Raleigh council to review police response to protests. Now is not the time, says one.
City Council members called for a report Tuesday on how police and other law enforcement agencies have responded to Raleigh’s recent protests and riots.
One council member disagreed strongly, saying such a report could undermine the Police Department as the city entered a second night of curfew.
The tense discussion came during a virtual council meeting Tuesday afternoon. The council returned online for a meeting that began at 7 p.m. as the Raleigh Police Accountability Community Task Force (PACT) held a protest outside City Hall.
Requesting the report was just one decision made Tuesday. The council approved racial equity training for the council and agreed to meet again at 7 p.m. Thursday for community members to talk about the protests. In two weeks, the council also agreed, it will appoint its newly created Police Advisory Board.
Police report discussion tense
Council member Saige Martin said people want the facts. The city should prepare a report that includes the types and the degrees of force used by law enforcement, he said.
Martin, who represents southwest Raleigh, was at the protest Saturday night and wrote on social media that he was tear gassed three times. On Sunday at Moore Square and on social media he said he would ask for an investigation into the handling of Saturday’s protests.
“Once we have these stats it’s my hope we will find new avenues for policy recommendations and ideas for further analysis, engagement and study,” Martin said Tuesday. “We can better protect our residents, our city and our police, and hold ourselves and our fellow elected officials accountable and to higher standards of best practice.”
Council member Patrick Buffkin objected to the timing of the report.
The city, state and county have a “race relations problem,” he said, but the conversation has to be had with “clear minds, open hearts and compassion.”
“The current mood of this city will not facilitate a productive conversation,” he said. “To be blunt, we can’t address our race-equity problems while our city is burning.”
He took a brief pause.
“Tonight we are under curfew again,” Buffkin continued. “We are going to be relying on our police officers to keep us safe. With our police officers facing this difficult task what I think our community needs to hear from this city council is not just commitment to confront racism but an unequivocal message of support for police officers and our police chief. These officers are tired. They are stressed and have been injured, and we are asking more from them.”
This report will be seen as “second-guessing” and undermine the confidence of the police and police chief, he said. The council must make it clear that rioting and destruction of property have no place in the community, he added.
“I object to the request of this report and I would like to have a council vote on whether or not we are going to have our police chief’s attention diverted from an immediate crisis during this curfew when she needs to be 100 percent focused on keeping this community safe,” Buffkin said.
Martin responded before the mayor could call on the next next council member who wanted to speak.
“As a white, straight man, Patrick, I am sure that’s exactly how you feel,” Martin said. “Thank you for sharing your opinion though.”
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin banged her gavel and called Martin’s comment “inappropriate.”
“So were his comments,” said Martin, who is gay and Latino.
The mayor asked the group to stop the discussion several times before the council moved on. Buffkin said he would support requesting a report if Martin would agree to wait seven days, but Martin refused.
The council never formally voted during the afternoon session to ask for a report. A report would be required regardless of whether Martin asked for one, said council member Corey Branch.
During the 7 p.m. meeting, Baldwin confirmed the council asked for a report, but did not give a timeline.
‘Our city exploded’
The council also debated if they should risk a physical meeting at the convention center with limited attendance next week instead of a virtual meeting Thursday. The Thursday meeting was requested by Martin and council members Nicole Stewart and Jonathan Melton.
Gatherings are still limited due to the spread of COVID-19.
“The most important thing we can do in this moment is show up for our black and brown residents,” Stewart said. “And we can’t do that because of COVID. It makes it extremely challenging. So I feel extremely strongly, and this is why I have worked with council member Martin and Melton to move forward in this moment. To grab this moment and folks’ emotions and say we are listening. We hear you. And we want you to talk to us. Whether it is talking or yelling, folks have to get it out. Our city exploded with emotion this past weekend of all kinds, and it is on us to make sure they feel like we are hearing them.”
Several council members noted how the city of Durham held a community meeting at a school for members of the McDougald Terrace public housing community after they had to be evacuated from their homes due to carbon monoxide fears.
“They just listened,” Melton said. “And, for lack of a better word, they just took it. People were mad, they yelled; they called for resignations. They expressed themselves, and I don’t think we can heal or act until we listen and we provide the space for the community to know that we hear them and to vent all of that out.”
Branch, the sole black person on council, told a story of his first council retreat where the board visited Charlotte. As the group was getting on a van to head to the train, he was asked if he was the council’s videographer.
“We are having a lot of meetings and a lot of talk and a lot of dialogue,” he said. “Let’s start talking about sessions of work and getting things done and having many discussions where it’s not people talking to us but getting people from the community together and have the community participate with us in discussions and getting things done.”
‘Racist act of violence’
At the start of the meeting, Baldwin said this past weekend was one of the “most painful moments” in Raleigh’s modern history.
“The murder of George Floyd was an unspeakable, racist act of violence,” she said. “Over the past few days, people have come together peacefully to demand justice for George Floyd and the countless victims of violent systemic racism all over the country. I want to echo their call for justice, and I want all those who worked for peaceful demonstrations to know Raleigh sees you, hears you and is committed to creating changes in our community. Black lives matter. And George Floyd’s life matters.”
The review and the special meeting were included in her comments, in addition to the upcoming appointment of the Police Advisory Board. Initially, just 10 people applied for the seven-person board, but now more than 150 applications have been received.
In addition to the protesters calling for justice, Baldwin thanked the community members who helped clean up downtown on Sunday after some demonstrators broke windows and damaged buildings and she thanked law enforcement officers who “supported peaceful protests and worked to keep our city safe.”
What’s next Thursday City Council meeting
The Raleigh City Council will hold a virtual council meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 4, to receive public comment on the city’s response to events of the last week.
People will get two minutes each so as many people as possible can be heard, the city said in a news release Wednesday. Instructions for speaking will be available at noon Thursday at www.raleighnc.gov.
To watch the meeting go through the City’s website, YouTube, or on RTN 11.
This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 8:21 PM.
