CC Minutes - 06/22/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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committee's work. The committee did considerable research and heard from a broad range of people. She reminded the council of the inclusive composition of committee. Ms. Green believed the proposal was good community policing, and would increase the legitimacy of the Police Department. She said the proposal increased opportunities for the public to provide input without undermining the department's command structure. She asked the councilors to forward the ballot measure to public, and to give the proposal their personal support. Craig Miller, 1275 West 17th Avenue, said the council should be more concerned about quality of life issues. He supported the proposal to place the measure on the ballot as a means to improve the quality of life. Nick Urhausen, 2858 Lawrence Street, suggested the proposal was a "consolation prize" for those who failed to prevail on June 1, 1997. He suggested that the police had demonstrated restraint in dealing with the protesters. He supported putting the measure on the ballot so people could turn it down. Misha Seymour, 1313 Lincoln Street, #306, asserted that the public hearing rules had been changed. He averred the police had been out of control in certain situations. He cited two fatalities created by a single officer as an example. He said that the Portland police had initially not favored a review board but had changed its position. He called for diverse representation on the review board. Randy Prince, PO Box 927, Eugene, asked that the measure be referred to the voters and asked the council to advocate the measure before the community. He said that the council must acknowledge there was a problem with police and community relations and to do something about it without allocating blame. Mr. Prince said that a conspicuous police response to insignificant incidents had a detrimental physic effect on the health of the community. He spoke of the increasing culture of violence in the country. Bernardino De La Torte, 2615-1/2 Adams Street, expressed concerned about the lack of monitoring of police officer behavior, particularly when officers were responding to members of the community who were culturally or ethnically different. He said that he had experienced abuse by the police and observed police abuse toward others with a similar cultural background. Mr. De La Torte questioned the legitimacy of the existing review process; he believed the department lacked accountability about such abusive behavior. He said that many police policies were racist and were centered around tactical policing and the military occupation of the city. Mr. De La Torte said that such an approach was at odds with community policing. He said that many community residents had "felt many times the heavy oppressive hand" of many rogue police officers who were racist. Beth Medler, 4441 Fox Hollow Road, #6, encouraged the council to support the proposal and to place it on the ballot. She said that her jury experience made her more supportive of police review board, and indicated she would be happy to share those experiences with anyone. She said that the community should hold all public servants accountable. Justice must prevail for the individual. She said that the review board was an opportunity for the City to exercise responsibility. Bo Arian, 3785 Pine Canyon Road, endorsed the comments of others who wanted the council to refer a proposal regarding a police review board to the voters. He did not want the council to MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 22, 1998 Page 4 7:30 p.m.