Let the Sebastopol City Council Know that You Want Community Oversight of the Police Dept.
This Tuesday, June16th, the Sebastopol City Council will discuss Police Policy/Procedures/Protocols as Agenda Item #7. They will be discussing the My Brother's Keeper's Pledge, which is being used by many municipalities to sidestep discussion of actual community oversight bodies.
Please note that community oversight bodies are not listed as an option in Agenda item #7, only outside consultants. If you'd like to see the real thing in Sebastopol, now is the time to let your City Council know this. Work to get them to put it on a future agenda and then work to get an oversight body with real teeth. City Councils have the power to put real teeth into an oversight body - subpoena power, investigatory power and more. And oversight is compatible with Defunding!
You can attend the meeting on Zoom - just go to the meeting announcement page for the link - https://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/Meeting-Event/City-Council/2020/City-Council-Meeting-June-16,-2020
If you can't attend the meeting (6:00 p.m., this Tuesday, June 16th), please write to the mayor, Patrick Slayter, asking him to convey your message to the full Council - [email protected]
Re: Let the Sebastopol City Council Know that You Want Community Oversight of the Police D
And if you can't make it for today's meeting - either virtually or by sending an email - this issue is not going away. Be prepared to be in it for the long haul. Let the Council know what you think and keep following up with them. No local government has ever created a community oversight body without having had public pressure applied.
Re: Let the Sebastopol City Council Know that You Want Community Oversight of the Police D
where to send an email? also, my partner's daughter with her boyfriend, drove through Sebastopol yesterday with BLACK LIVES MATTER signs on their car, and reported being sandwiched (though not stops) by cop cars who were not looking exactly friendly, the kids felt threatened..
Re: Let the Sebastopol City Council Know that You Want Community Oversight of the Police D
I would send an email to the mayor, Patrick Slayter - [email protected] - you can go on the City Council's website and get the other emails, if you'd like to write to all of them. You can, also, file a complaint with the Police Department, but this is exactly why there should be an independent community oversight entity.
There are those who are quite sure that Sebastopol police are not a problem. People of color and activists (I know of a few incidents of harassment of people with bumperstickers) will tell you otherwise.
