Chapel Hill council ends chokeholds, some traffic stops toward reimagining police
Town Council members responded to demands to defund the police with immediate changes Wednesday in Chapel Hill Police Department policies and a list of first steps toward dismantling structural racism and bias.
The actions followed weeks of protests led by young people demanding a deeper public investment in people of color, including more health care, education, mental health and housing programs. The protesters have called on government to pay for increased services with money now funding police.
Town Council members Allen Buansi, Karen Stegman and Jessica Anderson crafted the resolution, which will be followed by conversations with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board and other partners, about community needs and the kind of policing that residents want.
Mayor Pam Hemminger noted that a virtual panel discussion, “Hearing Impacted Voices,” will begin at 12:30 p.m. Thursday (June 25), The Orange County Local Reentry Council and towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough are holding the event, which is free. Registration is required at bit.ly/3eiKOZU.
Buansi opened the council’s conversation by reading the names of Black people who have been killed, saying “it is long past time for action.”
“All levels of government must be about the work of changing policies that disproportionately discriminate against people of color and violate their basic constitutional and human rights,” said Buansi, who is Black.
“We are fortunate to have a police chief who has taken a progressive approach to public safety,” he said. “At the same time, policing is an institution that has rightly been called into question for its historic racist roots and enduring violence against Black and brown bodies.”
Policing changes effective immediately
The resolution makes these immediate changes to the Police Department:
▪ Prohibit chokeholds
▪ End regulatory traffic stops, such as for vehicle-registration issues, broken taillights, windshields and other equipment problems
▪ Authorize deadly force “only when there is clear and convincing evidence of imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury”
▪ Create clear accountability for officers who violate department policies
▪ Provide information for a transparent process to make long-term changes, including staffing levels, crisis-unit activities, and a list of local rules “that may criminalize poverty”
The council also committed to:
▪ Direct a council committee to clarify the duties of the Community Policing Advisory and Justice in Action committees
▪ Present Police Department data to the public twice a year
▪ Talk with the school board and the county about alternatives to school resource officers
▪ Look at reallocating town funding to reflect the “community’s commitment to justice and equity”
▪ Direct the town manager to discuss funding with community and faith-based groups
▪ Hold community-wide listening sessions
▪ Direct the town manager to plan for a community task force to review public safety, reimagine the Police Department, recommend ways to allocate town resources, and work with the county and other partners to increase community investments
Stegman acknowledged the changes don’t meet all of the demands the public expressed in a five-hour hearing June 10.
Several speakers told the council the resolution should have been published before the meeting so the public could read it and offer suggestions. Others expressed frustration the council did not take a strong stand on defunding the Police Department.
The town is not where the community wants it to be, but the resolution is encouraging, said Anna Richards, president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP.
The NAACP will be promoting a six-point agenda during a virtual conversation about “Transforming and Reimagining Safety in our Communities” at 4 p.m. Saturday. Register at https://tinyurl.com/ybv5btct
“I want to see a reordering of priorities and funding, but I do want to see that done in a thoughtful way, and I’m hopeful that the work that has been laid out here to happen over the summer will help us do that in a way that is thoughtful and purposeful,” Richards said.
Trinity Casimir called on the town to prioritize care and compassion in creating a “specialized, trained public service that plays a very specific role in our town and in our long-term transition to a community without crime.”
“We’re asking for a strategic defunding of the police, in addition to the restructuring of our public-safety model,” Casimir said. “When we consider funding alternatives to a police response, I want to encourage the community to be mindful that these roles don’t end up perpetuating inequality and violence.”
Other council actions
▪ 2020-21 budget: The council also approved a $111.3 million annual budget that eliminates fines for late library books and materials, gives 20 full-time firefighters and solid waste collectors a living wage, and adds $506,887 in grant funds for the library and town planning work. The budget will take effect July 1.
▪ Weavers Grove: The council approved a new Habitat for Humanity mixed-income community for 32.6 acres off Sunrise Road near East Chapel Hill High School. The Weavers Grove project will have 243 homes, duplexes and townhouses, including 99 units priced at an affordable rate for individuals and families earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income.
That would serve an individual earning $19,100 to $50,900 a year, or a family of four earning $27,250 to $72,700 a year.
▪ East Rosemary parking deck: The council voted to delay a conversation about plans for a new parking deck at 125 E. Rosemary St. to the fall. The rezoning and the economic development agreement being negotiated with developer Grubb Properties are not ready to be considered yet, Hemminger said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 10:00 AM.
