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MADAM CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ
[1. 21-2604 A series of discussions on policing as it relates to gender equity presented by topic experts.]
PRESENT.COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW SULLIVAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER VIA AND MADAM CHAIR SANDOVAL.
WE HAVE ONE ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY, BUT THREE VERY VIBRANT SPEAKERS THAT WE ARE HERE TO LEARN FROM TODAY.
AS A REMINDER, LAST YEAR, UH, AFTER THE EVENTS OF AFTER COVID AND UH, THE EVENTS WITH MR. FLOYD, UH, MAYOR NUREMBERG ADDRESSED A MEMO TO THE MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL AND HE ASKED OUR COMMITTEE TO REVIEW BEST POLICING PRACTICES TO HELP PROMOTE RACE AND GENDER EQUITY IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND TO REVIEW MENTAL HEALTH DEESCALATION MEASURES.
THIS AFTERNOON, WE ARE HEARING ABOUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY.
FOR MOST OF THE UNITED STATES HISTORY BEING ANYTHING BUT STRAIGHT WAS ILLEGAL.
IN FACT, TEXAS STILL HAS AN ANTI SODOMY LAW ON THE BOOKS THAT IF ENFORCEABLE WOULD PUNISH HOMOSEXUAL CONDUCT BY A $500 FINE.
MEMBERS OF AMERICA'S L G B T Q COMMUNITY CONTINUE TO FACE WIDESPREAD HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIOLENCE FROM REGULAR PEOPLE.
AND SOMETIMES ALSO, UNFORTUNATELY, FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
REPORTS ON THE ISSUE REVEAL THAT MANY L G B T Q PEOPLE, AND ESPECIALLY PEOPLE OF COLOR WHO ARE L G B T Q, HAVE EXPERIENCED HOSTILE ATTITUDES FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY AND MEMBERS OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY.
SORRY, I THINK THESE SPEAKING POINTS ARE A LITTLE BIT LONG FOR AN
UM, ONCE THIS REPORT FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, PUBLISHED BACK IN 2005, TOOK A LOOK AT POLICE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST L G B T Q RESIDENTS IN SAN ANTONIO.
THAT WAS OVER 15 YEARS AGO, BUT THE REPORT NOTED THAT SAN ANTONIO WAS NOT INCLUDED BECAUSE IT WAS MORE OR LESS L G B T Q FRIENDLY, BUT BECAUSE THE AUTHORS WANTED TO STUDY DIVERSE CITIES.
NONETHELESS, THE REPORT INCLUDED TESTIMONY FROM A TRANSGENDER WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN ASSAULTED BY SEVERAL S A P D OFFICERS.
AGAIN, THAT WAS 15 YEARS AGO, AND SINCE THEN, OUR DEPARTMENT HAS MADE STRIDES IN IMPROVING ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY.
HOWEVER, IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US TO CONTINUE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST L G B T Q RESIDENTS IS WRONG AND IN AND OF ITSELF, BUT WHEN IT'S PERPETRATED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT, IT HAS THE ADDED CONSEQUENCE OF UNDERMINING EFFECTIVE POLICING AND COMMUNITY TRUST.
TODAY WE'RE HEARING ABOUT HOW SS A P D MANAGES ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY AND HOW OUR CADETS ARE TRAINED TO RESPECT L G B T Q RESIDENTS.
FIRST WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM OFFICER JAMES FLAVIN.
OH, ACTUALLY NO, FROM, UH,
THEN WE'LL, UM, HEAR FROM OUR OTHER TWO GUESTS.
AND THAT IS, UM, DEPUTY CAPTAIN FLAVIN OR FLAVIN, EITHER IS FINE FLA, I USUALLY SAY FLAVIN FINE, HOWEVER YOU WANNA SAY IT.
FLAVIN, I WANNA SAY IT HOW YOUR NAME IS FLAVIN.
AND THEN WE WILL ALSO HEAR FROM THE CHAIR OF THE MAYOR'S L G B T Q, UH, COMMITTEE.
MS. MARIA, WHO HAS JOINED US TODAY.
EACH GUEST WILL HAVE APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES, 10 TO 12 MINUTES TO GIVE THEIR, UM, THEIR REMARKS, AND THEN WE WILL OPEN UP THE FLOOR FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FROM ALL OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO ARE HERE.
UH, MR. MCCARRY, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD BEFORE WE BEGIN? NO, OTHER THAN HELLO TO EVERYONE, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, FROM THIS COMMITTEE'S PERSPECTIVE, WE ARE LOOKING TO RECEIVE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD, GOES TO A PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE FROM THIS COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT REMINDER.
UH, SO WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS, AND THEN WHEN WE COME BACK ON MAY 14TH, WE'LL BE REVIEWING SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WANT TO SEND TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE ON
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THIS TOPIC, AS WELL AS THE OTHER TOPICS WE'VE HEARD RECENTLY.SO IF YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS YOU WANT TO GIVE NOW DURING OUR COMMITTEE MEETING, YOU CAN DO THAT.
IF NOT, YOU CAN ALSO SHARE THEM WITH US AFTER TODAY'S COMMITTEE MEETING AND BEFORE OUR MAY 14TH, UH, MEETING TO REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, UH, WITH THAT IN MIND, WE WILL BEGIN.
I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE REVEREND BROWN.
SHE, THEY IS A LICENSED MASTER'S LEVEL SOCIAL WORKER WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN SOCIAL SERVICES.
NAOMI WORKS IS A TRAUMA THERAPIST.
HER CLINICAL HOURS ARE SPENT SEEING MANY GENDER QUEER INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVE WITH P T S D AND OTHER TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES.
FOR THE PAST 12 YEARS, SHE HAS BEEN A SAFE ZONE TRAINER, SPEAKER AND TEACHES L G B T SENSITIVITY AT UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES, CORPORATIONS, AND MOST NOTABLY THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT.
NAOMI IS A FOUNDING MEMBER AND HAS BEEN WORKING WITH OUR PRIDE CENTER HERE LOCALLY SINCE 2009.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, REVEREND, AND WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
I'M GONNA GET A SHIRT THAT SAYS I'M MUTED BECAUSE
MARIA, ROBERTO, CAPTAIN FLAVIN.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A JOURNEY THIS LAST YEAR AND A HALF.
UM, SOMETHING THAT I'VE ALSO BEEN DOING IS SITTING ON THE COVID RESPONSE EQUITY COMMITTEE, AND I JUST LEFT A HESITANCY MEETING AT 1130.
SO
UM, THE CENTER WAS REALLY EXCITED TO, THROUGH THE MAYOR'S TASK FORCE, TO ACTUALLY GET, UH, 250 SLOTS FOR VACCINES EARLY, AND REALLY SAW HOW MUCH THE COMMUNITY WAS GRATEFUL FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY.
UM, FOR THE PAST, I WANNA SAY EIGHT YEARS, ACTUALLY, I HAVE DONE THE TRAINING FOR SS A P D I STARTED WITH STONEWALL DEMOCRATS, SO I STARTED IN THE INITIAL GROUP THAT DID THE TRAINING.
AND WHEN, UM, THE STONEWALL DEMOCRATS PASSED THE TRAINING OVER TO ME, I MOVED THE TRAINING TO THE PRIDE CENTER AND HAVE DONE THE TRAINING WITH THE PRIDE CENTER FOR INCOMING CADET CLASSES AND ALSO FOR WHEN WE CHANGED POLICIES ON WORKING IN THE TRANS COMMUNITY, WE DID THE TRAINING FOR ALL OF THE OFFICERS.
UM, SO I HAVE ABOUT EIGHT YEARS WORKING WITH, UH, OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND A LOT OF EXPERIENCE AS AN OUTREACH MINISTER FOR METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH, WHICH IS IN ROBERTO'S DISTRICT.
UM, I'VE ALSO DEALT A LOT WITH TRAINING AND EDUCATION IN THAT DEPARTMENT ALSO, SO I'M GLAD TO BE HERE.
HOPE I CAN BRING SOMETHING TO THE CONVERSATION.
AND THIS IS MY FIFTH MEETING TODAY, SO I'M NOT STRESSED AT ALL.
IS THERE A POWERPOINT OR, UH, ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO SHARE WITH US? UH, REVEREND? NOPE.
ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL WORDS YOU WANTED TO SHARE WITH US? NO, I'M, I'LL JUMP IN AS NEEDED.
WELL, LET ME INTRODUCE UHHUH, DEPUTY CHIEF FLAVIN FLAVIN.
OH, ASSISTANT CHIEF FLAVIN JOINED THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT IN 1988.
YOU LOOK A LOT YOUNGER THAN THAT.
FROM, FROM HERE AND HAS WORKED HIS WAY FROM PATROL OFFICER TO ASSISTANT CHIEF.
HE IS ALSO OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT'S LIAISON TO THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY.
ASSISTANT CHIEF FLAVIN HOLDS A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE FROM WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY AND A MASTER'S DEGREE IN HOMELAND SECURITY FROM ANGELO STATE UNIVERSITY.
HE IS ALSO GET THIS, A GRADUATE OF THE 261ST SESSION OF THE F B I NATIONAL ACADEMY IN QUANTICO, VIRGINIA.
DEPUTY CHIEF, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
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INVITING ME.AND LIKE NAOMI, I DO NOT HAVE A
I'M SORRY IF YOU'RE EXPECTING ONE, BUT I DON'T, UH, I DO NOT, NOT HAVE A POWERPOINT.
UM, SO I'M JUST GONNA TALK TO Y'ALL A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I AM, UH, ONE OF THE TWO ASSISTANT CHIEF.
CURRENTLY I'M IN CHARGE OF THE OPERATING BUREAU, ALL THE, BASICALLY IF THEY'RE IN UNIFORM, THEY WORK FOR ME.
I WORK DIRECTLY FOR CHIEF MCMANUS.
UM, AS FAR AS THE L G B T, UH, Q LIAISON, I AM THE FOURTH LIAISON SINCE, UH, SINCE 2006.
CHIEF MCMANUS, UH, HE, WHEN HE GOT HERE IN 2006, HE MET WITH THE L G B T COMMUNITY, AND I DON'T THINK HE LIKED WHERE THE DEPARTMENT WAS AT THAT TIME.
THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY, UH, THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY, HE, UH, HE HAD BEEN, I FOUND THIS OUT LATER, HE HAD BEEN A, THE LIAISON FOR THE METRO, WASHINGTON METRO, UH, PD.
HE HAD BEEN THE LIAISON THAT DEPARTMENT FOR SOME TIME.
HE APPOINTED, UH, ACTUALLY HE WAS THE FIRST, FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
HE WAS THE FIRST, UH, LIAISON AND ENDED UP APPOINTING ANOTHER ONE AFTER THAT.
AND THEN, UH, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, AS THEY COME AND GO RETIRE.
UM, I BELIEVE IT'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL, A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM.
AND, AND, UH, SOME OF MY DUTIES, I GUESS WOULD BE, IT'D BE EASY TO SAY, I, I AM A, UH, A RESOURCE FOR THE, FOR THE COMMUNITY, FOR THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY.
I, UH, UH, BASICALLY I'M, I'M THERE FOR, OR THE PHONE CALLS, EMAILS, I TROUBLESHOOT ISSUES THAT COME UP.
UH, SOME SOMETIMES DON'T GET A LOT OF COMPLAINTS, BUT WHEN THEY DO, I CAN, I CAN USUALLY REFER, EITHER EXPLAIN THINGS HOW, HOW A CALL CERTAIN CALL WAS HANDLED, OR IF IT BECOMES TO THAT I CAN REFER THEM TO, TO, UH, INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF THAT THANK GOODNESS, BUT, BUT, UH, THAT IS PART OF IT.
UM, ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES, I THINK ONE OF THE, THE MAIN, UH, BENEFITS OF THIS POSITION IS I'M HERE TO IDENTIFY THINGS THAT THE DEPARTMENT, AS FAR AS TRAINING NEEDS FOR THE DEPARTMENT, UH, IF THERE'S AN AREA THAT WE NEED TO IMPROVE IN, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M ABLE TO HELP IDENTIFY WITH THE, WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND THEN GET TO WHAT WE NEED TO DO AS FAR AS TRAINING GOES.
AND A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT IS IN 2019, WE HAD A, A, AN INCIDENT WHERE, UH, A COUPLE OF OFFICERS MADE AN ARREST, UH, OF A TRANSGENDER FEMALE.
AND THEY PUT THE ARREST THINKING THAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT A, AN ARREST, YOU KNOW, A REGULAR ARREST.
AND, AND THEY PUT IT ON THE, THE WEBSITE BASICALLY TO SAY, LOOK, WE CAUGHT THIS PERSON.
UH, THEY MADE THE MISTAKE AT THE TIME OF, OF, UH, OF USING HER, HER, UH, LEGAL NAME OR DEAD NAME.
UH, IT TOOK ABOUT 45 MINUTES BEFORE I GOT THREE CALLS, THREE OR FOUR CALLS FROM THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, THESE OFFICERS AND, AND WHAT I WOULD END UP FINDING OUT IS THESE OFFICERS DID NOT DO IT OUT OF, UH, THERE'S NOTHING NEFARIOUS ABOUT IT.
THEY DIDN'T DO IT OUT OF, OUT OF DISCRIMINATION.
THEY WERE, THEY WERE IGNORANT TO WHAT WAS ACCEPTABLE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT TRIGGERED, UH, AT THAT POINT, THAT TRIGGERED TALK BETWEEN THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY, MYSELF, AND CHIEF MCMANUS, THAT WE NEEDED TO IMPROVE IN THAT AREA.
SO WHAT WE DID IS WE PUT TOGETHER A, A VERY COMPREHENSIVE, UH, TRAINING PROGRAM THAT NAOMI MENTIONED THAT, UH, WE GOT STARTED IN, IN, UH, 2020 DURING THE 2000, UH, 20 S A P D N SERVICE THAT, THAT EVERY, UH, DEPARTMENT MEMBER WOULD GET.
UM, AND WE TITLED IT, IT'S ALSO KNOWN IN SOME DEPARTMENTS OR IN SOME OF YOU CALL IT TRANSGENDER ONE OH ONE, WE CALLED IT, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY.
AND IT WAS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING PROGRAM TO, TO TRY TO, TO GO OVER SUCH THINGS AS, AS, UH, AS, UH, TERMINOLOGY FORMS OF ADDRESS, REPORT WRITING, UH, AND SPECIAL AS, AS FAR AS NEEDS, AS SEARCHES, TRANSPORTATION, THAT SORT OF THING.
SO I BELIEVE WE, WE CAME A LONG WAY IN JUST ONE INCIDENT WHEN WE LEARNED THAT WE HAD A, WE HAD A WEAKNESS THAT WE NEEDED TO CORRECT.
AND, AND, UH, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE, UH, BENEFITS OF, OF MY POSITION.
AND WE'RE ABLE TO, TO IDENTIFY AND WORK THROUGH THOSE SORT OF THINGS.
UH, OVERALL THOUGH, THE, THE, THE, UH, THE PURPOSE IS TO, TO PROMOTE RESPECTFUL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE, UH, COMMUNITY AND THE, OR THE, UH, OFFICERS AND THE L G B T COMMUNITY.
AND I BELIEVE WE'VE, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE 2006.
I MEAN, I REALLY LIKE WHERE WE ARE AS A DEPARTMENT.
I THINK THE, UH, THE CHIEF FEELS, I SPEAK TO THE CHIEF,
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UH, WHEN I SAY THAT, UH, IF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE CHIEF HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE, THE, UH, PRIDE PARADE IN THE SUMMER, I'VE, UH, I'VE MARCHED IN A COUPLE OF THOSE PARADES UP UNTIL, UH, A COUPLE YEARS AGO.AND IF, IF YOU SEE THE SUPPORT THAT THE OFFICERS WHO WERE THERE, UH, I FEEL IT.
THE CHIEF FEELS THAT, THAT IT'S AMAZING.
AND I, AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE COME ALONG WAY.
I, I'M KIND OF RAMBLING ON TALKING, BUT I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR, OR, UH, TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
UH, NOT OFFICER, UH, DEPUTY CHIEF.
UH, WE WILL COME BACK WITH, WITH QUESTIONS.
UH, I CAN SEE OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS WRITING THEM ALL DOWN RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE MOVING ALONG.
UH, AND WE'LL GO ON TO, UH, MARIA SAL.
I'M GOING TO GIVE A BRIEF INTRODUCTION.
MARIA HAS AN EXTENSIVE HISTORY ADVOCATING FOR EQUALITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND LGBTQ PLUS VISIBILITY THAT GOES BACK 30 YEARS.
SHE WORKS AT THE LAW OFFICE OF MARIA SALAZAR, NAMED AFTER MARIA SOSA, WHERE SHE REPRESENTS CHILDREN AND PARENTS IN CHILD ABUSE, WELFARE CUSTODY SUITS.
IN 2013, MARIA ORGANIZED WITH GAA, A BROAD-BASED COALITION THAT SUCCESSFULLY LOBBIED THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO TO PASS OUR NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE PROHIBITING L G B T Q DISCRIMINATION.
SHE IS CURRENTLY THE CHAIR OF MAYOR BERG'S, L G B T Q ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND SHE HAS GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO COME GIVE US HER PERSPECTIVE ON, UH, L G B T Q, ON THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND POLICING IN GENERAL.
SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MARIA, FOR MAKING TIME FOR US.
UM, WELL, I KNOW SOME OF YOU ON THE PANEL.
UH, JUST TO GIVE EVERYONE ELSE, UH, SOME PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE I AM AS A CONSTITUENT, I AM A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FIVE, SO I'M HAPPY TO SEE MY COUNCIL MEMBER HERE,
I, UH, HAVE MY LAW OFFICE IN DISTRICT TWO.
UH, MY OFFICE IS RIGHT ON NOLAN STREET, UH, AND, UH, RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM DIGNITY PARK.
AND I, UH, AM L G B T Q IDENTIFIED.
SO I'M ALWAYS, UH, IN DISTRICT ONE THROUGH PUTTING OUR L G B T Q BUSINESSES DOWN ON MAIN STREET AND JUST ACTUALLY ALL OVER TOWN NOW.
UM, MY PRACTICE TAKES ME ALL OVER THE CITY, UH, IN, IN, IN TERMS OF REPRESENTING TWO CHILDREN IN JUVENILE, IN, IN FOSTER CARE SYSTEMS OR WITH THE JUVENILE DOCKETS.
SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INCORPORATE MY COMMUNITY WORK AND, AND, UH, PROFESSIONAL LIFE, UH, WITH THOSE VALUES OF, WE'RE TRYING TO GET PEOPLE'S VOICES HEARD AND, AND VISIBILITY EXPRESSED.
UM, SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT POLICE POLICY, WHAT I, UM, WHAT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT AND, AND I, I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE POLICE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE, UH, L G B T COMMUNITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS ENHANCED IT IS BETTER.
UH, I MOVED HERE IN 1997 AND, UH, FROM THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO, SO A BIG CHANGE,
AND, YOU KNOW, THE RELATIONSHIP, UH, AT THAT TIME WAS NON-EXISTENT.
UH, BEING A YOUNG, A YOUNG PERSON, I MOVED HERE, UH, YOU KNOW, GOING TO YOUR CAR WHEN THERE WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GETTING BEATEN UP FOR OR HARASSED, UH, WE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT CALLING LAW ENFORCEMENT.
WE DID PEER, WE, WE WALKED OURSELVES TO, TO THE CAR.
UM, SIMPLE THINGS THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE.
BETTER LIGHTING WHERE THERE ARE SOCIAL CLUBS, YOU KNOW, UH, WHERE, WHERE PEOPLE GO OUT TO SOCIALIZE.
THAT'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS ASSET.
AND I WOULD SAY IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, THE, THE, THE INTERACTION THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT DOES WITH THE L G B T COMMUNITY, UH, IS MUCH MORE POSITIVE AND MUCH MORE PROACTIVE FROM THE SIMPLE THINGS OF JUST, UM, I'VE SEEN CHIEF MCMANUS, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST APPEAR, YOU KNOW, AT LUTHER'S ON A SATURDAY EVENING.
AND IT, IT JUST PROMOTES THIS IMAGE OF DOING LAW ENFORCEMENT BEING MUCH MORE APPROACHABLE.
WHERE CAN WE DO, WHAT CAN WE DO BETTER? UM, SITTING ON THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE AND AS, AS WE TRY TO COME UP WITH WAYS THAT PROMOTE THE SAFETY AND HUMANITY AND EQUALITY OF OUR, OF OUR, OF OUR COMMUNITY, OF THE L G B T COMMUNITY, IT'S A CHALLENGE.
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AND ONE OF THE CHALLENGES, UM, IS, IS BEING COUNTED WHEN SERVICES ARE DELIVERED AND, AND CAPTURING THAT DATA ON WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON WHEN, WHEN THE L G B T L G B T Q COMMUNITY IS INTERACTING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, I, I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SO MUCH DATA THAT WE DON'T CAPTURE, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, AND I, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ISSUES FOR THAT.BUT ONE THING THAT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL IS I WOULD ASK EVERYONE ON THIS COMMUNITY TO LOOK AT THE, UH, THE STATE OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, STRENGTHENING OF COLORS SURVEY, UH, THAT WAS RECORDED AND OUTLINED IN THE MIDDLE OF COVID LAST JUNE.
IT CAME OUT, UH, KNOWING ME, THE PRIDE CENTER HAD BEEN VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN OUTLINING SOME OF THE DATA THAT WAS CAPTURED IN THAT SURVEY.
IT'S GOT COFFEE STAINS ALL OVER IT,
UH, UH, LET ME GIVE YOU THE EXACT NAME OF IT.
'CAUSE I KNOW I DIDN'T QUITE GIVE THAT TO YOU, BUT IT WAS, UH, IT WAS PUT OUT BY THE STRENGTHENING, UH, STRENGTHENING OF COLORS PRIDE.
AND IT SURVEYED, UH, CAPTURED AND SURVEYED LIKE PROTEIN 1500 INDIVIDUALS IN BEX COUNTY AND IN THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES.
AND IT LOOKED AT THINGS OF, UH, OF COMMUNITY HEALTH, EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF DATA THERE.
AND IN LOOKING AT ALL OF THE ISSUES, BE IT HEALTH, UH, BE IT HOUSING, BE IT EMPLOYMENT, THE ONE THING THAT, ONE RECOMMENDATION THAT CAME OUT IS ONGOING CONTINUOUS TRAINING, UH, WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT ON THE L G BT Q COMMUNITY.
I KNOW NAOMI MENTIONED THE CADET, BUT IT'S GOTTA BE MUCH MORE BROADER.
THE CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING HAS TO BE BROADER AND MUCH AND, AND CONSISTENT AND ONGOING.
AND IT'S GOTTA BE IN THE BUDGET, UH, SITTING ON THE MAYOR'S COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE THESE GREAT IDEAS FOR POLICIES, BUT THEN WE THINK ABOUT, WELL, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU
AND SO IF WE'RE GONNA GIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT THEIR BUDGET, AND IF THERE'S NO MONEY FOR THIS KIND OF TRAINING, UH, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
SO IT HAS TO BE MUCH MORE INTEGRATED.
THESE POLICIES HAVE TO BE MUCH MORE INTEGRATED AND CONSISTENT.
UH, AND WHAT I FIND IN WHAT, AND THE REASON I ASK, OR I, WHAT MY PERSPECTIVE IS, IS IT NEEDS TO BE CONSISTENT BECAUSE OUR COMMUNITY'S ALWAYS CHANGING.
AND THOUGH I THINK THERE'S BEEN A, A VERY GOOD INTERFACE BE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S IMPROVED IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT, UH, LOOKING AT THIS, UH, THIS, THIS SURVEY, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WAS INFORMATION IN THERE THAT I WAS SURPRISED THAT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, ONE ISSUE, THAT BEING, UM, THAT LANGUAGE THAT WITHIN THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY, IT'S A VERY, NOT ONLY IS THERE, DO YOU FIND LANGUAGE, YOU KNOW, SPANISH AS ONE DOMINANT LANGUAGE, BUT YOU ALSO FIND FILIPINO, YOU FIND FRENCH.
I WAS KIND OF SURPRISED BY THAT, THAT DATA THAT WAS CAPTURED.
THE OTHER THING THAT IS, UM, IS THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF OUR L G B T Q A COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I'LL SHARE A PERSPECTIVE.
SO, UM, THIS LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE SAW THE, THE, THE MOVEMENTS IN, UH, UH, IN THE, UH, OF BLACK LIVES MATTER WITH VARIOUS, UH, PROTESTS AND VIGILS AND CALL TO ACTION OVER THE SUMMER.
BUT THERE WAS ONE EVENT THAT REALLY STRUCK ME THAT DEMONSTRATES THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF THE L G B T Q I COMMUNITY.
AND THAT IS THE EVENING OR THE AFTERNOON WHERE WE HAD BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER.
AND SO, AND THAT WAS, UH, THAT WAS A ORGANIZED EFFORT BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING WITH THE, UH, BLACK V ALONE COMMUNITY AND THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UH, UNDER THAT KIND OF TRAINING IS LIKE, WHAT, WHAT IS, UH, WHAT ARE THE ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THE L G B T Q I COMMUNITY? UH, BECAUSE I THINK FOR SAN ANTONIO, THERE'S A LOT OF INTERSECTIONALITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M LATINA.
I, I ALSO IDENTIFY AS QUEER GENDER NON-CONFORMING, AND A BIG OLD D**E
UH, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT ENCOMPASSES A LOT.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SO MANY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO DO CONTINUOUS TRAINING.
AND THE REASON I SAY IT'S ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, THAT OUR COMMUNITY'S ALWAYS CHANGING.
UM, THERE'S A DYNAMIC HERE THAT I DIDN'T SEE A COUPLE YEARS AGO, AND THAT IS OUR, OUR PEOPLE ARE MOVING BACK TO SAN ANTONIO,
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UM, AND, AND, AND, AND THEY'RE EXPERIENCING DIFFERENT THINGS AND THEY WANNA MAKE HOME HERE.UH, ABOUT A TWO YEARS AGO, WE HAD THE, UH, THE MAYOR HAD A TOWN HALL, AND I WAS REALLY STRUCK BY THE FOUR, FOUR PEOPLE WHO SPOKE, WERE IN THE LATE TWENTIES, HAD MOVED TO SEATTLE OR SAN FRANCISCO OR DC AND CAME BACK AND WERE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE AND SEE CHIEF MCMANUS THERE.
'CAUSE THEY NEVER THOUGHT THEY COULD, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD A HOME BEING QUEER, YOU KNOW, IN SAN ANTONIO.
THEY NEVER, THEY DIDN'T THINK THAT COULD HAPPEN.
AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT POLICING ISSUES, UM, THE THING THAT STRIKES ME AS ONGOING TRAINING AND THAT THAT ALWAYS BE ONGOING, DID IT BE MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE CAPTURING DATA? UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE DO THAT, BUT I THINK, WHEN I SAY, WHEN I SAY CAPTURING DATA, WAS THAT, WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT A POSITIVE WHEN IT CAME TO, YOU KNOW, CALLING FOR HELP, BE IT IN A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATION, BEING IN A, IN A TRAFFIC STOP, BE IT IN A, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO BE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY.
UH, WHAT ELSE WOULD I, WAS I LOOKING AT THIS? UM, AND I THINK ALSO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT POLICING, LIKE, UH, I SAW THAT ONE OF THE ISSUES HERE IS, UH, ENFORCEMENT, UH, USING ENFORCEMENT POLICIES.
UM, WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THAT, YOU KNOW, DE UH, WHAT TOOLS TO INTRODUCE TO DEESCALATE A SITUATION, WELL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR S A P D TO ALSO RECOGNIZE THE, THE LIMITED RESOURCES THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY HAS, UH, IN TERMS OF ACCESSING SERVICES TO IMPROVE THOSE SITUATIONS THAT ARE, THAT ARE HOSTILE, UM, OR CAN BE HOSTILE.
FOR EXAMPLE, YOU GET A MENTAL HEALTH CALL AND, AND, AND YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN CRISIS, AND THAT PERSON IDENTIFIES AS L G B T Q I A, THERE MAY NOT BE A SERVICE PROVIDER AVAILABLE FOR THEM IMMEDIATELY TO DE DEESCALATE THE SITUATION OR PROVIDE THEM THE SERVICE THEY, THEY NEED.
YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, DEPUTY OFFICER FLAVIN KNOWS THAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF OUR LAY PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IF OUR PEOPLE WHO ARE PATROLLING AND PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES ARE AWARE OF THAT DEFICIT.
UH, I'M GONNA STOP RIGHT THERE BECAUSE I THINK I SAID A LOT
UH, BUT I, I, BUT I, IF ANYTHING, I WOULD REALLY URGE, YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, UH, SURVEY.
I DON'T KNOW IF SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO HEAR THE PRESENTATION, BUT EVERY TIME I LOOK AT IT, AND IT'S BEEN UPDATED SINCE RIGHT.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, UM, THAT THIS IS A, A VALUABLE TOOL, UH, THAT WE COULD USE TO GUIDE, UH, BETTERING OUR POLICIES.
MARIA, VERY MUCH, UH, YOU, YOU HAVE A LOT TO SHARE.
SO WE WILL GO BACK, UH, DURING, DURING Q AND A, UH, WE HAD A GREAT FREE CONVERSATION IN ADVANCE OF, OF TODAY'S MEETING.
UH, I, BEFORE WE JUMP, UH, INTO QUESTIONS, I DID WANNA CIRCLE BACK WITH, WITH THE REVEREND, UH, NAOMI BROWN, BECAUSE I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD FOR US TO HEAR, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE TRAININGS THAT YOU CONDUCT WITH OUR CADETS AND OUR OFFICERS.
UH, AND, UH, REALLY JUST YOUR, YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THAT.
I, I IMAGINE IT'S A LITTLE BIT D OR I DON'T KNOW, YOU CAN TELL US HOW DIFFERENT OR SIMILAR IT IS WITH CADETS AND, AND OFFICERS.
SO, UH, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU FOR A FEW MINUTES.
UM, SO YEAH, I'D LIKE TO GO OVER WHAT WE DO COVER ON THE TRAINING.
I'M ALSO SENDING OUT TO, UM, JOHARA AND TO MATEO, A COPY OF THE STRENGTHENING COLORS OF PRIDE REPORT.
SO I WILL FORWARD THAT REPORT BEFORE THE END OF THE MEETING TODAY.
BUT I JUST WANNA GO OVER WHAT WE COVERED.
WE START OFF OUR TRAINING AND WE'VE TRAINED ABOUT 2000 OFFICERS.
WE START OFF OUR TRAINING WITH SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT PEOPLE IN THE L G B T COMMUNITY? SO WE START OFF THE TRAINING, ASKING WHAT THEY ALREADY KNOW.
UH, WE USUALLY START THE TRAINING WITH, UH, DOES ANYBODY IN THE ROOM NOT KNOW SOMEONE WHO'S L G B T Q? UH, I LOVE IT WHEN I GET SOMEONE WHO RAISES A HAND, BECAUSE I CAN USUALLY SAY, THAT MEANS YOU JUST DON'T KNOW.
UM, UM, SO WE USUALLY START OFF THE TRAINING THERE.
THEN WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON VOCABULARY.
'CAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO IS WHAT YOU CALL ME AND A LOT OF TALKING ABOUT VOCABULARY IS BECAUSE OUR VOCABULARY IS SO FLUID AND IT CHANGES SO MUCH.
UM, IF YOU'RE TALKING TO SOMEONE WHO IS IN HIGH SCHOOL, THEY MAY BE GENDER NON-CONFORMING OR GENDER VARIANT.
[00:30:01]
KNOWING HOW TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE WHO'S NON-BINARY AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UM, WE THEN GO INTO THE COMING OUT PROCESS.I THINK SOMETHING REALLY THAT'S REALLY HUGE WHEN TALKING TO OFFICERS, BECAUSE DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE IN THAT COMING OUT PROCESS AND WHO YOU HAVE COME OUT TO AND NOT COME OUT TO, IT'S OFTEN USED IN INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, UH, TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU TRY AND LEAVE ME, I'LL TELL YOUR JOB THAT YOU'RE GAY, OR I'LL TELL YOUR CHURCH THAT YOU'RE GAY.
UM, NOT KNOWING WHERE PEOPLE ARE OUT AT IN THEIR LIVES AND NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT THE COMING OUT PROCESS IS NOT A ONE-TIME DEAL.
UH, TO USE A PERFECT EXAMPLE, MY MOTHER'S BEEN MARRIED TWICE.
MY BROTHER'S BEEN MARRIED THREE TIMES.
UM, EVERY SINGLE TIME ONE OF THEM GETS MARRIED, I GET TO COME OUT AGAIN,
AND THE LAST TIME MY MOTHER GOT MARRIED, SHE DECIDED TO MARRY A BAPTIST MINISTER.
SO EXPLAINING THAT COMING OUT PROCESS.
SO WHEN AN OFFICER COMES UP TO SOMEONE AND THERE'S A SITUATION, KNOWING WHERE THEY'RE ARE IN THE COMING OUT PROCESS, BECA BECOMES REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, WE ALSO TALK ABOUT INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN OUR COMMUNITY, NOT ASSUMING THAT.
AND, AND THE THING THAT REALLY GETS ME ABOUT THIS, AND THE OFFICERS ARE USUALLY REALLY SURPRISED ABOUT THIS ALSO, IS THAT IN OUR COMMUNITY AND IN THE QUOTE UNQUOTE HETERONORMATIVE COMMUNITY, THE NUMBERS FOR INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE ARE ABSOLUTELY THE SAME.
THE DIFFERENCE IS WE DON'T CALL AND WE DON'T TELL.
AND CHANGING THAT NARRATIVE IS SUPER IMPORTANT FOR US BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL STAY IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID THAT IF, TO USE AN EXAMPLE, LET'S SAY A WOMAN WITH KIDS DECIDES THAT SHE'S FED UP, SHE CALLS THE OFFICER, THE OFFICER COMES IN, HE TAKES HER AND THE KIDS TO THE SHELTER.
SO SHE HAS TO MAKE A DECISION.
SHE HAS TO COME OUT TO THE SHELTER.
IF SHE TAKES IT TO THE COURT SYSTEM, SHE HAS TO COME OUT TO THE DA, SHE HAS TO COME OUT TO EVERYONE IN THE COURT SYSTEM.
SO SHE MAY HAVE TO COME OUT FOUR OR FIVE TIMES IN THIS ONE SITUATION.
SHE THINKS, IS IT EASIER FOR ME TO JUST STAY IN THIS CRAPPY SITUATION OR COME OUT TO EVERYONE IN MY CIRCLE? AND EVERY TIME SHE COMES OUT, SHE RISKS NOT BEING ACCEPTED.
SHE RISKS THE TRAUMA OF HER AND HER KIDS NOT BEING SAFE IF THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY BELONG.
UM, SO WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT NOT MAKING ASSUMPTIONS.
WHEN YOU WALK INTO THAT CALL, MAKING SURE THAT YOU REALLY DOCUMENT SO THAT THAT CALL CAN BE HANDLED PROPERLY AS INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE AND NOT MUTUAL COMBAT.
UM, MAKING SURE THAT HOW THAT THE WHEEL, THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WHEEL LOOKS MAYBE DIFFERENT IN OUR COMMUNITY THAN IT LOOKS IN A MALE FEMALE COMMUNITY, REALIZING THAT I CAN USE THINGS AGAINST YOU THAT I WOULD NORMALLY NOT BE ABLE TO USE AGAINST YOU, UH, WITHDRAW, UM, WITHHOLDING HORMONE TREATMENTS.
I HAVE YOUR MEDICATION, I'M NOT GIVING IT TO YOU.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT AND IT CAN CREATE A LOT OF ANXIETY.
IF MY ID DOESN'T MATCH MY APPEARANCE, HOW DO WE HANDLE THAT? UH, REALLY TEACHING THE OFFICERS TO SAY, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO REFER TO YOU? AND BEING OKAY WITH THE ANSWER.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST FEARS WHY SITUATIONS ESCALATE, ESPECIALLY IN A TRANS COMMUNITY, IS THE FEAR OF BEING THROWN INTO GENERAL POPULATION.
BEING THROWN INTO LOCKUP AND NOT FEELING SAFE.
SO SOMEONE MAY ESCALATE A SITUATION ONLY BECAUSE THEIR FEAR IS, OH MY GOD, IF I GET ARRESTED, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO ME? UM, AND I I WILL CERTAINLY SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN REALLY ABLE TO CALL CHIEF FLAVIN, AND HE'S BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE WHEN THE SITUATION THAT HE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE ALL, A LOT OF THESE CALLS COME INTO THE CENTER FIRST.
SO WE WERE LIKE IMMEDIATELY AWARE OF THE DEAD NAMING AND THE, THE ABILITY TO REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, MISTAKES ARE MADE, BUT THE RELATIONSHIP IS A LOT BETTER THAN IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO.
I HAVE WALKED INTO A SITUATION, AND I DID TEACH EIGHT YEARS AGO WHERE I WALKED INTO RANK AND FILE, AND I WALKED OUT OF THERE TRAUMAS
[00:35:01]
UM, SO KNOWING THAT THE SITUATION IS BETTER THAN IT HAS BEEN, ARE WE THERE YET? NO.
UM, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WHEN THE POLICY WAS CHANGED IN WORKING WITH THE TRANS COMMUNITY.
UM, HEARING THINGS LIKE THIS IS SPECIAL TREATMENT.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU ARE IN A POPULATION THAT IS ALREADY FEARFUL, MARGINALIZED AND OPPRESSED, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS AS SPECIAL TREATMENT.
IT'S LET'S BRING US UP TO THE SAME LEVEL.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN TREAT EVERYBODY THE SAME.
AND WHERE IT BECOMES COMPLICATED IS IF MY AUTHE AUTHENTIC SELF IS DIFFERENT THAN IT IS ON MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
UM, SO IT, IT'S CHALLENGING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THIS BECAUSE WE ALL BRING INTO THE ROOM HOW WE WERE RAISED, UM, WHAT OUR PARENTS TOLD US, YOU KNOW, WE ALL BRING THAT INTO THE ROOM TO SAY, WE DON'T BRING IT INTO THE ROOM IS LYING.
SO WE, WE ALL COME IN WITH SOME BIAS, UM, AND EXPLICIT BIAS WE CAN HANDLE.
WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHEN, YOU KNOW, YOU SAY IT OUT LOUD, BUT IT'S THAT IMPLICIT BIAS, THOSE THAT BIAS THAT COMES THAT WE'RE NOT EVEN AWARE OF.
AND THAT'S THE BIAS THAT WE REALLY WORK.
WE SPEND TIME AND WE ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT BIAS IN THE TRAINING.
WE TALK ABOUT HOW THAT AFFECTS US, WHETHER WE WANT IT TO OR NOT.
WE COME INTO THIS SITUATION, UM, WITH HOW WE WERE RAISED WITH WHO WE ARE, WITH WHATEVER RELIGION WE WERE RAISED WITH, AND WHAT OUR RELIGION THINKS ABOUT L G B T Q FOLKS.
SO WE BRING ALL OF THAT INTO THE ROOM.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOT ONLY JUST THE SHIFT IN OUR CULTURE, BUT IN HOW WE ADDRESS IT AND HOW WE LEARN TO TREAT EVERYONE WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT.
AND, YOU KNOW, ONE THING, AND I CAN SAY IS, YOU KNOW, ANYTIME WE HAVE CALLED CHIEF FLAVIN, OR ANYTIME WE'VE ACTUALLY, IN THE INITIAL TRAININGS WHEN WE WENT OVER TO THE TRANS 1 0 1 TRAINING, AND THIS IS COVERED IN EVERY SINGLE CADET CLASS, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF PUSHBACK.
AND THE PUSHBACK, SURPRISINGLY, WAS NOT FROM OUR SEASONED OFFICERS, BUT FROM OUR NEWER OFFICERS, OUR YOUNGER OFFICERS.
SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS INTERESTING THAT THE PUSHBACK THAT WE WERE GETTING WAS NOT FROM OFFICERS WHO WERE USED TO CHANGE, BUT FROM THE OFFICERS THAT WERE NEW THAT WERE COMING IN.
AND THERE WERE TIMES WHEN IT'S HARD TO RATTLE ME.
I I TELL FOLKS, POINT IN BLANK, I'M FROM NEW YORK, SO YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH SMACK ME IN THE HEAD AND I'LL LOOK AT YOU AND SAY, DID YOU SMACK ME? OH, GOOD.
SO
IT'S WHEN WE STOP TALKING THAT WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
SO, ANYTIME THAT WE'VE HAD ISSUES WHERE THINGS HAVE BEEN REALLY CHALLENGING, UH, WE HAD ONE CLASS THAT WAS EXTREMELY CHALLENGING, AND WE REALIZED THAT WHEN WE TALKED THAT CLASS, THEY ACTUALLY WERE SPOKEN TO.
ARE WE THERE YET? NO, WE'RE NOT THERE YET, BUT WE'RE NOT THERE AS A NATION.
BUT SAN ANTONIO HAS DONE A LOT OF WORK, I THINK, TO ACTUALLY BE RESPECTFUL AND TO ACTUALLY WORK AT IT.
SO CAN WE DO MORE? YES, WE HAVE THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE CITY.
SO THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR US BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THE CADETS ARE BEING TRAINED.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
AND WE HAVE WORKED AT GETTING TO DOING TRAINING WITH THE COUNTY AND WE WERE ALMOST THERE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK, WHICH WOULD REALLY CHANGE HOW WE DO WORK AS A CITY WOULD BE TO HAVE MORE CONSISTENCY.
I'M FEARFUL THAT OUR CONSISTENCY IS NOT THE SAME.
UM, WE MAY BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF YOU IN THE JAIL, BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF S A P D HANDS? AND THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CONCERN FOR US.
IT'S SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WITH SHERIFF SALAZAR, AND IT'S SOMETHING I THINK WE WILL CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT.
'CAUSE UNTIL WE GET BRING TRAINING INTO THE COUNTY, ALSO, WE ARE GONNA HAVE THAT DISCONNECT.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING I THINK THAT'S REALLY A, A HUGE REALITY FOR US.
WE TRY AND END OUR TRAINING WITH WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED? UM, AND PART OF THE COMING OUT TRAINING IS WE MAKE EACH OFFICER TAKE A POSITION AS SOMEONE WHO IS ACTUALLY COMING OUT, AND WE TAKE THINGS AWAY FROM THEM.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU COME OUT, YOU LOSE THINGS.
SOMETIMES YOU LOSE YOUR CHURCH, SOMETIMES YOU LOSE YOUR FAMILY.
[00:40:02]
UH, SOMETIMES YOU LOSE WHO YOU ARE.UM, AND AT THE END OF THAT PROCESS, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH THEY'VE LOST AND WHAT THEY'RE COMING OUT EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN, UM, THEY EITHER COME OUT AS SOMEONE WHO, HEY, HAD A GREAT COMING OUT EXPERIENCE, OR THEY BECOME PART OF THE 40% OF L G B T PEOPLE WHO TRY, WHO COMMIT SUICIDE EVERY YEAR.
SO WE MAKE THAT REAL FOR THEM.
'CAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE EVERY DAY IN THESE BODIES AND HAVE TO CONSTANTLY FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO EXIST.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE SOMEONE TELL ME, WELL, YEAH, YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU WANT, JUST DON'T DO IT IN PUBLIC.
SO MY WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN TOGETHER 40 YEARS, BUT IF I HOLD HER HAND, THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR YOU.
AND WE, WE ADDRESS IT, WE LET IT COME OUT.
WE, WE OPEN IT UP SO IT CAN BE SAID.
AND BY HAVING IT SAID, WE AT LEAST HAVE THE ABILITY TO FIGHT IT, OR IF NOT FIGHT IT TO DISCUSS IT.
AND THAT ABILITY TO DISCUSS IT.
SOMETIMES IT'S THE GAME CHANGER.
THERE ARE SOME OFFICERS WHICH WE KNOW ARE NOT REALLY GOING, THEY'RE GOING TO DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO TO KEEP THE JOB.
AND THERE ARE OTHERS WHO COME OUT OF THAT ROOM SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT? I, I DIDN'T KNOW.
AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT THE TRAINING LOOKS LIKE.
LIKE I SAY, WE CIRCLE BACK, WE ASK IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS.
WE ALSO ASK WHAT THEY KNOW NOW, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE MAY START OFF WITH ALL GAY PEOPLE, LIKE TECHNO.
I HATE TECHNO MUSIC,
YOU THINK WE ALL LIKE TECHNO AND WE ALL DRESS WELL, UH, SOME OF US DON'T.
BUT IT, WE HAVE TO HAVE THOSE THINGS.
AND I WILL PUT THE REPORT, UH, I WILL SEND OUT THE REPORT BECAUSE I THINK THE REPORT IS EXTREMELY FASCINATING.
ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS REPORT IS WE ACTUALLY HAVE REAL DATA.
AND NORMALLY WE ARE EXTRAPOLATING DATA FROM THE EAST COAST OF THE WEST COAST.
WE NOW HAVE DATA FOR SOUTH TEXAS.
AND IT HAPPENED IN SAN ANTONIO.
YOU KNOW, UH, ROBERT JOHNSON WOOD FOUNDATION PAID FOR A THREE YEAR STUDY.
SO WE HAVE REAL DATA ABOUT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, THE L G B T Q FOLKS IN SOUTH TEXAS.
LOOKS LIKE MARIA WANTS TO TALK
YEAH, I JUST WANTED, THANK YOU TO ME, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THE TRAINING AND YOU, YOU MADE ME THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IN MY PRACTICE AND WHAT I SEE AND HOW IT'S RELATED TO, TO POLICY, YOU KNOW, THE DATA HERE, YOU KNOW, TELLS US THAT WE HAVE, UH, HIGH NUMBERS FOR L G B T Q A YOUTH.
AND SO IN MY PRACTICE, I DO, YOU KNOW, HAVE I, YOU KNOW, LAST WEEK I HAD TWO KIDS WHO RAN AWAY, AND THEY'RE COMING FROM SITUATIONS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY IDENTIFY AS GAY OR THEY IDENTIFY AS GENDER NONCONFORMING.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY'RE ON RUNAWAY STATUS, I AM, UH, SCARED FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GO HOME BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT SAFE THERE.
BUT THEN I'M ALSO WORRIED ABOUT THEM BECAUSE WHAT IF THEY GET INTO THE WRONG OFFICE, YOU KNOW, AN OFFICER WHO JUST DOESN'T UNDERSTAND, UH, THE SITUATION THEY'RE COMING FROM.
UM, AND THAT AGAIN, GOES TO THE LIMITED RESOURCES THAT OUR L G B T Q YOUTH HAVE AND THE NEED FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT DOES THESE STATISTICS SHOW AND WHAT WE EXPERIENCE IN THE COMMUNITY IN REAL LIFE.
UH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THESE, THEY GET INTO A SITUATION WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE WRIT OF ATTACHMENT IS ON A RUNAWAY YOUTH, AND WE FIND 'EM ON I 35 AND THEY HAVE A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND GETTING THEM BACK TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES.
UM, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT THEY TELL ME THAT, THAT THEY, THEY'VE EXPERIENCED, UM, NOT BEING CALLED BY, YOU KNOW, UH, THEIR, THEIR PREFERRED PRONOUNS OR THEIR NAME.
YOU KNOW, I HAD ONE, ONE CHILD WHO WAS ON RUNWAY, AND IT DIDN'T GO BY THEIR BIRTH NAME.
THEY WANTED TO GO BY THEIR, THEIR NAME THAT THEY ASSUMED AND, AND JUST THE OFFICER WOULD TALK TO THEM USING THE PREFERRED NAME.
BUT WHEN IT CAME TO SPEAKING TO OTHER COLLATERALS, IT WAS AGAIN, THAT REINFORCEMENT.
AND THAT WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, DEVASTATING FOR, FOR THIS USE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY PLACED IN, IN, YOU KNOW, IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, IT JUST, UH, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, WHY WAS THIS WHY, YOU KNOW, I HAD THIS ONE YOUTH, WHY WAS
[00:45:01]
THIS ONE YOUTH ACTING SO HOSTILE? WELL, YOU KNOW, THE SITUATION.AND IT'S LIKE THEY WERE SCARED TO DEATH AND THEY'RE TRYING TO GET OUT OF A SITUATION THAT, UH, IS ABSOLUTELY, UH, TERRIFYING FOR THEM.
WE'RE GOING TO JUMP INTO QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
SO I'LL KICK IT OFF WITH A FEW, AND THEN WE WILL ROTATE AMONG, UH, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, THEY'LL EACH GET ABOUT, UH, 10 TO 12 MINUTES.
AND, UH, WHEN WE CLOSE IT UP, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO THE PANELISTS TO SHARE THEIR, THEIR CLOSING THOUGHTS, UH, WITH US.
SO I, I'M GOING TO START WITH, UM, I, I'LL JUST PUT THEM ALL OUT THERE AT, AT ONCE, UH, WITH THE REVEREND.
I, I REALLY WANT TO HEAR FROM REVEREND BROWN ABOUT, UM, THE EX EXPERIENCE YOU SHARED WITH US ABOUT, YOU SAID IT WAS SLIGHTLY TRAUMATIC TALKING TO, TO RANK AND FILE, SO I WANTED TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
UM, ALSO, HOW LONG IS THE TRAINING AND HOW DO YOU GAUGE ITS EFFECTIVENESS AT THE END? AND THEN TRANSITIONING INTO, UH, DEPUTY CHIEF FLAVIN, I'D LIKE TO KNOW, ARE ALL OFFICERS TRAINED? IF NOT, WHY NOT? ABOUT HOW MANY, UH, ARE, ARE STILL NEEDING TO BE TRAINED? IS THERE A MANUAL, UH, AS IT RELATES TO, UM, OFFICER CONDUCT WITH THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY? AND THEN I, I WAS, UH, VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT WE HAD A LIAISON FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY.
SO I WANTED TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT ROLE THAT YOU FULFILL AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE DUTIES ARE, WHAT ARE, UM, HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPEND WITH THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY OR, OR EVEN HOW YOU WERE, YOU WERE SELECTED, UH, TO, TO BE IN THAT ROLE.
UH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE, UH, HELPFUL FOR, FOR US TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT ROLE WORKS IN, IN PD.
UH, I GUESS, UH, REVEREND BROWN, THANK YOU.
SO THE TRAINING IS FOUR HOURS LONG.
UM, IT, UH, IS USUALLY DONE AT THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS OF THE CADET TRAINING.
UM, SO IT'S USUALLY SOMETHING THAT'S OFFERED, I WANNA SAY ABOUT TWO WEEKS BEFORE GRADUATING, SOMETIMES RIGHT AS THEY'RE GRADUATING.
THAT CAN BE A CHALLENGE IF THERE'S AN OFFICER WHO IS QUESTIONABLE IN THE SENSE OF HOW THEY'RE GONNA WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND THERE'VE BEEN TIMES WHEN WE'VE ACTUALLY HAVE HAD TO TALK ABOUT OFFICERS.
UM, EVERY NOW AND THEN WE GET AN ALPHA IN THE ROOM WHO TRIES TO PUSH THEIR AGENDA.
UM, THE RANK AND FILE THE TRAUMA SITUATION WAS IN MY VERY BEGINNING, AND I GOT THE FEELING THAT MOST OF THOSE OFFICERS WERE MANDATED TO TAKE THE TRAINING.
UH, I'VE DONE TRAINING FOR THE CITY AND ANGER MANAGEMENT BEFORE THEY WERE ALL MANDATED IN THE ROOM.
SO YOU GET THE, THE, THAT MANDATED FEELING LIKE, YOU'RE NOT HERE BECAUSE YOU CHOSE TO BE HERE
SO I WASN'T, I THINK HAVING WORKED WITH CADETS WHO, YOU KNOW, IT'S PART OF THEIR, THEIR TRAINING, THEY HAVE A MUCH DIFFERENT ATTITUDE.
UM, I THINK WHEN YOU, SOMETIMES WHEN YOU ARE WITH AN OFFICER WHO HAS BEEN IN THE FIELD FOR A LONG TIME, THEY MAY HAVE A VIEW OF WHAT THEIR REALITY IS.
ALSO, UH, SOMETHING I THOUGHT WAS VERY INTERESTING IS WHEN WE HAVE FOLKS WHO WOULD SWITCH OVER FROM LIKE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM, THEY SOMETIMES COME WITH, UH, A DIFFERENT ENERGY, SHALL WE SAY.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS, IS REALLY KIND OF CRUCIAL AND LOOKING AT HOW THE TRAINING WORKS.
UH, WE ALSO DO A EVALUATION AT THE END OF THE TRAINING.
SO THAT'S ACTUALLY HOW WE, AND WE HAVE QUITE A FEW YEARS OF THAT, HOW WE LOOK AT HOW EFFECTIVE THE TRAINING WAS AND HOW, UM, WHAT THE OPINIONS ARE ON WHAT WAS BROUGHT ABOUT IN THE TRAINING.
WHAT WE HEAR MOSTLY IS THAT THEY DID NOT KNOW, UH, A LOT OF THE STUFF IN THE TRANS 1 0 1, AND THEY HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THE COMING OUT PROCESS.
SO THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE HEAR, UM, IN THE EVALS.
BUT WE DO DO AN EVALUATION AT THE END OF EACH TRAINING.
EVALUATION IS OF HOW THE CADETS EVALUATE YOU, OR YOU EVALUATE THE CADETS? THE CADETS EVALUATE US AND WHAT THEY LEARNED.
SO THERE'S, OKAY, THEY EVALUATE YOU AND MM-HMM.
SO AT THAT POINT, DO YOU THINK, DO YOU LOOK AT IT AND SAY, OKAY, EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY GETS
[00:50:01]
IT.THEY'RE ALL, SO OUR, OUR SMELL TEST FOR GETTING IT IS USUALLY DONE THROUGH THE COMING OUT PROCESS.
WE SPECIFICALLY CHOOSE OFFICERS.
WE ARE, WE'RE WATCHING, ROBERT AND I ARE USUALLY WATCHING THROUGH THE WHOLE TRAINING
AND WE WILL USUALLY CHOOSE THOSE OFFICERS TO HAVE THE WORST COMING OUT EXPERIENCE.
SO, SO WHEN THE PERSON COMMITS SUICIDE AT THE END, I CAN PRETTY MUCH TELL YOU WE HAVE CHOSE THOSE OFFICERS WHO HAVE SAT THERE AND GIVEN US RESISTANCE THROUGH THE WHOLE TIME.
ONLY ONCE DID WE HAVE AN OFFICER WHO HAD THAT COMING OUT EXPERIENCE AND WAS SITTING NEXT TO AN OFFICER WHO ALSO IDENTIFIED IN OUR COMMUNITY TO THE POINT THAT SHE ENDED UP IN TEARS BECAUSE HE DID NOT GET IT.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED IS WE SAW PEER PRESSURE KICK IN BECAUSE THERE WERE TWO OFFICERS IN THE ROOM WHO IDENTIFIED IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND THEY TOOK THAT OFFICER TO THE, TO THE CARPET AND MADE IT QUITE CLEAR THAT YES, THAT DID HAPPEN TO THEM.
WE CAN HAVE BOTH WHO ACTUALLY, UM, WILL COME UP AFTERWARDS AND SAY, YOU KNOW, I HAD NO IDEA THAT THIS WAS GONNA BE COVERED.
YOU KNOW, UH, MY SISTER'S GAY, OR, I'M GAY.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS.
I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO THE OTHER QUESTION JUST TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME.
UH, DEPUTY CHIEF, I, I JUST WANNA ADD SOMETHING.
I, I WAS THE ACADEMY COMMANDER FROM 2011 TO 2014, AND THE FIRST TIME I SAT THROUGH NAOMI AND, AND, UH, ROBERT'S TRAINING, I ALWAYS CONSIDER MYSELF TO HAVE A, A VERY OPEN MIND.
I HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO ARE FROM THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY, AND I COULD NOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH I DIDN'T KNOW.
SO IT'S, IT'S, UM, TO, TO NAOMI NAOMI'S POINT IS THE BACKGROUNDS OF THE, OF THE CADETS AND THE OFFICERS ON THE DEPARTMENT WERE VERY DIVERSE, WHERE YOU CAN HAVE ANYWHERE FROM A CADET COMING IN THAT WAS HOMESCHOOLED IN A VERY RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND, THAT ALL THE WAY TO SOMEONE FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT HAS AN UNDERSTANDING AND, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY THAT TRAINING TO ME IS SO POWERFUL.
IT, IT'S, IT'S A REALLY, A REALLY IS AN EYE-OPENER.
AND, AND SOMETHING THAT, THAT I THINK HAS BEEN, IT'S ONE OF THE, TO ME, IT'S ONE OF THE MOST BENEFICIAL PIECES OF THE, OF THE TRAINING ACADEMY THAT, UH, THAT OUR CADETS GET.
UM, I'VE SAT THROUGH IT, UH, AT LEAST I'VE SAT THROUGH IT TWICE IN FULL, AND BITS AND PIECES FROM, FROM OTHER CLASSES.
WE ALWAYS TRY TO HAVE A SUPERVISOR IN THERE TO, TO NAOMI'S POINT.
UM, I HAD TO TAKE A CADET OUT BY THE UUR, UH, ONE TIME BECAUSE HE WAS BEING DISRESPECTFUL, HAD A TALK WITH HIM IN THE HALL.
AND, UH, WE, HE CAME TO AN UNDERSTANDING, AND I THINK HE, HE JUST, HE WAS BEING EMOTIONAL ABOUT IT AND LOVING HIS EMOTIONS AND HIS PERSONAL BELIEFS AS, UH, KIND GET THE BEST OF HIM.
BUT I, THAT OFFICER NOW IS, IS, UH, HAS COME AROUND AND GETS IT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT ON THAT.
BUT THE, THE TRAINING, UH, BEFORE COVID, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HAVING OUR, UH, CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM, UH, DETECTIVES, UH, TRAINED IN THE, THE, UH, CULTURAL COMPETENCY JUST AS A, UH, REFRESHER IF THEY HADN'T SEEN IT IN A WHILE, UH, JUST BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THEIR JOBS AS WELL.
SO I'LL, UH, I'LL QUIT TALKING AND LET YOU ASK, UH, ANY QUESTIONS.
I WANTED TO, UH, CIRCLE BACK TO THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD ASKED WHEN WE STARTED ABOUT YOUR, YOUR ROLE.
OH, HOW MANY OFFICERS HAD BEEN, UH, HAD RECEIVED THE TRAINING AND HOW MANY HAVEN'T.
AND, UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR ROLE AS THE LIAISON AND WHAT IT ENTAILS, THE, THE TRAINING AS FAR AS THE, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF, OF TRAINING THAT DUE TO CULTURAL COMPETENCY, THAT'S, UH, LIKE I SAID, THAT IS GOTTA BE UP IN THE 2000 PLUS, UH, AREA, UM, YOU HAD MENTIONED.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO AS FAR? YEAH, SORRY.
IS THAT ALL THE OFFICERS THAT THERE ARE, OR IF THERE'S SOME THAT AREN'T, UM, ARE, ARE WE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT OR, OR WHAT'S THE PLAN TO GET THERE? PROBABLY AS FAR AS WHO'S RECEIVED IT ON THE DEPARTMENT, UM, MY MY GENERATION, THE, THE 30 YEAR PLUS, THAT GENERATION, UH, EVEN, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN 20 YEARS, UH, DOWN THE LINE, WE'RE ALL PROBABLY GETTING THE RETIREMENT AGE AND MOVING ON, UH, FOR THE LAST, SINCE 2000, AND NAOMI BE, MAY BE ABLE TO CORRECT ME ON THIS, BUT I THINK THEY'VE BEEN PROVIDED IN THAT TRAINING AROUND 2009 OR SO, 2010, UH, EVERY OFFICER IN THE DEPARTMENT
[00:55:01]
HAS RECEIVED THAT TRAINING IN THE CADET CA THE, UH, ACADEMYIT'S, IT'S, UH, IT DIDN'T ALLOW US TO COMPLETE TRANSGENDER AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING, UH, LIKE, LIKE
BUT, UH, WE TRIED TO BACK, TO BACK IT UP WITH, UH, POLICY CHANGES.
WE'VE CHANGED, WE'VE ACTUALLY MADE POLICY CHANGES BASED ON THE TRAINING.
UH, WE'VE TRY OR WE'VE CHANGED, UH, WE'VE ADDED TERMINOLOGY TO OUR RACIAL BIAS PROFILING TRAINING OR TO OUR, UH, POLICY, UH, TO OUR, UH, DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE.
WE'VE ADDED TERMINOLOGY AND WE BACKED UP, UH, REPORT WRITING, UH, UH, STOP AND FRISK, UH, ARRESTS, SEARCHES AND TRANSPORTATION.
ALL THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN, WE'VE TRAINED OR WE'VE CHANGED IT AND PUT OUT A TRAINING BULLETIN TO BACK THOSE THINGS UP.
UH, THAT OFFICER, ALL OFFICERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOW WITH THAT TRAINING BULLETIN THAT IS BASICALLY AN ENFORCEMENT OF THE POLICY AND DOES NOT ALLOW THE, THE BACK AND FORTH THAT'S SO BENEFICIAL WHEN YOU HAVE A CLASS THAT NAOMI'S AND HER TEAM, UH, TRAINS WITH, BECAUSE THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE IN THAT.
SO YOU CAN HAVE THAT OPEN DISCUSSION AND YOU CAN START, UH, IDENTIFYING SOME OF, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT IF, IF, IF AN OFFICER'S HAVING, OR A CADET AN OFFICER IS HAVING PROBLEMS, UH, BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY WERE RAISED OR THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT, SOMETIMES IT TAKES TALKING THOSE THINGS THROUGH, YOU MAY LOSE SOME OF THAT, BUT STILL IT'S ENFORCED THROUGH POLICY AND THE, AND THE TRAINING BULLETINS.
AND, AND WE DO, AND I'M, I'M NOT ADDING, UH, SOME OTHER THINGS.
I CAN ADD, UH, THE ROLL CALL TRAINING.
WE PUT OUT VIDEOS THAT SUPPORTS THAT, UH, THAT AREA ARE, UH, UH, THE STATE MANDATED CULTURAL, UH, DIVERSITY TRAINING THAT THE STATE MANDATES MAY HAVE SOME OF THAT IN IT.
IT'S NOT VERY, IT'S NOT AS EXTENSIVE AS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND, AND, UH, AND THE KIND OF TRAINING WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WITH NAOMI AND HER TEAM, BUT, UH, THOSE THINGS ARE DONE TO, TO A DEGREE.
UH, BUT THE, THE, THE CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING THAT, THAT, UH, THAT THE FRAUD CENTER THAT IS THE, TO ME IS, IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, I, I WISH WE COULD DO IT.
UH, WE GET THAT OUT TO EVERY OFFICER, YOU KNOW, ON A, ON A REGULAR BASIS.
IT'S JUST THEY DON'T GET IT TO, TO THAT, UH, THAT, THAT DEGREE THAT, UH, THE NAOMI AND HER TEAM REGULARLY.
ALRIGHT, I, I'M GONNA START MOVING ON TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS AND, UM, I'M GONNA START WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN TRAVINO.
AND, UM, THANK YOU, UH, ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN THAT'VE BEEN SPEAKING ON THIS, UH, UH, NAOMI MARIA AND, AND CHIEF FLAVIN.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN I, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS, THIS SUBJECT, IT'S, IT'S REALLY CENTERED AROUND A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT THAT, THAT, THAT WE'RE, THAT MAYBE WE'RE NOT, THAT WE'RE NOT CONNECTING OR WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE MISSING? UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF GREAT WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE, BUT I I, I DO WANNA FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE SEEN THAT, THAT FEEL LIKE ARE STILL, STILL NEED TO BE CONNECTED AND STILL NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AND, AND, AND SEEN, RIGHT? UM, BY THE WAY, I, I, I, I, I WAS RECOMMENDED THIS GREAT BOOK DESIGN JUSTICE.
IF IF YOU'RE NOT, IF YOU'RE NOT SEEING IT, PLEASE GET IT.
UH, THE INQUIRY RECOMMENDED IT TO ME.
REALLY, IT TALKS ABOUT HOW, UM, WE WILL CREATE SYSTEMS IN, IN A WAY THAT SOMETIMES, UH, AS PART OF THE PROCESS, LEAVE PEOPLE OUT AND SORT OF LEAVE OUT THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THEY, THEY THEY SHOULD BE SEEN.
UM, AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE, UH, HERE'S ANOTHER THING THAT WE AS A CITY PAID FOR.
THIS IS OUR STRATEGIC HOMELESS PLAN.
AND AS I GO THROUGH THIS, IT'S VERY HARD FOR ME TO FIND REFERENCE.
NOW, I'M GONNA GO, ACTUALLY, I'M GONNA GO FIRST THROUGH THE, THE, UH, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE, OF THE PLAN, UH, THAT WAS BROUGHT UP, UH, UM, IN THE STATE OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IN THERE IT TALKS ABOUT ALMOST ONE IN FIVE OF LGBTQ PLUS SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS HAVE EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS EITHER NOW OR IN THE PAST.
64% OF LGBTQ PLUS RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED
[01:00:01]
HOMELESSNESS AS A CHILD OR A TEENAGER WERE KICKED OUTTA THEIR HOME BECAUSE OF THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY.UH, YOU KNOW, THAT IS A, THAT'S A BIG DEAL.
AND IT, AND IT, WHEN IT, WHEN YOU GET TO THE TOP POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, HOMELESSNESS COMES UP, UH, TWO, TWICE OUT OF THE THREE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT THIS ISSUE, UH, AND IN, IN OUR, UH, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE ADOPTED DECEMBER, 2020, UM, YOU CAN GO TO PAGE 16 AND TALKS ABOUT HOMELESS DEMOGRAPHICS.
THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION, UH, OF THIS, UH, IT EVEN TALKS ABOUT HOW WE HAVE, UH, INSUFFICIENT OUTREACH TO MEET THE NEED.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THAT, THAT I, THAT I SEE HAVE SEEN IN THIS DOCUMENT WE TRY TO TACKLE IS OBTAINING IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS, RIGHT? AND, AND HOW THAT CAN BE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT FOR, FOR PEOPLE TO ACCESS SERVICES.
NOW, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE REASON I'M BRING THIS UP IS BECAUSE WHAT I KNOW IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WE'RE TRYING TO DEAL WITH THIS VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST THIS MORNING I HAD A MEETING WITH, UH, MARTHA ELIAS, WHO'S THE, THE C E O OF, OF THE BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTER, AND EXPLAINED TO US THAT, UH, 82% OF, OF OUR HOMELESS ARE THOSE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S A BIG DEAL.
UM, ANDY SEGO ISS ON THE LINE, AND HE KNOWS I'VE BEEN TALKING WITH THE CITY MANAGER SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
AND, UM, IT'S TROUBLING BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE CRIMINALIZED WHAT WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO CRIMINALIZE HOMELESSNESS.
UH, AND I JUST SEE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, DOVETAILING WITH THIS SUBJECT.
AND, UH, A LOT OF TIMES WE, WE RELY ON S A P D TO, TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, UH, FOR US.
AND, UH, AND, AND, AND I WILL SAY, UH, CHIEF LAVIN HASS BEEN REALLY GREAT ON, UH, WITH US AND, AND WORKING WITH US.
AND WE, WE DO HAVE SOME GOOD SS A P D OFFICERS, UH, AGAIN, THEY, THEY'LL TELL YOU THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, HOMELESSNESS IS NOT A CRIME.
BUT THE, THE ISSUE THOUGH IS THAT IN THAT TRAIN, AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRAINING, WHAT I CAN SAY IS, WHAT I HAVE SEEN IS THAT IT'S NOT ALWAYS BEEN A GOOD INTERACTION.
IN FACT, SOMETIMES IT BECOMES A TRAUMATIC INTERACTION.
AND, AND SO, UH, AS WE TRY TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE DEALING WITH OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS, ARE, ARE FOLKS WHO ARE IN CRISES.
FOLKS THAT NEED, NEED OUR HELP THE MOST.
UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I WOULD ASK HOW YOU, HOW DO YOU KNOW DOCUMENTS LIKE THIS MUST SUPPORT THE TRAINING AS WELL? BECAUSE IF THESE DOCUMENTS DON'T CONTAIN A LOT OF THE LANGUAGE THAT WE'RE COMING UP WITH, THEN IT, THEN IT, IT'S, IT'S, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT, UM, FULLY ENGAGING THE ISSUE.
SO I, I, I'D JUST LIKE TO HEAR SOME THOUGHTS AROUND THAT.
'CAUSE I'VE NOT HEARD MUCH AROUND, AT LEAST THE ISSUE OF HOW, HOW THIS IS, UH, IN MANY WAYS A LOT, A BIG SPACE WHERE SS A P D, UH, IS VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN THIS, AND HOW DO WE, HOW CAN WE MAKE THAT A PART OF THE TRAINING? HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THAT INTERACTION AND PROVIDE BETTER FUNDING? IN FACT, IT'S IN, IN THE OUTREACH, UH, DOCUMENT, IT TALKS ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE INSUFFICIENT OUTREACH TO MEET THE NEED AND THAT WE MUST FUND MORE ENGAGEMENT, MORE HELP AND SUPPORT SERVICES.
UM, SO I'D, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU OF, OF WHAT, WHAT YOU THINK WE COULD DO BETTER AND HOW, HOW WE CAN FUND THESE THINGS ONCE AND FOR ALL.
I, ONE OF THE BIGGEST STATS THAT'S MOST ASTOUNDING TO ME, OR THE, ONE OF THE WORST STATS THAT IS MOST ASTOUNDING TO ME IS HOW, UH, THE DETOX BEDS, UH, FOR OUR ENTIRE CITY IS, IS ONLY AT ABOUT 28 WHEN MANY OF OUR FOLKS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO HELP, UH, UH, NEED THE SERVICE.
UH, AND WE HAVEN'T AUGMENTED THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW, IF, IF WE'RE GONNA CREATE THIS TRAINING THAT IS SUPPORTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY, MEETS THE COMMUNITY WHERE IT'S AT, HOW CAN WE, HOW CAN OUR POLICE OFFICERS
[01:05:01]
HELP DIRECT PEOPLE WHERE, UH, TO SERVICES WHERE THERE'S ACTUALLY CAPACITY? ANYBODY? YEAH.I THINK THAT'S FOR OUR DEPUTY CHIEF.
NO, THE, AS FAR AS HOMELESSNESS GOES, WE ARE NOT USUALLY THE, THE PRIMARY ON THAT.
WE USUALLY, WE, FOR THE HOMELESS CAMPS, FOR THE, IT'S BECOME POLICY WHERE IF WE'RE GONNA GO IN AND DO CONTACTS, WE USUALLY ARE BACKING UP AT SOME OF THE D H SS PEOPLE.
AND, AND WE'RE, WE'RE THERE FOR MORE OF A SECURITY ROLE.
THAT'S, NOW, THAT'S NOT ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THERE, THERE ARE GONNA BE TIMES OFFICERS MAKE THOSE CONTACTS JUST BASED ON EITHER CALLS FOR SERVICE OR THAT SORT OF THING.
CHIEF LEE, IF I, IF I MAY THOUGH, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I, YOU KNOW, YOU ALSO GET CALLS ABOUT CRIMINAL TRESPASSING.
YOU GET CALLS, UH, FOR ANY NUMBER OF THINGS THAT, AGAIN, SO FOR EXAMPLE, ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS, UH, SOMEBODY WHO'S URINATING IN PUBLIC BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY HAVE NOWHERE TO GO.
AND, AND I WANT ANDY TO SPEAK ON THIS AS WELL, BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT SUBJECT FOR ME IN THAT, UH, YEARS AGO I BROUGHT THE PORTLAND LEW TO SAN ANTONIO BECAUSE THERE'S NO ACCESS TO PUBLIC RESTROOMS, AND WHEN THERE'S NO ACCESS, WHAT ARE PEOPLE SUPPOSED TO DO? AND THEN WE TURN AROUND AND WE CRIMINALIZE THAT.
I MEAN, I'M JUST SAYING THERE, THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING THAT CAN YOU PUTS THIS BEHAVIOR OR, OR CRIMINALIZES THIS.
AND INSTEAD OF US ENFORCING AN ORDINANCE THAT'S UN ON OUR BOOKS THAT SAYS NOBODY CAN REFUSE THEIR PUBLIC RESTROOM TO PAY TO, TO ANYBODY WHO'S VISITING.
IF YOU HAVE A RESTROOM THAT'S AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, IT MUST BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY.
UH, COUNCILMAN I CAN, I MEAN, I, I'LL TRY TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
UM, I GUESS WE DO KNOW THAT, UM, YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ERIC AND MYSELF AND OTHERS ON, ON THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS, UH, IN GENERAL AND ON, UH, UH, ON ISSUES, UH, PARTICULARLY TO YOUR DISTRICT.
UM, BUT I, FIRST I HAVE TO SAY, I MEAN, I DON'T THINK ANYONE IS SAYING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CRIMINALIZE HOMELESSNESS.
UM, I DON'T THINK ANYONE FROM THE CITY'S ADVOCATING THAT OR, OR TAKING ACTION TO DO THAT.
UM, THERE ARE ISSUES IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE, AS YOU SAID, THAT, UH, WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE.
UH, WE, WE DO NEED TO WORK ON, UH, ACCESS TO FACILITIES THAT ACCORDING TO OUR CODES, YOU'RE CORRECT, SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE, NOT JUST CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND SO WE'RE WORKING WITH CODE ENFORCEMENT ON THAT.
UM, BUT, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S ONE WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STRATEGY, UH, ENSURES THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT TRAINING AND THE RIGHT RESOURCES, UH, SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS IT APPROPRIATELY.
I, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS, I, I
A LOT OF TIMES OFFICERS MAY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO, TO AN EFFECT AND ARREST ON, ON, SAY, URINATING IN PUBLIC.
UH, A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A DISCRETION THAT COMES INTO THAT AS WELL.
AND I WOULD THINK THAT, THAT, UH, I, I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT OFFICERS ARE NOT MAKING ARRESTS FOR EVERYTHING THAT THEY ENCOUNTER.
UH, THE OFFICERS, A A LOT OF THE TIMES ARE, ARE TRYING TO REACH OUT OR TRYING TO HELP WITH SERVICES TO TRY TO CONTACT THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO, TO PROVIDE SERVICES EVEN WHEN IT'S NOT ENCAMPMENTS.
UH, SO I, YOU MAY BE SEEING SOMETHING ELSE OR BEING, YOU KNOW, HEARING SOMETHING ELSE, BUT I, I DON'T THINK THAT EVERY TIME AN OFFICER IS FACED WITH A, AN ENFORCEMENT SITUATION THAT, THAT HE OR SHE IS ACTUALLY MAKING ENFORCEMENT, I THINK A LOT OF TIMES, DISCRETION COMES INTO PLAY.
UH, WE'LL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, TO ALL OF OUR PANELISTS, I MEAN, THIS IS THE, THE GREAT INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO HAVE.
UM, SO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, AND THIS QUESTION IS, IS KIND OF A PERSONAL QUESTION BECAUSE IT'S CLOSE TO MY HEART.
UM, WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I HAD AN UNCLE WHO WAS, UH, TRANSGENDER.
SO I KNEW OF HIM AS MY UNCLE TOOTY, BUT I KNEW ALSO THAT, UM, HE WOULD DRESS, UM, IN, IN HIS, IN HIS LIFE, BUT HE WAS KILLED FOR IT.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEVER HEARD, UM, OF A FOLLOW-UP, WE DON'T KNOW, UM, WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS CASE.
AND A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE HAVE OUR
[01:10:01]
TRANSGENDER OR L G B T Q I A COMMUNITY, THE CASE BECOMES COLD, UM, AND WE DON'T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT IT.AND SO, UM, CHIEF FLAVIN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO THIS OR MARIA, IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO HOW MANY CASES ARE THERE RIGHT NOW WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SOLVED, HAVEN'T BEEN REOPENED, UM, AND THEIR CASES AND THEIR NAMES ARE JUST, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE TEND TO NO LONGER SPEAK ABOUT.
I, I CAN'T, WELL, I, I REALLY DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER FOR YOU AS FAR AS A NUMBER.
UM, IF, IF THERE WERE SPECIFIC CASES YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD MAYBE TALK ABOUT, UH, OFFLINE, OR I COULD I GET YOU AN ANSWER THROUGH THE CHIEF'S OFFICE IF THAT WOULD HELP, BUT I DON'T, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR YOU AS FAR AS HOW MANY THERE ARE OPEN RIGHT NOW.
WELL, BUT I JUST, I'LL JUST ADD, UM, I I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU, UH, COUNCIL.
UH, BUT I THINK IT GOES BACK TO MY INITIAL COMMENT, UH, AND OBSERVATION IS THAT WE DON'T CAPTURE, CAPTURE THAT DATA.
AND COUNCILMAN TREVINO JUST LAID OUT A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE CITY PAID FOR THIS SURVEY AND DIDN'T CAPTURE THE DATA ABOUT HOW THAT AFFECTS L G B T Q COMMUNITIES.
SO IF WE'RE NOT COUNTED AND IF WE'RE NOT TELLING OUR CONTRACTORS AND OUR DATA EVALUATORS TO COLLECT THAT INFORMATION, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND COME UP WITH REMEDIES.
SO I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THESE ISSUES, EVEN THAT QUESTION, HOW MANY ARE UNSOLVED? I, I COULDN'T TELL YOU HOW DO I CAPTURE THAT DATA, UH, OTHER THAN COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT, WHICH IS WHAT I'VE SEEN WORKS, IS WHEN FAMILY AND COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER AND DEMAND THAT THERE'S FOLLOW THROUGH WHEN THERE'S, UH, SOME SORT OF AWARENESS ABOUT HOW YOU FOLLOW THROUGH WITH A GRIEVANCE POLICY OR DO THAT, WE'RE NOT GONNA CAPTURE THAT INFORMATION.
UH, SO I THINK ACROSS THE BOARD, WHATEVER THE CITY IS TRYING TO IMPLEMENT, UH, THERE HAS TO BE A COMMITMENT TO GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHO THE CITY IS NOT RECOGNIZING OR SERVING.
THERE'S THAT, THAT COMMITMENT IS THERE, RIGHT? TO TRY TO DELIVER SERVICES TO THE L G B T Q COMMUNITY OR, OR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
UM, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA GET IT IF WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I FOUND IN THIS, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THIS SURVEY, IT'S LIKE, WOW,
YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I ASKED WHEN I SAID, WE HAVE A HOMELESS ISSUE, ALRIGHT? AND WE KNOW THAT L G B T Q YOUTH ARE, ARE IMPACTED, BUT, BUT THEY'RE ONLY WHAT, EIGHT CITY BEDS, UH, THAT ARE CARVED OUT JUST FOR L G B T Q YOUTH.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT OF THAT? I DON'T KNOW IF CITY COUNCIL KNOWS THAT.
SO, SO THAT'S, UH, ONE THING THAT I FIND IN, IN THE, IN THESE DISCUSSION IS WE'RE LOOKING AT EQUITY ISSUES AND, AND GETTING MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, DELIVERING SERVICES THAT MEET THE NEEDS.
UH, WE JUST, WE JUST DON'T HAVE DATA AND IT, AND IT'S NOT, AND IT'S FORGOTTEN.
WOULDN'T THE CITY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, ORDERS OR REPORT TO GET DONE, LIKE, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OUR HOUSING SITUATION? AND, UH, I, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A MANDATE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL ASKED FOR WHEN, WHEN, UH, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THAT INFORMATION.
AND SO, UM, MARIA, SPEAKING TO THAT, UH, AND SPEAKING TO THE POINTS OF DATA COLLECTION WITHIN THE SURVEY THAT YOU HAVE, I KNOW THAT WE'VE DONE REPORTS ON POVERTY, WE'VE DONE REPORTS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN, BUT WITHIN THAT SURVEY, CAN THAT BE USED AS A STATUS OF THE L G B T Q I A COMMUNITY FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO? IT CERTAINLY GIVES, YES, ABSOLUTELY.
IT CERTAINLY GIVES THE CITY, UH, ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE THAT'S MISSING.
AND ALSO COUNCILWOMAN, I WANNA MAKE A POINT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OFFER CASE MANAGEMENT AT THE PRIDE CENTER.
ALMOST 70% OF WHAT WE DEAL WITH IS HOUSING INSECURITY.
SO WE KNOW THAT HOUSING INSECURITY IS AN ISSUE.
UM, WE KNOW THAT TO BE BLACK AND TRANS IN AMERICA IS ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, PUTS YOU IN DANGER OF, OF DYING.
[01:15:04]
UM, YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS, THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO TRULY BE MORE, UM, AWARE OF.AND THAT BRINGS ME TO THE NEXT QUESTION.
UM, WHEN, WHEN WE DO HAVE A MEMBER OF THE L G B T Q I A COMMUNITY THAT IS TAKEN INTO, UM, CUSTODY OR, OR BEING INTERVIEWED OR QUESTIONED WITHIN OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, IS THERE A SAFE ZONE OR A SAFE ROOM TO WHERE THEY CAN SPEAK TO AN OFFICER THAT IS A PART OF THEIR COMMUNITY TO HAVE THAT OPEN CONVERSATION? UH, SORRY.
HERE WE, HERE WE'RE, AM I BACK? AM I BACK? HELLO? WE HEAR YOU.
I AM, UH, UM, WE DO NOT HAVE A, A SAFE ROOM OR A SPECIAL ROOM FOR, FOR INTERVIEWS.
UH, BUT THAT IS PART OF THE, THE TRAINING THAT, UH, WE WERE CONDUCTING WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, ESPECIALLY THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY TRAINING THAT WAS PART OF IT IS THE PROPER ADDRESS, UH, USING THE PROPER PRONOUNS, ASKING HOW THE PERSON WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDRESSED, THAT SORT OF THING.
BUT AS FAR AS THE, UH, SPECIAL ROOM, NO, MA'AM, UH, WE, WE'VE NOT, UH, WE'VE NOT DONE THAT.
WELL, I THINK THAT THAT MIGHT BE A WAY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE OUR COMMUNITY, UM, FEEL SAFER WHEN THEY'RE IN THIS PREDICAMENT, FEEL SAFER WHEN THEY HAVE TO GO INTO THOSE INTERVIEW ROOMS. BUT THEN A WAY TO WHERE WE DO NOT HAVE TO RE-VICTIMIZE, UM, A PERSON THAT IS COMING IN TO FILE A REPORT OR SOMEONE THAT IS COMING IN BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING THROUGH A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATION.
UM, TO HAVE A, A SENSITIVITY TRAINING INCLUDED, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK THAT WE NEED TO SEE THROUGHOUT OUR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND MR. MC, MR. MCCAREY, SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE SHOULD IMPLEMENT THROUGH OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY AS WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT RACISM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS, WE CONTINUE TO SPEAK TO HOW DO WE INCLUDE THAT IN ALL OF OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES GOING FORWARD.
UM, BUT THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, AND CONCERNS RIGHT NOW.
UH, MADAM CHAIR, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UH, COUNCILWOMAN ANDREW SULLIVAN, JUST TO FOLLOW UP, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT, UH, COMES OUT IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GENDER AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION AS WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY, THERE'S THAT COMPONENT THAT ALSO FALLS UNDER OUR HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT SO THAT THEY CAN TRACK AND ALSO KNOW WHERE WE HAVE, UH, CERTAIN DISPARITIES OR CERTAIN GAPS IN SOME OF THE DATA AND ANALYSIS.
SO WE'LL BE WORKING OFFICE OF EQUITY, ALONG WITH HUMAN RESOURCES TO TRY TO WORK TO DEFINE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND COME BACK WITH SOME SOLUTIONS.
AND, AND IF I THERE, UH, UH, UH, BECAUSE I, I, I, I THINK SOME OF THE PEOPLE ON THE COMMITTEE KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE EXPRESSED MY VIEWS ON IT, BUT, UH, I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE EVERYBODY AS, AS WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY AND THE EQUITY PLAN, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE BUDGET, THAT'S STRICTLY LOOKING AT RATIO AND SOCIOECONOMIC ALLIANCE.
WE DO NOT LOOK AT GENDER UNDER THAT EQUITY.
UH, SO I'M NOT GONNA SAY WHETHER THAT'S GOOD OR BAD, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT, AND EVERY TIME THE TOPIC COMES UP, AND, AND DAVID WILL BE THE FIRST TO ATTEST.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY THAT IS BY, UH, A POLICY DECISION OF THE CITY MANAGER, OR IS THAT BY COUNCIL DECISION? OR CAN, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT BOUNDARY THERE FOR US? ANDY? I THINK THAT IS BY, UH, I THINK THAT'S, WELL, FIRST THAT IS BY DESIGN.
THAT'S A POLICY DECISION AS TO, UH, I THINK THAT WAS A, I I BELIEVE THAT'S A POLICY DECISION THAT, THAT THE CITY MANAGERS MADE WORKING WITH THE, WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE AND IN, IN TERMS OF HOW THEY, WE DESIGNED THE WHOLE EQUITY APPROACH.
BUT AGAIN, I JUST DON'T WANNA MAKE SURE, I MEAN, THERE, THERE SHOULDN'T BE.
WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT QUITE A BIT BEFORE, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY, UH, AGAIN, IS RE REMINDS EVERYBODY OF THAT.
UH, MOVING ON TO COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ.
I, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANNA THANK, UM, THE PANEL FOR THE DISCUSSION AND, UM, ESPECIALLY MARIA
UM, I, AND I'M, I'M JUST HAPPY TO SEE YOU, EVEN IF IT'S JUST VIRTUALLY SO, UM, THAT I DON'T
[01:20:01]
HAVE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS.UH, SO AT THIS TIME, UH, UNLESS THERE'S ADDITIONAL COUNCIL QUESTIONS, UH, COUNCILMAN VINEO, UM, UH, I THINK WE COULD GO AHEAD AND DO, UH, FIVE MINUTES, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
UH, I, I'LL BE AS BRIEF AS I CAN.
I JUST, UH, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, DO WANT TO, UM, ANSWER, UH, MAN'S A POINT ABOUT KNOWING WHETHER WE, HOW MANY BEDS WE DO HAVE.
WE DO KNOW, UH, IT IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO A QUESTION OF FUNDING.
AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO PUT PRESSURE ON HOW WE FUND, UH, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN AS BOTTLENECKS OR BARRIERS TO, TO HELPING PEOPLE.
UH, THE BOTTOM LINE IS, IT'S, IT'S JUST SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE TO KNOW THAT, UH, WE'VE ONLY HAD 28 BEDS.
EIGHT BEDS ARE, ARE, ARE RESERVED FOR FEMALES.
AND, UH, AND, AND, AND IT'S NOT RIGHT SIZE.
IT'S NOT, UH, I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND, UH, AND IT KIND OF GOES BACK TO ANDY'S POINT ABOUT EQUITY.
I THINK EQUITY SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON MEETING PEOPLE WHERE, WHERE THE NEEDS ARE AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS THE NEED OF THE COMMUNITY AND UN AND UNDERSTANDING THAT THEIR FACTORS THAT GO IN INTO MAKING SOMETHING EQUITABLE.
SO I WOULD BE FOR, UH, TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT THAT POLICY.
'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S VERY FLAWED.
UM, THE, THE LAST THING I WOULD POINT OUT IS, IS THAT WE'RE BUILDING, UH, A, A, A NEW SUBSTATION RIGHT OFF OF ST.
MARY'S, UH, NEAR THE PRIDE CENTER, UH, NEAR MAINE AND EVERGREEN.
AND, UH, THE HOPE OF, OF THAT PROJECT THAT'S COMING TO FRUITION, IT'S A BOND PROJECT, IS REALLY TO, TO MAKE THAT PLACE FEEL MORE LIKE A COMMUNITY CENTER, A PLACE THAT'S WELCOMING.
AND I, I, I WOULD, I WOULD PUSH FOR US TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, THE FACT THAT, THAT WE'RE BUILDING THAT SO NEARBY THAT IT COULD HELP, UH, FOSTER, UH, CLOSER, UH, RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN, UH, THE, THE PRIDE CENTER, THE, THE, THE STRIP, AND OF COURSE, UH, SS A P D AND THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH IT EXISTS.
UH, THAT, THAT'S BEEN THE PURPOSE OF, OF PUTTING, UH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
OF COURSE, WE'RE VERY GLAD TO HAVE A METROPOLITAN METHODIST HOSPITAL HELP US HOST, UH, THE, THE, UH, THE PRIDE CENTER, UH, IN THEIR LOCATION.
THEY, THEY DID NOT HAVE A HOME FOR THE LONGEST TIME.
UH, SO I'D LIKE, I'D LIKE FOR US TO, TO REALLY THINK ABOUT HOW A LOT OF THESE THINGS THAT, THAT WE BUILD OUT AS A COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY WITH THE BOND, UH, ELECTION COMING UP HERE FOR NEXT YEAR, UH, THESE THINGS ARE, ARE, ARE MEANINGFUL GESTURES THAT, THAT HELP BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCILMAN.
AND I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYONE THAT, UH, MR. MCCA AND HIS TEAM ARE HELPING US CAPTURE THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE SUGGESTIONS THAT ARE BEING SHARED BY ALL OF OUR, OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AS WELL AS OUR PANELISTS, AND THAT WE WILL BE GETTING THOSE IN WRITING, UH, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
AND THEN WE WILL, UH, BASICALLY CONSOLIDATE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS MEETING AND OUR PREVIOUS MEETINGS ON RACIAL EQUITY AS WELL AS, UH, MENTAL HEALTH AND, UH, SEND THOSE OVER TO, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY FOR, FOR THEIR INCORPORATION.
SO, UH, AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO OFFER EACH OF OUR, UH, SPEAKERS THREE MINUTES IF THEY WANT TO, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THEY DIDN'T SHARE WITH US, THERE'S SOME CLOSING COMMENTS THAT THEY, THAT THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CONSIDER AS WE GO FORWARD WITH OUR WORK.
AND I'LL GO AND REVERSE HER THIS TIME.
SO WE'LL START WITH MARIA, THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO DEPUTY CHIEF, AND THEN WE'LL CLOSE WITH REVEREND BROWN.
PLEASE GO AHEAD, MARIA, YOU'RE MUTED.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE TALKING TO US OTHERWISE, THERE.
UM, AS THE, AS THE CHAIR OF THE MAYOR'S L G B T Q ADVISOR COMMITTEE, I WANNA GIVE OUT, UH, A SHOUT OUT THE OTHER MEMBERS WHO PARTICIPATE, UH, AND WHO ARE APPOINTED.
IT'S, THIS COMMITTEE IS, I THINK THERE'S ABOUT NINE OF US NOW, AND, UH, INCLUDES RESIDENTS FROM ALL OVER THE, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO I WANNA IMPRESS UPON THAT, THAT THE L G B T Q I COMMUNITY IS EVERYWHERE.
UM, AND AGAIN, LOOK AT THIS, UH, THIS SURVEY, BECAUSE IT DOES CAPTURE THAT INFORMATION OF WHERE WE, WE, WE LIVE.
I'M IN DISTRICT FIVE, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTS IN DISTRICT ONE AND DISTRICT THREE JUST ALL OVER THE CITY.
UM, AND I THINK I, I WANNA GO BACK IN
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THE, JUST REINFORCE IN EVERY AREA THAT WE, WE, WE TRY TO CAPTURE OR MAKE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE MAYOR ABOUT IMPROVING SERVICES OR, OR ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE L G B T CARE COMMUNITY, WE'RE ALL, WE'RE STUCK WITH LIKE, WELL, WHAT, WHERE'S THE DATA ON THATI RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE ALL KIND OF BUMBLING AROUND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE ORGANIZE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD, TRYING TO KEEP EVERYBODY SAFE.
BUT IT WENT BEYOND THAT WITH TESTING, OR I'M SORRY, PEOPLE GETTING THEIR VACCINES.
AND AGAIN, THAT GOES TO LIKE, REALLY NEED TO HAVE CONTINUOUS CONVERSATIONS WITH THE L G B T Q I COMMUNITY BECAUSE LAW ENFORCEMENT HASN'T BEEN OUR FRIEND HISTORICALLY.
SO IF, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU BUILD THAT RELATIONSHIP? BUT IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU NEED, UH, WE NEED, WE NEED A PARTNERSHIP WITH PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO DELIVER INFORMATION.
LIKE, THIS IS A SAFE SITE FOR YOU TO GO GET TESTED.
YOU KNOW, OR FOR YOU TO GO GET YOUR VACCINE.
UH, AND IT GOES BACK, I THINK BACK TO NAOMI, YOU KNOW, HOW DO I TELL THE SENIOR CITIZEN WHO IS IN, YOU KNOW, A GAY MAN, BUT LIVES IN A RESIDENTIAL SAHA BUILDING, UH,
AND AGAIN, I COULD STRESS OUR COMMUNITY IS EVERYWHERE.
UM, AND SITTING ON THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, UH, I'LL JUST 0.1 AREA THAT WE, WE, WE WERE TRYING TO GET, UH, HOW DO WE IDENTIFY TOURIST INFORMATION OR, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE GET SMALL BUSINESS LOANS? HOW DO WE GET THAT INFORMATION TO OUR COMMUNITY? AND, AND, AND THERE'S A HUGE GAP THERE BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE SO WELL, IS THERE A NEED? WELL, YEAH,
HOW DO WE GET THAT INFORMATION OUT? UH, WE WANT PEOPLE, WE WANT OUR FAMILIES TO COME VISIT US HERE, AND WE WANT THEM
THESE ARE THE, UH, BUSINESSES THAT ARE, UH, THAT WILL EMBRACE AND SUPPORT THEM.
UH, AND IT GOES BACK TO LIKE, WE'RE NOT CAPTURING THE DATA.
I'LL GIVE THE CITY A LITTLE BIT OF
BUT IF WE'RE NOT COUNTED, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THESE GAPING, UH, PROBLEMS. WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH THE SOLUTIONS THAT WE NEED.
SO I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A REAL COMMITMENT, UH, A ACROSS THE BOARD TO CARE HOW THESE ISSUES AFFECT THE L G B T QA COMMUNITY.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO DEPUTY CHIEF LAVIN.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN I STARTED OFF, I, I MADE THE COMMENT THAT I LIKE WHERE WE WERE AND, UH, MAY, THAT MAY HAVE COME ACROSS AS LIKE WE'VE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE.
UM, DON'T, PLEASE DON'T ANYONE ON THE, ON THE COMMITTEE OR THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS DON'T, UH, UH, DON'T TAKE IT THAT WAY BECAUSE I WILL BE THE FIRST TO SAY THAT WHILE WE'VE MADE STRIDES AND WE'RE IN A GOOD PLACE, UM, THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE A ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
AND THINGS ARE, FLUID CHANGE IS ALWAYS, UH, PART OF, OF, UH, SOCIETY AND, AND, UH, POLICING AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND, AND, UH, SO IT, IT, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, TO, UH, TRY TO GET THERE AND IMPROVE AND WORK WITH COMMUNITY AND IN EVERY WAY WE CAN.
SO, UH, IF I, IF THEY ANYONE TOOK THAT WRONG AT THE BEGINNING, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
I BELIEVE WE, WE STILL HAVE OUR THANK YOU.
AND REVEREND BROWN, PLEASE GO AHEAD, CLOSE THIS OUT.
SO, UM, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE LIVE IN A VERY COMPLICATED WORLD AND WE ARE TRYING TO NAVIGATE IT AS BEST WE CAN.
UM, I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE, I WANNA SAY, OF BOTH SITTING ON THE MAYOR'S L G B T TASK FORCE AND BEING, UM, AT THE PRIDE CENTER.
UM, I LIVE IN DISTRICT SIX AND HAVE LIVED IN DISTRICT SIX FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS.
AS OF NEXT WEEK, I MOVED TO DISTRICT SEVEN.
SO I, UM, I, I DO WANT TO ECHO MARIA.
UM, WE'RE FAMILIES THAT YOU DON'T SEE, AND WE'RE FOLKS THAT WHO ARE AGING, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES.
WE ESTIMATE THEY'RE ABOUT 70,000 PEOPLE IN
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SAN ANTONIO, IN BEXAR COUNTY, WHO ARE L G B T Q IDENTIFIED.UM, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, TO ME IS A HUGE BLOCK OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE FAMILIES AND WHO HAVE LIVES, AND WHO, UH, INTERSECT.
WE RAISE TWO KIDS IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE GRADUATED TWO KIDS FROM COLLEGE IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE SYSTEM OF LIVING HERE AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS A CITY, WE HAVE TO KEEP WORKING TO, TO DO THE BEST WE CAN.
UM, BUT THE WHOLE FACT IS WE HAVE TO KEEP COMING TO THE TABLE TALKING ABOUT IT, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SPACE AT THE TABLE FOR US.
UM, WE JUST RENEWED OUR LEASE WITH METHODIST, AND PART OF RENEWING OUR LEASE WAS ASKING FOR MORE SPACE BECAUSE WE OUTGREW OUR SPACE THREE MONTHS INTO HAVING IT.
THE NEED IS THERE, BUT I JUST THINK IT, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO KEEP TALKING BECAUSE IF WE STOP TALKING, THEN WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, REVEREND, AND I WANNA THANK ALL OF YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO BE HERE.
REVEREND UH, MARIA AND DEPUTY CHIEF AND I, I ESPECIALLY WANT TO THANK ALL OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FROM THIS GROUP BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD A MARATHON MONTH AND A HALF, UH, WITH THESE MEETINGS.
AND YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN SUPER TROOPERS, UH, ON THIS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO REVIEWING POLICING SERVICES, UH, THROUGH THIS GROUP AND, AND JUST, AND SHOWING UP TO DO THE WORK.
UM, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S, THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT, WHAT WE DO.
SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR, YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THEN, UM, I WOULD BE REMISS IF IT, I DID NOT THINK THE TEAM THAT PUT ALL OF THESE THREE MEETINGS TOGETHER, THAT'S MR. MCCAREY JAHI.
UM, AND WHERE IS, UH, MS. NATALIA UDINA AND OF COURSE ON MY STAFF, MATEO AND ANDREW SOLANO.
SO THANK YOU TEAM FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK.
WELL, WE HOPE TO HAVE FOR YOU CHAIR SANDOVAL IS ALL OF THE THREE MEETINGS COMBINED IN SEGMENTS THAT SHOULD BE SENT OUT EARLY NEXT WEEK, AND THAT'LL GIVE ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE COMMITTEE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW BEFORE WE MEET AGAIN ON THE 14TH.