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOUR WISDOM. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR STORIES. UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THINKING I HAVE SOME VALUE ADDED. UM, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL. I HAVE AN ALLY THERE IN THE WONDERFUL SAN ANTONIO AREA. YOU ALL TOOK THEM FROM US, AND THAT'S RYAN AND MICHELLE. UM, BUT THEY ARE REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HAPPY. SO I'M, I'M UBER HAPPY, SO I'M GLAD THAT I HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THIS MATTER. UM, LIKE THE BIO AND I, I OFTEN WONDER WHO THEY'RE TALKING TO WHEN I HEAR PEOPLE READ THAT. BUT PRETTY MUCH MY, THE LAST 15 YEARS OF MY CAREER HAS BEEN AN INTRODUCTION TO MY HEART WORK, WHICH IS WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN IN COMMUNITY, HOW COMMUNITY CHANGES, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE NEEDFUL AND NECESSARY FOR PEOPLE TO THRIVE. UM, AND THAT IS ENCOMPASSING EVERYTHING INCLUSIVE OF SAFETY. WE CAN TALK ECONOMICS, WE CAN TALK [01:00:01] EDUCATION, WE CAN TALK ALL THOSE THINGS. BUT I ENTERED INTO THIS SPACE FROM A PLACE OF COMMUNITY SAFETY, I WOULD SAY PUBLIC SAFETY. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, PUBLIC SAFETY WILL GIVE, UM, GIVE ONE TO BELIEVE THAT IT IS ONLY ONE ENTITY'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR KEEPING THE COMMUNITY SAFE. AND THAT IS A MYTH THAT IS SLOWLY CRUMBLING. UM, SAFETY AND COMMUNITY OF IN AND OF ITSELF HAVE VARIOUS DEFINITIONS. UM, I THINK MY, UM, ESTEEM PANEL CO-PANELISTS, BECAUSE I, AS I HEARD YOUR STORIES, THEY ARE, THEY REMIND ME OF THE RICHNESS OF STORYTELLING AND THE RICHNESS OF UNDERSTANDING WHO WE ARE BY OUR STORIES. UM, BUT WHAT I, I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER IS ANOTHER STORY. AND THIS STORY IS ONE CREATED OUT OF HOPE AND NECESSITY. UM, THE, THE WONDERFUL PERSON THAT I MENTIONED BEFORE, RYAN, UH, HOLLAND, I THINK I'M SAYING THAT RIGHT, UM, APPROACHED US IN 20 14, 20 13, 20 14. AND WHEN I SAY US, I AM SPEAKING OF THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT. THIS IS, YOU KNOW, PRE TRAGEDY, PRE UM, ALL THE THINGS THAT CAUSED OUR WORLD TO BLOW UP AS WE KNOW IT. ALL OF THE, THE POLICE VIOLENCE THAT, THAT WERE CAPTURED ON CAMERA AND AND GIVEN TO THE WORLD. UM, BUT IT WAS AN EFFORT OF A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION APPROACHING A SYSTEM IN EFFORTS TO CHANGE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR A GROUP OF YOUNG MEN. UM, THIS IS, THEY DID IT THROUGH THE Y M C A AND THE QUESTION HAD TO BE ANSWERED. IF I DON'T TRUST THE STREETS, IF I'M SUPPOSED TO MAKE DIFFERENT DECISIONS, AND IF I'M SUPPOSED TO BE BETTER, WHO DO I TURN TO? THE QUESTION WAS, WELL, IF YOU FEEL THREATENED, CALL THE POLICE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S PUBLIC SAFETY. THAT MEANT THAT THERE'S THE POLICE IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP YOU SAFE WHEN OUR REALITY IS, IS THE VILLAGE AND THE COMMUNITY THAT KEEPS YOU SAFE. I HAD THE PLEASURE OF HEARING A, UM, SOCIOLOGIST AND HE SPOKE, HIS NAME IS PETER BLOCK, HE'S OUT OF OHIO, AND HE SAID, HE SAID, YOU WANT TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY? GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS WHO LIVES NEXT TO YOU IN FRONT OF YOU, BEHIND YOU WALKING UP AND DOWN THE STREET. WHO'S WATCHING YOUR KIDS? WHOSE KIDS ARE YOU WATCHING? AND THAT WILL, THAT IS THE SEED THAT NEEDS TO BE PLANTED OUT OF ALL THESE DIFFERENT MODELS AS WHO ARE WE LIVING NEXT TO? WHO ARE WE IN COMMUNITY WITH? COMMUNITY IS NOT GEOGRAPHIC. IT'S BASICALLY AND INTENTIONALLY ABOUT WHERE WE BELONG. AND IT'S THAT BELONGING THAT ALLOWED THOSE YOUNG MEN TO ASK US THE QUESTION, IF YOU CAN'T KEEP US SAFE, HOW DO YOU KEEP ASKING US TO DO THE THINGS THAT YOU THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING? AND IT WAS THERE THAT WE REALIZED THAT WE WERE TOUCHING. AND I SAY WE, THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT, REALIZED THAT THIS COMMUNITY OF YOUTH ARE THE ONES THAT WE WERE IN INTERFACING WITH ON A DAILY BASIS AND HAD NO CLUE OF HOW TO ENGAGE IN STEPS. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN ITS PUREST FORM, THE ABILITY TO CONNECT WITH THE BEST PART OF ANYBODY, TO MAKE THE CHANGES THAT ARE NEEDFUL AND NECESSARY IN EVERYBODY'S LIFE. SO WITH THE HELP OF RYAN AND EDDIE AND THE Y M C A, WE CREATED THIS, THIS MODEL, I DON'T EVEN WANNA CALL IT A MODEL. THIS THEME CALLED BRIDGING THE DIVIDE. AND IT STARTED OUT WITH A PHOTO CONTEST IN THE TEACHING MODE. THE PHOTO CONTEST INVOLVED OFFICERS WHO WORKED IN A CERTAIN GEOGRAPHICAL AREA AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THAT AREA. AND THE ASK WAS, TAKE PICTURES OF WHAT YOU CALL SAFE BEAUTY AND SAFETY. I BELIEVE IT WAS. AND WHAT WAS INTERESTING, THEY TOOK THE, THEY, THEY TOOK THE CHALLENGE. AND HERE'S THE, HERE'S THE CAVEAT. ALL THE POLICE ARE NOT GONNA DO THAT. REALLY 278 POLICE OFFICERS, 278 PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY POLICE OFFICERS TO ENTER INTO THIS CONTEST. THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO IT. IT WASN'T MANDATED. THEY DID IT. THE TEACHABLE MOMENT WAS WHEN WE FOUND YOUNG PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES OF THE SAME THING THAT THE OFFICERS WERE. PAUSE. WHY? BECAUSE THE HUMANITY OF THE BOTH OF THOSE COMMUNITIES SHOWED UP. AND WE WEREN'T READY FOR IT. WE WEREN'T LOOKING FOR IT. WE ARE MORE ALIKE THAN WE ARE DIFFERENT. AND MY FOCUS OF MY WORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON THE COMMUNITY OF YOUTH. 'CAUSE THAT'S WHO ENERGIZED ME. OLD PEOPLE. YEAH, Y'ALL CAN KICK ROCKS AND I'M OLD TOO. BUT THE REALITY OF IT IS THAT WHEN WE BEGIN TO MAKE THE HUMANITY OF ONE ANOTHER A PRIORITY OUTSIDE OF SYSTEMIC CONTROL, WE'LL BEGIN TO SEE A LANDSCAPE THAT IS NOT SO [01:05:01] DRY AND RUGGED, BUT A LANDSCAPE THAT IS PLIABLE AND READY FOR CHANGE. SO WE OFFER, WHEN WE, WE DID BRIDGING THE DIVIDE, WE GOT PUSHBACK FROM EVERYBODY, THE PARENTS, THE KIDS. I DON'T WANT MY POLICE, NO POLICE OFFICERS TO TALK TO MY, MY KIDS, THE KIDS. I DON'T WANNA GET IN TROUBLE WITH MY MOM, THE POLICE OFFICERS. I DON'T WANNA BE BOTHERED WITH NO CRAZY KIDS 'CAUSE I GOTTA DO IT EVERY DAY. AND WHAT THEY FOUND OUT IS THAT THE CONVERSATION OUTSIDE THE CRISIS MEANT MORE TO THEM THAN THE 9 1 1 RESPONSE. AND I CAN'T, 10 MINUTES WILL NOT GIVE ME THE CHANCE TO TELL YOU ALL THE MAGNIFICENT STORIES. BUT WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS THIS CHANGE IS NOT ONLY NECESSARY, IT'S VERY IMPOSSIBLE. IT'S NOT THAT IT'S GOING TO BE EASY, BUT IT'S NECESSARY. AND WE HAVE TO GO THE LIMITS TO GET THAT DONE. AND AFTER EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT WE ARE THE BEST PART OF EACH ONE OF US ARE CONNECTED TO THE BEST PART OF EACH OTHER, THEN WE'LL BEGIN TO SEE WHERE THE VALUE OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE DID NOT KNOW SHOW UP. AS A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIST, I REALIZED THAT SYSTEMIC, HE HELICOPTERING OF IDEAS AND CHANGE FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT THEIR INPUT ARE DESTINED FOR FAILURE. SO WITH THAT, WHAT BRIDGING THE DIVIDE TAUGHT US THAT ONE, THE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE SERVING ARE THE EXPERTS IN THEIR CHANGE. THEY'RE THE EXPERT IN THEIR SOLUTIONS. GIVE THEM A VOICE IN THE SPACE TO THINK THEMSELVES INTO THE WISDOM THAT'S NECESSARY TO CREATE, CO-CREATE STRATEGIES WITH SYSTEMS LIKE POLICE, LIKE HEALTH, LIKE EDUCATION, THAT THEY CAN, THEY CAN BUY INTO OWN. AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THE SHARED POWER, AND IT'S WITH THAT SHARED POWER THAT YOU WON'T HAVE TO CALL THE POLICE BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TO MANAGE CONFLICT. THE EDUCATION OF A CHILD WILL START AT HOME BECAUSE PARENTS ARE NOW FEELING EMPOWERED THAT THEY CAN EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH TIME I HAD, SO WE'LL CUT THIS SHORT. BRIDGET DIVIDE CAME IN THREE COMPONENTS. IT CAME WITH THE RESTORATIVE PRACTICE OF CIRCLE KEEPING, WHICH GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAL. THANK YOU. OH, I GOT TWO MINUTES. ALRIGHT. THE SECOND PART OF IT WAS A PUBLIC PARTICIPATORY DIALOGUE PROCESS THAT ALLOWED YOUNG PEOPLE, YOUNG PEOPLE, YOUNG PEOPLE, AND EMERGING ADULTS. LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN. YOUNG PEOPLE AND EMERGING ADULTS, NOT THEIR TEACHERS, NOT THEIR SOCIAL WORKERS, NOT THEIR PARENTS, THEM WITH THE POLICE OFFICERS THAT WROTE THEIR BEAT EVERY DAY TO CREATE, CO-CREATE STRATEGIES THAT THEY WANTED TO SEE HAPPEN AND THAT THEY WERE WILLING TO COMMIT TO. WE DO A WHOLE LOT OF HELICOPTERING, THE PHENOMENAL MODELS THAT COME FROM ALL OVER DIFFERENT PLACES. BUT UNTIL WE SIT DOWN WITH THE PEOPLE THAT THESE MODELS ARE FOR, WE ARE NOT GONNA GET THE 100% RETURN. THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE THIRD COMPONENT, WHICH, UM, AS I LEFT THE DEPARTMENT, WE HAD, WE'RE IN OUR SECOND YEAR, WE CREATED AUTHENTIC YOUTH COUNCILS IN ALL 22 OF OUR DISTRICTS. WHEN I SAY AUTHENTIC, THAT MEANS THAT THEY SAT AT THE TABLE WITH OUR OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS, WHAT WE CALL THE DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THEY HAVE A VOICE, THEY HAVE A VOTE, AND THEY HAVE A BUDGET. WE ALL KNOW THAT YOU ARE SITTING IN POWER IF YOU HAVE A VOICE, A VOTE, AND SOME MONEY. THESE YOUNG PEOPLE HAD THESE BUDGETS. THEY HAD ALLIES THAT THEY HAD CHOSEN THAT THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH, THAT COULD STAND UP FOR THEM IN A ROOM OF FOLKS WHO ARE SUFFERING FROM ADULTISM. Y'ALL KNOW WHAT THAT IS, RIGHT? I'M RECOVERING. SHAKE YOUR HEAD IF YOU'RE RECOVERING. YEP. WE ALL ARE. JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT AGE, THAT'LL MEAN YOU GOT THE NECESSARY WISDOM. AND THAT'S AN EVERYDAY WALK FOR ME. SO I SHARE THOSE THREE COMPONENTS, AND THEY'RE STILL MOVING SLOWLY. WE STARTED THIS BACK IN 2014. WE JUST GOT OUR YOUTH COUNCILS HERE IN 2020, JUST TO TELL YOU HOW LONG IT TAKES THAT ACCRUAL SHIFT TO TURN AROUND. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IT'S TURNING, BUT IT IS. SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK AT THESE THROUGH THE, THROUGH, LOOK AT THE THINGS YOU WANT TO CHANGE THROUGH THE LENSES OF THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE CHANGING THEM FOR. I'LL GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES FROM EIGHT TO 80 TO SHARE WITH YOU WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM. AND THEN AS PUBLIC SERVANTS AND SERVANTS OF THAT COMMUNITY TAKE THEIR VOICES TO THE TABLES THAT ARE GONNA CHANGE THEM. AND SO THANK YOU. I'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY STORY WITH YOU ALL TONIGHT, OFFICER WESLEY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR SHARING THOSE WORDS. AND I, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT MORE WISDOM THAN, UH, THAN THE FEW MINUTES THAT YOU GAVE US TODAY. SO, UM, UH, WE'LL HOPEFULLY WE'LL TAP INTO TO MORE OF THAT DURING [01:10:01] OUR QUESTION AND ANSWER. JUST WANNA SAY A COUPLE THINGS BEFORE WE, UH, GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS. YOU'LL EACH HAVE, UH, 10 MINUTES FOR, FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS. UH, AGAIN, UH, A REMINDER IS WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, OPENING THE CONVERSATION. SO FEEL FREE IF YOU WANNA, IF YOU WANNA, UH, PROPOSE A A DIRECTION THAT WE SHOULD EXPLORE IN THE FUTURE, IF YOU WANNA ALSO PROPOSE A DIRECTION THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER FOR THIS COMING YEAR'S BUDGET, THAT'S, THAT'S WELCOME AS WELL. THIS WILL NOT BE THE ONLY CONVERSATION WE HAVE ON THIS TOPIC. UM, SO YOU CAN, UM, ALSO FEEL FREE TO GO INTO CLARIFYING, UH, QUESTIONS WITH, WITH OUR SPEAKERS FOR, FOR TODAY. UM, I WANT YOU TO HIGHLIGHT ONE THING THAT WE MISSED IN, UM, DR. PIPER'S BIO. UH, DR. PIPER, YOU WERE PART OF THE COMMUNITY ACTION ADVISORY BOARD, IS THAT RIGHT? THE CITY, THE DISCIPLINARY REVIEW BOARD FOR POLICE OFFICERS? YES. YES. SO I WAS, UM, PREVIOUSLY A MEMBER OF THE CARB COMPLAINT AND ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD, AND I'VE ALSO BEEN A PART OF THE 21ST CENTURY POLICING IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE. WHEN, WHEN WE, BACK IN 2016, WHEN THE 21ST CENTURY RECOMMENDATIONS CAME OUT, THERE ARE SIX PILLARS. EACH PILLAR HAD A COMMITTEE, AND THEN THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS CAME BACK TO THE IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE, AND I WORKED WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE UNION ON HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS. OKAY, THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT EVERYONE WAS, WAS AWARE OF, UM, DR. PIPER'S INTIMATE EXPERIENCE WITH, UH, WITH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. UH, A A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT, THAT I'M TAKING AWAY FROM TODAY'S CONVERSATION, UH, IS MOST IMPORTANTLY, AND THIS ALSO COMES FROM LIKE PRE-CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, WITH THE PANELISTS, IS WE CANNOT, UH, MAKE PROGRESS IF WE DON'T HAVE THE BUY-IN, UH, NUMBER ONE OF OUR POLICE OFFICERS WHO ARE ON THE FORCE RIGHT NOW, OR OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, MEMBERS. SO, UH, I THINK, UH, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO CONSIDER HOW WE ENGAGE, UH, OUR, OUR POLICE OFFICERS, OUR PATROLMEN, UH, IN THIS TYPE OF CONVERSATION. UH, WE DON'T HAVE MARIA OR ERIC ON, ON WITH US, BUT, UH, HOPEFULLY DR. MCCAREY, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN TAKE BACK TO THEM, IS THAT WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF, OF DIALOGUE WITH THEM. UH, THE COMMAND AND CONTROL STRUCTURE ON, ON SOMETHING SO, SO PIVOTAL WHERE YOU REALLY, IF WE REALLY EXPECT TO, UH, SOME, SOME BIG CHANGE. I I THINK WE'RE GONNA HIT SOME, SOME HICCUPS, UH, UNLESS, UH, THEY'RE ABLE TO BUY IN. UH, NUMBER TWO, IF WE DO EXPECT TO, TO MOVE FORWARD IN THIS AREA, I DON'T THINK IT CAN ONLY COME FROM US SITTING HERE AT THE DAAS. UH, AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, A POLICE OFFICER EVERY SO OFTEN COMING TO, TO BE OUR PANELISTS, BUT IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF BEING ROLLED UP, WHETHER IT'S WITH THE EQUITY DEPARTMENT OR WHETHER IT'S WITH SOME KIND OF A COMMUNITY GROUP OR, OR TASK FORCE. BUT I THINK WE, WE PROBABLY WANNA PUT THAT IDEA OUT THERE ABOUT HOW, HOW DOES THIS MOVE FORWARD IN THE FUTURE? HOW DOES THIS NOT DIE, UH, ONCE WE, UH, ADOPT OUR BUDGET? UM, AND THEN, UH, THE LAST COUPLE OF TAKEAWAYS THAT, THAT I'M HEARING, UH, OR THAT I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE GROUP IS THAT WE DO NEED TO REVISIT WITH OUR OFFICERS HOW WE ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY. UH, WE COULD, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALL AT ONCE. WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, THERE'S 2000 OFFICERS, UH, ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY. UH, WE COULD TRY SOME PROJECTS OR SOME PROGRAMS AND SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, TEST THOSE OUT, SEE WHAT WORKS. UM, AND IT, THE SAME THING MIGHT NOT WORK FOR EVERYONE. SO, UH, WE CAN, WE CAN TRY DIFFERENT THINGS. AND, AND THEN LASTLY, I, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY, UH, REFER TO, UH, THE OTHER COMMITTEE, PUBLIC SAFETY, WHICH SHOULD MAYBE BE CALLED COMMUNITY SAFETY, UH, IS, UH, THE IDEA OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND CIRCLE KEEPING, UH, FOR OUR YOUTH. UH, WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD A, A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL. AND I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY WORTH, UH, VISITING AS A TOPIC TO EXPLORE. SO, I'M, I'M GONNA STOP THERE FOR, UH, FOR NOW AND, UH, GO ON OVER TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS. UH, WE'LL GO IN NUMERICAL ORDER IF THAT'S OKAY. SO I'LL START WITH COUNCILMAN VEO. UH, THANK YOU CHAIR AND, AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE PANELISTS. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, I THINK THE, THE INCREDIBLE, UH, STORIES AND TESTIMONIES THAT THEY WERE SHARED, UM, REALLY, REALLY HAVE SUCH, SUCH A POWERFUL THEME. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN READING, UH, A LOT ON, UM, JAMES BALDWIN [01:15:01] LATELY, AND HE HAS A, THERE'S A GREAT QUOTE THAT ALL OF YOU REMINDED ME OF, IS IT'S, IF ONE REALLY WISHES TO KNOW HOW JUSTICE IS ADMINISTERED IN A COUNTRY, ONE DOES NOT QUESTION THE POLICEMEN, THE LAWYERS, THE JUDGES, OR THE PROTECTED MEMBERS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS. ONE GOES TO THE UNPROTECTED, THOSE PRECISELY WHO NEED THE LAWS PROTECTION MOST AND LISTENS TO THEIR TESTIMONY. I'VE, I'VE REALLY, IT'S JAMES BALDWIN. UH, REALLY, UH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I I IT CAUGHT MY EYE, UH, A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, AND I'VE SAVED IT. UM, BECAUSE IT, IT REALLY SPEAKS TO THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, SO MANY OF THESE STORIES HAVE SUCH A COMMON THREAD, UH, UH, MR. ANDERSON, YOU, YOU TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, WHY NOT ENGAGEMENT INSTEAD OF OBSERVATION OVER SOMEBODY. UM, THAT'S INCREDIBLY POWERFUL. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE ALL HAVE OUR STORIES AS WELL. AND, UM, IT'S SO CRITICAL TO, TO EXPRESS THOSE AND FEEL LIKE THERE'S A SPACE, A SAFE SPACE TO EXPRESS THOSE STORIES. THIS WEEKEND, UM, I, I MET THE AUNT OF MARQUIS JONES, MS. UH, DEBBIE BUSH, AND I'VE NEVER, I'VE NEVER SPOKEN TO HER, I'VE NEVER MET HER BEFORE, BUT SHE WAS IN TEARS WHEN SHE STARTED TELLING ME THE STORY, UH, ABOUT HOW SHE JUST SIMPLY COULDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETHING AS DIFFICULT AS, AS, AS A DEATH COULD NOT BE, COULD NOT BE COMMUNICATED DIRECTLY FROM S A P D OR THE CITY TO, TO MARQUIS JONES' FAMILY THAT THEY HAD TO FIND OUT ABOUT IT, UH, ON TELEVISION. AND I GUESS, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU. I MEAN, AND, AND, AND I, AND I, AND I WANNA ASK, UM, OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, MR. MCCAREY, TO, TO REALLY CARRY THIS MESSAGE TO, TO MARIA V. GOMEZ AND OUR CHIEF, BECAUSE I, I, I DO WANT, I MEAN, I, I JUST, I WAS CONFOUNDED BY THAT. AND, AND I, THAT'S NOT AN IMPOSSIBLE THING TO COMPREHEND. AND, UM, AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S EVEN PAINFUL TO THINK ABOUT BEING A FAMILY MEMBER AND, AND, AND EXPERIENCING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND THAT WE AS, AS, AS A CITY, AS A COMPLETE ORGANIZATION, AS A COMMUNITY, TO THINK THAT THAT'S OKAY. IT'S NOT OKAY. UM, AND SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE PANELISTS, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE ALL TWO COMMON STORIES, AND, AND, UH, IT, IT FEELS LIKE THERE REALLY IS SORT OF THIS SEPARATION, YOU KNOW, UH, AS, AS MR. HENDERSON WAS SAYING, THE, THE, THE, THE IDEA OF OBSERVATION VERSUS ENGAGEMENT. UM, AND SO I WANT TO THANK MS. DEBBIE BUSH FOR, FOR SHARING THAT STORY WITH ME. AND, UH, AND OF COURSE, UH, CHAIR FOR, FOR HAVING THIS MEETING, BECAUSE I MEAN, THE, THE, THE TIMING IS, IS JUST, IT, IT'S, IT'S ADVANTAGEOUS TO, TO REALLY DISCUSS THIS. I MEAN, I, I, I WANT, I WANNA KNOW WHY, WHY THAT THAT'S OKAY, OR WHY WE DO THAT. PANELISTS, PLEASE, THE LADY. HELLO, HELLO, HELLO. I WANNA JUMP IN AND YES, THAT IS ACTUALLY A REALLY GOOD POINT. UM, THERE IS DEFINITELY A BREAKDOWN IN THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN, UM, VICTIMS AND THE VICTIMIZED, AS WELL AS THE POLICING, THE, THE POLICING PARTIES. UM, WE'VE SEEN THIS OVER, NOT JUST MOST RECENTLY WITH THE, UM, SHOOTINGS AND THE KILLINGS AND INSTANCES TO DEAL WITH BLACK, UH, BLACK AND BROWN MEN, UH, WITH SS A P D. BUT WE'VE SEEN IT ACROSS DIFFERENT BOARDS, UH, WHERE THERE'S NOT SUCH A TELEVISED MOMENT. UM, I'VE SEEN IT TRICKLE DOWN IN TERMS OF THE MOMENTS IN WHICH INVESTIGATIONS START, UH, UH, NOT TAKING AWAY FROM THE INSTANCE THAT YOU SPOKE ABOUT, UM, CONST TREVINO, UM, A COUPLE YEARS AGO, I LOST MY BROTHER HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, AND THE OFFICER THAT HANDLED THAT, UH, INVESTIGATION, UM, WAS VERY DISMISSIVE. AND THE RELEASE OF THE INFORMATION WAS VERY INSENSITIVE. UM, AND I FEEL THAT THAT'S IT, IT MIGHT BE, OR THAT IT, THAT SHINES A LIGHT, THAT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY [01:20:01] JUST IN THOSE TELEVISED INSTANCES, THAT THERE ARE INSTANCES THAT ARE NOT BEING TALKED ABOUT AND NOT BEING PROMOTED AND NOT BEING, YOU KNOW, CAUSING UPRISINGS. UM, THAT, THAT WE SEE THESE INCIDENTS, THAT WE SEE THIS, UH, THIS LACK OF CARE, UM, WHEN WE SEE THE BLACK LIVES MATTER SIGNS, AND WE, WHEN PEOPLE SAY BLACK LIVES MATTER, THEY'RE SAYING IT NOT ALONG THE LINES OF EQUAL POLICING, BUT ALSO EQUAL CARE AND EQUAL, UH, UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR UNDERSTANDING MATTERS. OUR SENSE OF PRIDE DOES MATTER AS WELL. OUR, OUR NEED FOR THE TRUTH AND HONESTY MATTERS. UM, WHAT IS ALSO MATTERS IS OUR TIME, OUR EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, OUR EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND HOW, UH, AND WHEN THINGS HAPPEN AND OCCURRED TO, TO US, AND TO THOSE THAT BELONG TO US. YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE THINGS MATTERS. AND WHEN WE SAY BLACK LIVES MATTER, AND IT MEANS ALL OF THOSE THINGS, BUT THEN WE HAVE TO FIND OUT THAT BLACK FAMILIES HAVE NOT BEEN TREATED WITH THE CARE, UM, OF A, OF ANY OTHER VICTIMIZED FAMILIES. UM, WE HAVE TO NOW FIND AN UNDERSTANDING TO JUST HOW DEEP WE HAVE TO FIX THESE ISSUES, JUST WHAT PROTOCOL, UM, WE ARE FOLLOWING AND WHAT WE ARE PROTECTING WHEN WE'RE RELEASING THIS INFORMATION EXTREMELY EARLY. YOU KNOW, UM, THAT CAN BE PROBLEMATIC AS WELL, YOU KNOW, AND IT OPENS UP MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER WE'RE BEING POLICED AND SURVEILLED VERSUS WHETHER WE ARE BEING ALLOWED TO UNDERSTAND THE LAW AND UNDERSTAND THE INSTANCES AND THE INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES, AND REALLY HAVE THOSE, UM, POINTS OF VIEW, THOSE FACETS WEIGHTED. UM, I FEEL THAT, UH, THAT PROTOCOL, THOSE MOMENTS HAVE TO BE LOOKED AT WITH A VERY FINE TOOTH COMB IN TERMS OF WHAT WAS THE MINDSET OF THOSE OFFICERS, UM, THOSE OFFICIALS THAT RELEASED THAT INFORMATION TO NEWS MEDIA VERSUS RELEASING THAT TO THE FAMILY FIRST. UM, BECAUSE THE, THE PUBLIC WILL DO ITS WAY TO DO, WILL DO ITS OWN TRIAL AND ITS OWN JURY, WE CANNOT ALLOW, UH, A LOT OF OPENNESS, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT IT STILL SEEMS TO GET OUT. AND IS THAT A, A SILENT WAY OF SAYING THAT THESE LIVES DON'T MATTER? YES. YES, IT IS. UM, WE NEED TO FIGURE THAT OUT BEFORE WE FIGURE OUT, UH, EXACTLY HOW TO HANDLE THOSE INVESTIGATIONS. IT IS AT THAT MOMENT WE KIND OF SHINE A LIGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T A MATTER THAT'S GOING TO BE GIVEN TO THIS FAMILY TO HANDLE. FIRST, WE'RE GOING TO THROW THESE PEOPLE, THROW THIS FAMILY INTO THE LIMELIGHT. AND UN UNBEKNOWNST TO THEM, WE ARE NOT PREPARED FOR THIS. BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT PREPARED FOR TO BE KILLED IN THE STREETS. WE ARE NOT PREPARED TO NOT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE. WE DO NOT HAVE THE MOST, THE, THE THERAPY OR THE, HIS HISTORIC THERAPY FIXING OUR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS. WE CANNOT FATHOM PARTICIPATING IN THE STRESSES OF WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW. SO HAVING TO DEAL WITH THAT LIVE AND IN LIVING COLOR ON TELEVISION IS ANOTHER TRAUMA. SO WE'RE DIGGING OURSELVES INTO A BIGGER SYSTEMIC ISSUE, UM, THAT CREATES THAT DIVIDE, THAT CULTIVATES THAT DIVIDE BETWEEN US AND THE POLICING AND THOSE THAT ARE POLICING US. AND THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO HANDLE IF WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IF I COULD JUST ADD OH, YEAH, PLEASE, YOUR TIME. I, THREE MINUTES? NO, TWO MINUTES. ACTUALLY, LESS THAN THAT. UM, I WILL CAUTION ANSWERING THAT QUESTION BECAUSE IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS ONE OF APPEARS. UM, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THE SAN ANTONIO PROTOCOL FOR THE, THEIR POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT I KNOW, UM, MY PREVIOUS EMPLOYER, AND TO TRY TO EXPLAIN THAT AWAY, WOULD NOT DO YOUR QUESTIONING JUSTICE, BUT KNOW THIS, THAT RESTORATIVE JUSTICE BECAME AN EMERGED OUT OF THE NECESSITY TO APPROACH AND TREAT VICTIMS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS THAT AS OUR SOCIETY HAS CHANGED, AND POLICING HAS CHANGED, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS CHANGED A LOT OF THAT ONE-ON-ONE PERSONAL ASPECT OF BEING ABLE TO BUILD A RELATIONSHIP HAS SUFFERED GREATLY. SO IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT THAT INFORMATION GOT OUT, BUT I BELIEVE, AND I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS NOT DONE IN MALICIOUS SENSE, AND THAT IT WAS JUST OUT THERE TO TOTALLY DISREGARD THE, THE SENSITIVITY OF THAT FAMILY. UM, LIKE MOST GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEMS, THEY ARE LAYERED, THEY ARE LAYERED WITH, AND, AND WHEN ONE COG IS DONE, THEN THE WHOLE MACHINE FALLS APART. AND THAT IS [01:25:01] NOT TO, UM, UH, TO, TO DISMISS ANYTHING THAT IS GONE ON WITH THAT FAMILY. BUT I WOULD OFFER THAT IS, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THAT QUESTION AND CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD TO LIVE THAT, AND THE OFFICERS WHO'VE ALSO HAD TO LIVE THAT AND FIGURE OUT A BETTER WAY TO GET IT DONE, AS OPPOSED TO JUST SITTING RIGHT THERE AND CONTINUING TO LIVE THAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE. THAT'S WHAT WE DO, BECAUSE WE GET BUSY. THIS, THIS, THIS HAMSTER WHEEL IS GONE, AND WE ON TO THE NUMBER NEXT. UM, WE HERE IN CHICAGO HAD TO SLOW DOWN. WE HAD TO STOP AND ACTUALLY FIND VICTIM, UM, ADVOCATE SPECIALISTS TO KINDA INTERCEDE FOR THOSE DETECTIVES WHO UNFORTUNATELY ARE ONTO THAT, THEIR 15TH CASE HERE IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO. SO WHILE THE FAMILY IS TRYING TO FIGURE SOME THINGS OUT, THINGS OUT, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO CONNECT THEM WITH SERVICES, TRYING TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND PROCESS, THERE'S SOMEBODY WHO HAS NOW BEEN TRAINED TO HANDLE JUST THAT. AS OPPOSED BEFORE, WE HAD DETECTIVES AND WE HAD POLICE OFFICERS WHO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE ON THE TRACK, WE ARE THERE, WE, WE ARE ON THE CONVEYOR BELT. AND IT'S NOT THAT THAT OUR HEARTS ARE ANY HARDENED TO A CERTAIN FAMILY, IT'S JUST THE PROCESSES OF DOING THIS WORK, THE LIFE AND THE DAY OF A POLICE OFFICER WILL BLOW MOST OF YOUR MINDS. AND WE'LL BE, THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER CONVERSATION. AND PLEASE HEAR ME, I AM NOT DISCOUNTING THE NEED TO ADDRESS IT, BUT TO TRY TO ANSWER THAT IN ONE STATEMENT WOULD NOT DO IT. THE SERVICE, I WOULD SAY, TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE THE CHANGES YOU WANNA SEE. DO I, DO I HAVE TIME TO ADD ANY DR. PIPE WILL, GO AHEAD. PLEASE. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. SO I, I, I'LL BE BRIEF AND I AGREE WITH, I AGREE WITH WHAT, UM, BOTH CHRISTIAN AND, AND VANESSA SAID ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE PROTOCOL THAT'S IN PLACE COUNTS HUMANITY AND LIFE, AND, AND, AND NOTIFYING THE NEXT OF KIN BEFORE THE MEDIA RELEASES. UM, IT, THIS IS AN ADULT, AND HE WAS SUSPECTED OF HAVING A WEAPON AND BLOCK TO THE BLOCK, TO THE BLOCK. AND, AND WHEN YOU LABEL AND DEHUMANIZE, IT'S EASY. COUNCILMAN TREVINO FOR THAT. DO THESE TYPE OF SITUATIONS TO HAPPEN. AND WHEN, WHEN MY HEAD IS DOWN AND I'M JUST WORKING, LIKE, UM, VANESSA SUGGESTED THAT I, I DISPLACE, I DISCOUNT LIFE AND THE VALUE OF LIFE. AND UNFORTUNATELY, THIS FAMILY HAD THIS FAMILY AND NUMEROUS OTHER FAMILIES HAVE HAD TO SUFFER AS A RESULT OF THAT. SO I THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO AT LEAST BEGIN TO TRY TO RECONCILE SOME OF THEIR GRIEF AND, AND, AND TRY TO BE A BETTER CITY, A BETTER DEPARTMENT, A BETTER SAN ANTONIO. I KNOW I SAID CITY, BUT JUST TRY TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. UM, IF I, IF I MAY, UM, ADD SOMETHING VERY QUICKLY, GO, MR. HENDERSON, PLEASE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, AND, AND COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, YOU KNOW, I, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT IN WITH YOU, UM, A FEW YEARS AGO, FIRST IN OFFICE. SO, YOU KNOW, I I, THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE BEING ON THE OTHER SIDE AND, AND, UM, MS. VANESSA, I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, UM, AND BEING AN OFFICER, UM, BUT BEING A CITIZEN, UM, THIS GOES TO WHAT DR. PIPER WAS SAYING, WHEN, WHEN, UM, OFFICER OFFICERS DO WHAT THEY'VE BEEN TAUGHT, I MEAN, I, I WORK WITH THEM AND, AND I'M TELLING YOU, IF IT, IF BAD HABITS HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN AND IT'S BEEN ACCEPTED IN THE DEPARTMENT, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THEY DO. WHEN YOU'RE IN ROME, YOU DO AS RO AS THE ROMANS DO. SO WHEN YOU HAVE A DETECTIVE THAT'S JUST TALKING ABOUT A CASE AND HE'S DEHUMANIZING THIS INDIVIDUAL, YOU KNOW, HE'S ASSUMING, UM, BECAUSE HE'S ALREADY SAID THAT HE WAS GUILTY PRETTY MUCH, BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HE, HE MAY HAVE HAD A WEAPON IN THE CAR, YOU DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS HIS, YOU DON'T KNOW ANY OF THESE THINGS. UM, BUT IT WAS THERE. SO HE WAS THERE AND HE'S GUILTY. SO NOW YOU HAVE THE FAMILY TRYING TO GET ANSWERS, TRYING TO GET AN EXPLANATION. AND BECAUSE IT'S BEEN PASSED DOWN IN THE DEPARTMENT, THE POWERS THAT BE HAVE ALREADY PUT THIS PERSON ON, ON, ON TRIAL. IT'S KIND OF HARD TO GIVE THE FAMILY, UM, WHAT, WHAT THE NECESSARY INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED. UM, SO [01:30:01] IT GOES BACK TO THE LABELING. THE LAST THING I WANT TO POINT OUT IS I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, I'VE SAID THIS SEVERAL TIMES, BUT WORKING WITH THESE OFFICERS AND TALKING TO THEM OFFLINE, A LOT OF THEM FEEL, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN PASSED DOWN, THAT AN APOLOGY THAT, AND I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, IS A SIGN OF WEAKNESS. IT IS SHOWING WEAKNESS IN OUR DEPARTMENT. IF IF WE DO THAT, THEN PEOPLE WILL WALK ALL OVER US. AND I BEG TO DIFFER. I MEAN, IT JUST SHOWS THAT YOU ARE A HUMAN BEING, THAT YOU CARE, YES, YOU HAVE A JOB, BUT THE INDIVIDUAL AT H E B, HE HAS A, A JOB AS WELL. AND, UM, YEAH, I, I JUST WANT TO, I, I WANTED TO ADD THAT, UM, I, I TOTALLY AGREE, BUT AT, AT THE END, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT SOME CHANGES THERE, THERE NEEDS TO BE, UM, THERE JUST NEEDS TO BE SOME CHANGES. SO, UH, BUT I, I WANTED TO ADD THAT, AND I, I THANK YOU ALL AND I TOTALLY AGREE, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, SOME THINGS NEED TO CHANGE. THANK YOU, MR. HENDERSON. YES. ANOTHER REASON WHY WE CAN'T SOLVE IT ALL IN, IN ONE MEETING. UM, BUT GREAT CONVERSATION. UH, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN, UH, MY TEAM REMINDED ME, UH, THAT MR. HENDERSON DID SERVE ON, UH, MAYOR TAYLOR'S TASK FORCE ON POLICE AND COMMUNITY, UH, RELATIONS. SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR SERVICE ON THAT. UH, COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UM, GROWING UP HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, I CAN TELL YOU THAT OUR SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT IS ONE THAT CAN DO AND HAVE A LOT OF WORK DONE WHEN IT COMES TO SENSITIVITY OF A COMMUNITY. UM, GROWING UP HERE IN DISTRICT TWO, I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN DO A LOT MORE WHEN IT COMES TO SENSITIVITY OF A FAMILY. WHEN I CAN TELL YOU THE NUMEROUS OF EMAILS WE'VE RECEIVED IN JUST THE MONTH OF JULY FROM FAMILIES THAT ARE STILL SEEKING JUST A PHONE CALL FROM A DETECTIVE TO SAY, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON YOUR FAMILY'S CASE, INSTEAD OF RE-VICTIMIZING A FAMILY, TO HAVE TO FIGHT FOR THE INFORMATION THEY NEED, IS WHAT WE CAN DO BETTER IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. BUT ONE THING THAT I'M ASKING FROM ANY PANELISTS IS IF YOU HAVE A DATA POINT THAT SHOWS THE REDUCTIONS OF INEQUITIES AND THE PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOL THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO GO TOWARDS IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. ABSOLUTELY. SO I KNOW NOW I KNOW. SO I, A COUPLE OF THINGS. SO, UM, MS. WESLEY, SHE MENTIONED RYAN HOLLAND, WHO IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UP PARTNERSHIP, AND HE CURRENTLY SERVICES THE MY BROTHER KEEPERS INITIATIVE. SO, UM, THERE'S NUMEROUS DATA AND RESEARCH THAT, THAT MY BROTHER'S KEEPER HAS ABOUT RESTORATIVE PRACTICES IN SCHOOL THAT MINIMIZES THE IN INEQUITY BETWEEN, IN DISCIPLINE, SCHOOL DISCIPLINE BETWEEN, UM, MINORITY YOUTH AND MAJORITY YOUTH. SO THERE'S THAT INFORMATION, AND I HAVE DATA, AND I DON'T KNOW THE NUMBERS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I CAN GET THEM TO YOU, THAT, THAT JUST RIGHT UP THE STREET IN AUSTIN, THEY DID A AUSTIN RESTORATIVE POLICING PROJECT, AND THEY ERADICATED A OPEN AIR DRUG MARKET AT 12TH AND CHACON RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM HOUSTON TILLISON. AND THE, THE EQUITY, RACIAL EQUITY OF THAT COMMUNITY WAS GREATLY IMPACTED BECAUSE PRIOR TO THAT, YOU HAD BLACK MEN, PRIMARILY BLACK MEN IN THAT AREA WHO WAS SELLING DRUGS, WHO WERE BEING INCARCERATED, AND NOT BEING RELEASED ON BOND OR BAIL, VERSUS THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS WHO COULD AFFORD BOND OR BAIL, OR WHO DIDN'T HAVE THEIR CHARGES ENHANCED AS, UM, HABI HABITUAL OFFENDERS BECAUSE THEY KEEP SELLING DRUGS, KEEP GETTING ARRESTED. AND WHEN THEY IMPLEMENTED RESTORATIVE POLICING AND THEY WERE GIVEN AN OPTION OPPOSED TO INCARCERATION, THEN THAT, THAT OPEN AIR DRUG MARKET CHANGED. AND, AND THE POLICING, THE DISCREPANCIES AND ARRESTS CHANGED. SO I WILL GET YOU THAT INFORMATION. I THINK I SHARED AN ARTICLE ON THAT WITH THE PANEL. BUT THOSE ARE TWO SOLID [01:35:01] EXAMPLES OF DATA THAT SHOWS THAT RESTORATIVE POLICING AND PRACTICES DO, DO CREATE RACIAL CHANGES. ALSO, AND THIS IS, THIS IS JUST KIND OF HISTORICALLY, I THINK THAT THIS WAS BUILT ON, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT STREET GANGS, AND WE THINK ABOUT THE, THE CRIPS GANG IN, UM, LA AND THE BLOODS IN LA WHEN STAN TOOKEY WILLIAMS, THE FOUNDER OF THE CRIP GANG, DID A GANG CALLING WHAT, WHAT MARTIN'S PROGRAM USED TO DO, OR MAYBE THEY STILL DO IT. AND, AND THEY BROUGHT THESE GANG MEMBERS TOGETHER, THEY WERE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT, THEY WERE ABLE TO DECIDE ON LIKE, JUST, JUST BEING HONEST AND REAL. WHO'S TURF IS WHO'S AND, AND WHAT'S THE BOUNDARIES AND WHAT'S THE BORDERS. AND SO THE VIOLENCE REDUCED AND MINIMIZED. AND THESE ARE, THESE ARE WELL KNOWN EXAMPLES, SOLID EXAMPLES. AND, AND I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS, COUNCILMAN, BUT I, I WILL GET YOU, I WILL GET YOU THAT INFORMATION THAT SHOWS THAT RESTORATIVE POLICING AND PRACTICES REDUCES, UM, DISCRIMINATION, REDUCES DISPARITIES AND INCREASES EQUALITY, AND IT ALSO RESTORES COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU, DR. PIPER. YOU'RE WELCOME. UM, THEN THE NEXT THING I WANTED TO TOUCH ON, OFFICER, UH, UH, WESLEY, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE YOUTH YOUTH INITIATIVES AND THE YOUTH HAVING A BUDGET, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE WANTED TO DO WHEN WE CAME INTO COUNCIL WAS CREATE THIS YOUTH CITY COUNCIL ORGANIZATION WHERE THEY WOULD COME IN, HAVE THEIR OWN, I KNOW COUNCILWOMAN, I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS, RIGHT? THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR OWN CITY COUNCIL DAY TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE YOUTH OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND YOU TOUCHED ON THAT. ONE THING WE HAVE HERE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS ASSET FORFEITURE. MM-HMM. , I'M WONDERING, WE HAD ASSET FORFEITURE FOR A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE AS A BUDGET PROCESS COUNCILWOMAN, TO REALLY CREATE THIS YOUTH CONVERSATION OF A PEER CITY COUNCIL YOUTH, UH, INITIATIVE GOING FORWARD TO WHERE THEY CAN SPEAK DIRECTLY TO COMMUNITY SAFETY. THEY CAN SPEAK DIRECTLY TO WHAT IT IS TO TALK TO THE, THE OFFICE OF EQUITY. THEY CAN SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE, TO THE, UH, CITY MANAGER. THEY CAN COME IN AND GIVE A PRESENTATION TO THE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. I THINK THIS IS HOW WE START TO BRIDGE THIS GAP THAT IS IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND, AND I HAVE A LOT OF PASSION FOR THIS BECAUSE IN 1991, WE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAD THE FIRST SCHOOL SHOOTING. AND WHEN I TALK ABOUT HOW THE MEDIA PORTRAYED SAN HOUSTON HIGH SCHOOL ON A NATIONAL LEVEL, WHICH HAD NEVER BEEN HEARD OF, OUR FAMILIES HADN'T EVEN MADE IT TO THE SCHOOL YET BEFORE IT WAS ALREADY OUT THAT THERE WAS A SHOOTING, WHO THE PEOPLE WERE THAT WAS DOING THE SHOOTING, WHO WAS GONNA THE HOSPITAL. WE DIDN'T GET ANY COUNSELING AS KIDS. MM-HMM. , WE WERE 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 YEARS OLD. WE DIDN'T RECEIVE ANY COUNSELING. WE HAD TO LEARN HOW TO ADAPT TO THIS CULTURE THAT WE ARE STILL IN TODAY BY OURSELVES. SO WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT STRUCTURES THAT ARE NOT GONNA ONLY SPEAK TO POLICING, BUT SPEAK TO MENTAL HEALTH WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BRINGING FORTH SUCH AN INITIATIVE AS RACIAL EQUITY AND JUSTICE. SO I JUST WANNA STOP RIGHT THERE 'CAUSE I WILL GO ALL THE WAY IN ON THIS CONVERSATION, AND I KNOW WE ONLY HAVE 10 MINUTES, BUT, UM, THERE'S SO MUCH MORE WE CAN DO. A FAMILY SHOULD NEVER HAVE TO FIND OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR THE NEWS THAT THEIR LOVED ONE IS GONE. WE HAVE TO STEP UP IN OUR POLICING TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE FAMILIES ARE STILL PROTECTED WHEN WE ARE PUTTING OUT INFORMATION. IF WE HAVE TO HOLD OFF ON THAT INFORMATION THE SAME WAY THAT WE HOLD OFF ON OTHER INFORMATION IN THE CITY, THEN THAT IS A WAY THAT WE CAN START FORMING THAT DIALOGUE TO GIVE THOSE FAMILIES SOME FORM OF CARE, CONCERN AND JUSTICE. SO THAT I HAVE, UH, MADAM, THANK YOU SO MUCH AND THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, PANELISTS. THIS IS, THIS IS THE CONVERSATION THAT IS NEEDED. THANK YOU. YOU'RE ON MUTE. COUNCIL, UH, CHAIR SANDOVAL. MM-HMM. , IT'S BOUND TO HAPPEN. UH, JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT, UH, MR. MCCAREY AND HIS TEAM, UH, NATALIA , WHO YOU SEE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO LOGO ON THERE, SHE IS TAKING COPIOUS NOTES, UH, ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU ALL SAID AND ALL THE WONDERFUL IDEAS AND QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAD. AND, UH, YOU'LL BE GETTING A, A COPY [01:40:01] OF THOSE AND, UH, SPEAKERS, IF YOU'D LIKE A COPY OF THOSE. WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE THOSE, UH, WITH YOU AS, AS WELL. UM, I WILL MOVE ON TO, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALES. UH, THANK YOU. UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT CONVERSATION. UM, I, I'M SORRY I, I TUNED IN A LITTLE BIT LATE, BUT ONE OF YOU ALL, UM, AND I'M SORRY I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO IT WAS, BUT, UH, TALKED ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE Y M C A. UM, AND I I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE NONPROFITS, UM, OR THE DE IN, IN, IN SAN ANTONIO, WE CALL THEM THE DELEGATE AGENCIES BECAUSE THEY RECEIVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CITY FUNDING. UM, BUT FOR MANY YEARS, I HAVE RECOGNIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DELEGATE AGENCIES, UM, TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY SUPPORT, UH, AND HAVE BEEN ASKING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OF COURSE, UM, THE CITY MANAGER TO REDIRECT RESOURCES TO THESE AGENCIES BECAUSE OF, OF ALL THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT THEY DO. SO, UM, I I WANNA SAY THAT IT WAS, UM, THAT VANESSA, UH, WEST WESTLAKE Y YES. UM, WHO, UH, MENTIONED HER RELATIONSHIP THERE. COULD YOU EXPAND ON THAT A LITTLE BIT AND PERHAPS, UM, TALK ABOUT HOW THAT AGENCY GETS FUNDED, UH, AND, AND IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REDIRECT RESOURCES? AND THIS IS ALSO FOR, UH, OUR, OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. UM, I'VE NEVER LIKED THE WAY THAT WE FUND OUR DELEGATE AGENCIES. UM, I THINK THAT'S BEEN CLEAR, IF YOU'VE HEARD ME AT ALL OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, IT'S THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS THAT THEY GO THROUGH, I DON'T THINK IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WORK THAT THEY DO. SO, UH, PERHAPS YOU CAN, UM, EXPAND ON THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE, UH, THE YW OR Y M C A IN YOUR Y IN YOUR, UH, AREA. SO IT WAS THE Y M C A AND, UM, YOU JUST HAVE TO KINDA UNDERSTAND CHICAGO IN, IN SUCH A WAY, UM, THAT RELATIONSHIP. IT, WE CAME TOGETHER TO ANSWER A QUESTION, AND WE HAD NO BUDGETED LINE ITEM FOR IT. UM, BUT THE Y M C A HAD SECURED FUNDING, AND WE BECAME PARTNERS IN THAT FUNDING. OKAY. UM, BUT THE, THE MODEL ITSELF FOR, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT CAN, CAN YOU REMIND ME WHO WE IS? YOU SAID WE, I'M SORRY. WAIT. CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT WHO? MY PREVIOUS EMPLOYER AND THE Y M C A ORGANIZATION THAT HELPED US LAUNCH BRIDGING THE DIVIDE. OKAY. SO WHAT I I'M SAYING IS THAT THE NONPROFIT ENTITY, WHICH WAS THE Y M C A, THANK YOU SIMON, UM, SECURED FUNDING FOR US TO DO THE FOLO CONTEST THROUGH A FUNDER, I BELIEVE IT WAS ALLSTATE. UM, AND WE GOT THE RESOURCES TO EXPAND IT AND TRY TO, AND TAKE IT ACROSS THE CITY. UM, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT IN COMMUNITY SAFETY, EVERYBODY HAS A PART, AND THAT INCLUDES THE CBOS, THAT INCLUDES THE PARENTS, THAT INCLUDES THE SCHOOLS, THAT INCLUDES EVERYBODY. PUBLIC SAFETY GIVES YOU THE NOTION THAT IT'S JUST THOSE WHO ARE INVOLVED, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT, THE CRIMINAL, THE LEGAL SYSTEM, THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM. MY LANGUAGE IS CHANGING. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE NECESSITY TO BE SAFE, IT TAKES ALL OF US TO BE SAFE. SO THAT COLLABORATION GREW INTO, UM, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GROW, AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO START WITH A PROJECT, A FOLO PROJECT THAT HAS SINCE TURNED INTO POLICE POLICY. IT WENT FROM A PROJECT TO A PROCESS TO NOW PROTOCOL WHERE THERE'S A POLICE DIRECTIVE THAT GOVERNS BRIDGING THE DIVIDE. SO TO THAT POINT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE ASSET-BASED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MODEL, THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE VALUES, THE VALUABLE ASSETS IN THE COMMUNITY, THE Y M C E A WAS ONE OF THEM. AND THAT'S HOW WE STARTED. SO WITH THAT, EACH DISTRICT HAD TO IDENTIFY A ORGANIZATION LIKE THE Y M C A IN THEIR DISTRICT TO PARTNER WITH. EVENTUALLY, WE WERE ABLE TO CREATE LINE ITEMS OVER THE YEARS, LINE ITEM BUDGET, I'M SORRY, BUDGET LINE ITEMS FOR BRIDGING THE DIVIDE. BUT UNTIL WE GOT THERE, OUR COLLABORATION WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT NONPROFITS, BIG AND SMALL, AND EACH OF THE DISTRICTS BECAME ALLIES ALONG WITH THE INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS, AND ALONG WITH THE OFFICERS AND THE YOUTH. I HOPE I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION. YEAH, YOU DID. AND, UM, AND, AND DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THAT BUDGET WAS LIKE? I MEAN, YOU ALL ARE MUCH BIGGER CITY THAN WE'RE BACK IN THE [01:45:01] DAY. BACK IN THE DAY, UH, I WANNA SAY OUR FIRST REAL LIVE BUDGET WAS LIKE $125,000 THAT ALLOWED, THAT ALLOWED US TO GO, I THINK WE DID 10, 10 DISTRICTS. SO OUR DISTRICTS ENCOMPASSED OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. SO WE HAD 10 DISTRICTS, AND IT ENDED UP BEING LIKE 175 YOUNG PEOPLE, SOMEWHERE ALONG THERE, SOMEWHERE ALONG. SO THE PROTOCOL, I MEAN, THE PRO, I MEAN, I THINK I'LL DIG IT UP AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET IT. . UH, WELL, I, I'M JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M CURIOUS. I MEAN, WE, WE HAVE ABOUT $21 MILLION IN DELEGATE AGENCY FUNDING, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM DO THAT WORK. THEY DO A, A, A VARIETY OF OTHER THINGS AS WELL, INCLUDING HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND A, A MYRIAD OF THINGS. MM-HMM. . UM, BUT, BUT I HAVE ALWAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THERE'S LANGUAGE TO TALK ABOUT DEFUNDING THE POLICE, OR THERE'S LANGUAGE TO TALK ABOUT BLACK LIVES MATTER. WE WERE NOT NECESSARILY TALKING ABOUT THAT EIGHT YEARS AGO. I'M, I'M A TENURED MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL. I'M SEEING MY SORT OF TIME DWINDLING. I HAVE JUST A FEW MONTHS LEFT ON THE COUNCIL. BUT I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT THE DELEGATE AGENCIES AND NONPROFITS WERE REALLY WHERE WE NEEDED TO INVEST THE MONEY IF WE WANTED TO SEE CHANGE IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND AS WE THINK ABOUT REALLY WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF POLICING IN OUR COMMUNITIES, UM, AND WE, WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FUND OTHER THINGS. UM, AND SO, UH, IT, IT, AND, AND REALLY CHANGED THE CULTURE OF, UM, OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY ANTICIPATES, UH, OF OUR, OF OUR POLICE TO, TO DO AND TO RESPOND TO. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS ALWAYS BEEN PROUD OF, AND, AND, AND EVEN MYSELF IN ALL THESE YEARS, WAS VERY PROUD OF OUR RESPONSE TIMES, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE JUDGED ON, HOW QUICKLY THEY CAN ARRIVE AT THE SCENE OF AN INCIDENT, UH, IN SAN ANTONIO, THAT NUMBER IS SEVEN AND A HALF MINUTES, GIVE OR TAKE, MAYBE SEVEN MINUTES AND 28 SECONDS, UH, IN MY COMMUNITY. UM, I LIVE CLOSE TO THE URBAN, YOU KNOW, IN THE INNER CITY. UM, I HAVE HAD A POLICE COME WITHIN THREE MINUTES. UH, I CALL PROBABLY MORE OFTEN THAN SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES JUST BECAUSE I, UM, UM, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. BUT, UM, WE, IF, IF WE WANT TO HAVE A DIFFERENT, UM, I GUESS, I THINK DIALOGUE WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THEY EXPECT, WE HAVE TO FUND THESE AGENCIES APPROPRIATELY, AND WE HAVE TO HAVE SOME SERIOUS CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS ABOUT EXPECTATIONS. MM-HMM. , UM, AND I THINK THERE WAS SOMEBODY ELSE ALSO WHO WAS IN HERE LOCALLY. UM, I THINK IT, IT WAS THE, THE GENTLEMAN, UM, WHO TALKED ABOUT HIS WORK, UH, HERE. UM, AND I DON'T KNOW, PERHAPS YOU CAN IN MY, THE TWO MINUTES THAT WE HAVE LEFT, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE, UM, WITH FUNDING, JUST HAVING A DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCE. UM, AND MR, I THINK IT WAS MR. HENDERSON. YES. YES, MA'AM. YES, MA'AM. UM, YOU KNOW, THE CITY, UM, WITH NONPROFITS, YOU REALLY HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. UM, IS, IS RIGOROUS. UM, IT'S A LOT THAT WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH, UM, TO, TO GET FUNDING. AND THE HARSH REALITY IS A LOT OF NONPROFITS, THEY'RE HARDER, YOU KNOW, IN THE RIGHT PLACE. YOU KNOW, AND, AND ME, I WAS ONE OF 'EM. UM, THINGS ARE NOT SET UP PROPERLY TO RECEIVE THE FUND FROM THE CITY. AND, UM, BECAUSE OF THE RIGOROUS PROCESS AND, YOU KNOW, ALL OF, ALL OF THE PAPERWORK, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE RED TAPE, IS IT, IT CAN BECOME DISCOURAGING, UM, FOR SOME NONPROFIT. BUT JUST TO REALLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IT, IT IS A LOT. AND IT, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT, UM, FOR A, A SMALL NONPROFIT, SOMEONE THAT DOESN'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF STAFF, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST HAVE A HEART TO HELP THE COMMUNITY. UM, SO IF, IF THERE COULD BE ANOTHER WAY, A DIFFERENT WAY, SOME THINGS COULD BE REVAMPED, THE PROCESS COULD BE REVAMPED, UM, IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THE CITY. UM, BECAUSE I KNOW SEVERAL AGENCIES THAT, UM, WILL DO THE WORK. THEY WILL BE OUT THERE MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT. UM, JUST THINGS ARE NOT IN PLACE FOR THEM TO RECEIVE THE FUNDING. UH, SO THANK YOU. AND I'LL JUST SORT OF WRAP UP MY COMMENTS, UM, BECAUSE I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, LIKE JUST THE EXPECTATION OF, OF WHAT WE HAVE [01:50:01] AS, AS A COUNCIL, UM, WHAT WE EXPECT OUR POLICE TO DO, I THINK WE REALLY ARE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE EXPECTATION, UM, IS TOO GREAT. AND THAT IF WE WANNA HAVE A, A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR COMMUNITY, UM, WE HAVE TO FUND OTHER AGENCIES. UH, AND SO, UM, I JUST, I, I THINK I'LL, I'LL JUST SORT OF LEAVE IT THERE. BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING, UH, AND, AND THIS VERY MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION. AND I'LL TURN IT BACK TO THE CHAIR. UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH ALL OF YOU FOR, FOR YOUR COMMENTS. THERE ARE DEFINITELY A LOT OF, UH, OF THINGS FOR, FOR US TO, TO CONSIDER. UH, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ONE THING, UM, AS YOU, AS YOU DIGEST THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD TODAY. THERE IS SOME READING MATERIAL. I FEEL A LITTLE BIT LIKE A PROFESSOR SAYING THIS, BUT THERE IS SOME READING MATERIAL THAT OUR PANELISTS RECOMMENDED TO US, UH, TO ALSO HELP WITH THIS, UH, DIALOGUE AS WE GO FORWARD AND, UH, AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND YOU SHOULD HAVE THOSE IN YOUR EMAIL. MY TEAM, UH, IS, UH, WELL, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM FOR SOME REASON, PLEASE, UH, LET ME KNOW. UM, SO, UH, THOSE ARE GONNA BE MY, MY FINAL WORDS BEFORE WE ADJOURN. BUT BEFORE WE ADJOURN, I WOULD LIKE, UH, TO GIVE EACH OF THE PANELISTS A A COUPLE OF MINUTES IF THEY WANNA GIVE US ANY CLOSING THOUGHTS OR, OR COMMENTS, UH, BEFORE WE, WE WRAP UP. AND, UH, MAYBE ONE PIECE OF INFORMATION YOU SHOULD KNOW IS THAT WE ARE AT THE CUSP OF HAVING COMMUNITY MEETINGS IN EVERY CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT. UH, THOSE ARE GOING TO BEGIN IN MARCH. AND, UH, THEY, WE WILL HAVE, UH, THE CITY MANAGER WITH US, I BELIEVE CHIEF MCMANUS AND MY, AND ANOTHER ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. AND, UH, SORRY. AND HIS BOSS WILL BE WITH US. UH, AND A COUNCIL MEMBER WILL BE AT, AT EACH OF THEM. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TWO IN EVERY COUNCIL DISTRICT. SO THERE WILL STILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR SOME RICH DIALOGUE, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY. SO, UH, WE'LL GO IN REVERSE ORDER, UH, THIS TIME, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT. AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH, UH, WITH OFFICER WEST. PLEASE, I WON'T TAKE A WHOLE LOT OF TIME. I WANT TO EXPRESS MY SINCERE GRATITUDE, UM, FOR BEING IN THIS SPACE WITH YOU ALL. THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION, COUNCILWOMAN. I HOPE WHAT I WAS ABLE TO SHARE WAS VALUE ADDED. UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE MERE FACT THAT YOU ALL ARE CONSIDERING MAKING THIS CHANGE IS, PUTS YOU ON THE RIGHT ROAD. UM, I, I REMIND YOU, LIKE, I REMIND MY STUDENTS, HOW MANY OF YOU ALL KNOW WHEN THE CRUISE SHIP TURNS AROUND, MANY OF US DON'T BECAUSE IT TURNS SO SLOW. BUT IT DOES TURN. SO STAY ENCOURAGED AND THAT WHAT YOU ALL HAVE SET FORTH TO DO AS A COMMITTEE IS MAY NOT BE EASY, BUT IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE. AND I HOPE THAT I COULD GET TO WATCH THIS THING BLOOM. AND ESPECIALLY THAT YOUTH, THOSE THE VOICES OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. I'M, I'M WATCHING FROM AFAR, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT. I'LL SEND SOME OTHER INFORMATION TO THE COUNCIL WOMAN'S TEAM, UM, THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT'S COMMUNITY, UM, THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PAGE. WE CAN GIVE YOU INSIGHT INTO OUR, OUR YOUTH COUNCILS, BUT ALSO INTO THE PROCESSES OF BRIDGING THE DO DIVIDE. AND YOU CAN SIGN UP AND SUBSCRIBE. WE HAVE FACEBOOK, A, A SERIES, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE, AND, UM, YOU GET TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE GROW AND THRIVE. THANK YOU, OFFICER. I HOPE IT'S NOT THE LAST TIME WE WE HEAR FROM YOU OR, OR INTERACT WITH YOU, UH, MR. HENDERSON. UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL, UM, AS A COMMITTEE FOR DOING THIS. UM, THE PANELISTS, UM, OFFICER WESLEY, DR. PIPER, UM, MR. CHRISTINA. I, I REALLY THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORDS. UM, AND I, I JUST LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SEEING THE CHANGE. UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO BEING A PART OF IT IN ANY WAY THAT I CAN. AND THE LAST THING I WANT TO SAY IS COUNCILWOMAN SULLIVAN. UH, I WISH I WOULD'VE HEARD YOUR FIRE IN THE BEGINNING, 'CAUSE I PROBABLY WOULD'VE SHARED JUST A TADD BIT MORE. BUT I THANK YOU FOR THAT, FOR THAT PASSION, AND, UM, I MEAN, BECAUSE IT, IT'S A LOT OF TRUTH IN WHAT YOU SAID AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TRY TO KEEP IT AS PROFESSIONAL AS POSSIBLE. BUT, UM, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. UM, AND ANYWAY, THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU ALL. IT'S ALL. THANK YOU, MR. HENDERSON. UH, CHRISTIAN OR MS. ? OH, YOU'RE MUTED. OH, THERE YOU GO. THERE YOU GO. YOU GO. . YES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ALL THE COUNCIL PERSONS AND TO THE PANELISTS. IT'S BEEN A GREAT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN. I'M EXCITED [01:55:01] TO SEE, UM, THE FORWARD MOVEMENTS OF YOUR COMMITTEE. I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU ALL DEPICT SUCCESS AS I IMPLORE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT ALL OF THE LEVELS, UM, IN WHICH POLICE INTERACT WITH LIVES, BE THEM BLACK, BROWN, OR WHATEVER COLOR THEY ARE, UM, INSTEAD OF JUST IN MOMENTS OF CRIMINALITY, BUT ALSO IN THE EVERYDAY LIVES OF PERSONS LIKE MYSELF. UM, I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU ALL TO DO WORK THAT UNDERSTANDS INDOCTRINATION AND THAT UNDERSTANDS HOW, UH, THE CREATING OF MINDSETS AND THE CREATING OF FEAR HAS BEEN CULTIVATED IN OUR SHARED CULTURES. AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THIS, THIS, THIS WORK YOU ARE DOING IS THOROUGH AND THAT THESE VOICES, UM, ARE, ARE, ARE PROMINENT VOICES THAT YOU HAVE HERE, BUT THERE ARE MORE VOICES LOOKING TO BE HEARD ALL AMONGST YOUR COMMUNITIES. SO PLEASE WATCH THOSE HASHTAGS AND, AND STAY ALERT ON THOSE FACEBOOK POSTS AND, AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE PROTOCOLS AND THE PROCEDURES ONLY LEND TO A PORTION OF HOW WE CAN EXACT GET THE EXACT CHANGE THAT WE ALL DESERVE. I THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR PERSONAL STORIES. UM, DR. PIPER, CLOSE US OUT. YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH. COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL AND THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ARE PART OF THIS COMMITTEE. I WANNA THANK MY, UM, HOPE PANELISTS, UH, AND EVERYBODY ELSE THAT IS HERE LISTENING. AND I JUST WANNA REMIND US ALL THAT RESTORATIVE POLICING AND RESTORATIVE PRACTICES DO NOT UNDERMINE PROCEDURAL JUSTICE, BECAUSE THAT'S THE TYPE OF JUSTICE THAT THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN VERY VOCAL ABOUT ENGAGING IN COMPASSIONATE POLICING DOES NOT UNDERMINE PROCEDURAL JUSTICE OR PROCEDURAL POLICING. AND, AND SO THESE THINGS THAT, THAT ARE, UM, REALLY A PART OF BEING HUMAN, BEING IN COMMUNITY, BEING SOCIAL CREATURES, SOCIAL BEINGS, DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T TAKE AWAY FROM THE JOB OR IT DOESN'T TAKE AWAY FROM THE WORK. AND I THINK THAT YOU'VE HEARD A LOT OF INFORMATION HERE TONIGHT THAT THAT CAN HELP YOU, YOU KNOW, REALLY TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION LIKE WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS IN CREATING A MORE RACIALLY EQUITABLE POLICING IN SAN ANTONIO. AND SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. I AM EXTREMELY GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL THAT YOU ALL ALLOWED ME TO PRESENT MY INFORMATION HERE TONIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU, UH, FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. AND WE WILL BE IN TOUCH. OUR MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU ALL. GOOD NIGHT. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.