City Council

CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD TWO CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. JASON N. GRAHAM, WARD ONE HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Council Special Work Session June 18, 2020 Next Steps Related to Civil Unrest The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a special work session on Thursday, June 18, 2020, beginning at 5:30 p.m. using electronic communication through GoToMeeting pursuant to and in compliance with the City Council Ordinance 20-05, an ordinance to address Continuity of City Government during the pendency of a pandemic disaster. Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Presiding. Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Jr., Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Timothy P. Duffy, Charlie L. Frye, Jr., Jason N. Graham and Matthew J. Kelly. Also Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, City Attorney Kathleen A. Dooley, Police Chief Brian Layton and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Next Steps Related to Civil Unrest. City Manager Baroody gave an update on the actions of the past week. He recognized the anger and outrage that has been going on locally and nationally. He accepted responsibility for any part he contributed to this anger locally by directing the Chief of Police to treat protesters as city sponsored. He explained that the police were being staged a block or so behind the protester to divert traffic accordingly. He said he spoke to many property and business owners regarding this. He said they had been meeting with protesters all week and he hoped the evenings have been much quieter. Mr. Baroody noted that deescalating techniques would continue to be used but would need to be reciprocated by all. He was appreciative of the patience from the police officers, residents, business owner and protesters. Mr. Baroody walked through the draft response and recovery plan which the immediate phase would play out over the next three to six weeks. (See Attachment I). Councilor Graham said one important goal was reform measures but he said it would be important to recognize the proper role of police officers. He said they have been asked to take on roles such as psychologist, social worker, life coach, etc. He said the right personnel needed to be 1 present. Councilor Graham said it was unfair to ask the officers to do this and he would like to make this an explicit goal. Councilor Devine stated that our Police department was partnered with many local groups that support social services. She also suggested including someone from Social Services on the Incident Management Team. Councilor Devine asked City Manager Baroody to let people know what script they would hear if they call 911 regarding protesters. City Manager Baroody read the statement that would be read to the public if they encounter protesters. Councilor Devine asked the role of the Citizen Advisory Panel (CAP) and Chief Layton gave a brief history of how they were formed. He said the Panel was created in 2015 by Chief Nye, it included six professional members who live in the City. The role has been up to this point was two way, they met quarterly and it was the police’s job to teach them what the department was all about. They would review department directives, use of force incidents, specialty teams, input in creating policy. They could also bring ideas, problems or suggestions to the Police Department that they see in the community and offer criticism or ways to improve. The panel was a huge step in the right direction and they will be sharing the after action report of the incidents of May 31 and June 2. Councilor Frye stated that there was a request to have some younger members added to the CAP in order to help with communications. He would like to see a voice of the younger kids but he was not sure the legalities of this. City Attorney Dooley stated that the CAP was involved in close review of their mission and membership. She said they were open to expanding the membership and bringing younger voices on the board. She said they were also looking at other CAP’s within the Commonwealth to see what their memberships look like, and to see how they define their missions. She plans to bring this information to the City’s CAP so they can determine how to shape their vision and membership proposals. Councilor Frye also noted that the Incident Management Team does not have an African American on it and he believe it is important to have someone from the African American community. Councilor Kelly said bringing in an outside group to look at the technical issues of law enforcement would not be a bad idea. He agreed there must be community involvement. He said their needed to be community discussion and he suggested going to the neighborhoods to discuss. He also suggested that the Council retreat not include this topic but to have an additional meeting to discuss this topic only. 2  Councilor Kelly thanked Mayor Greenlaw, Councilor Devine, staff and the leaders of the protest for meeting and he spoke of how he appreciated Dr. Catlett talking to the protesters and telling them about her experiences. He expressed his concern with the protesters blocking traffic downtown and blocking/hitting cars and yelling at drivers. He said he fears there being an altercation by passion and fears. He wanted to be sure that when the Police are called they would respond. He added that there were some demands that were no brainers, but there were others that required discussions. Vice-Mayor Wither agreed that the focus should be on reforms but suggested maybe the retreat should be extended from two days to three days in order to discuss all the issues. He asked Mayor Greenlaw if she could give an overview of the discussions with protesters. Mayor said they sat down with the protest leaders and three of the demands were to have the charges expunged for the 51 who were out past curfew, give the identification of who issued the tear gas command, and a formal apology. The mutual concern of taking a look at the City’s polices and a full report of what happened May 31 through the first full week of June. Mayor Greenlaw noted that the Council could not dictate what the Commonwealth Attorney does but they were speaking with her. She said this was a great opportunity to get young people engaged. Vice-Mayor Withers said he was hopeful the City could find a way to calm people and find a way to communicate with them. Councilor Duffy noted that the protester and their supporter have many questions and demands and he appreciate the way Council and staff has engaged them. He was hopeful that progress could be made with them. He hoped the City could remain focused on the issue of racial injustice and not be overcome by the other events. Councilor Duffy was thankful for City Manager Baroody moving forward on some of these things. He also wanted to make note that the CAP was an initiative of the Police Department. He said it was not imposed on them by right thinking people, they did it on their own. Councilor Duffy noted that the City has a forward thinking Police Department that would be moving forward with the City to a more racial justice society. He said there needed to be continued discussion that were educational for everyone and part of those discussions need to include what white privilege is as well as racial disparities. Councilor Frye said he would like to be sure the Council sticks to the issues of racial disparities and injustices after the City deals with the protesters. He said the City had already opened the door and was already working on telling the story. He said the City had already been working on racial issues when it tackled the slave auction block. 3  Councilor Graham stated that the City’s Police Department has worked hard to build trust over the decades and they have nothing to hide and they were willing to be open to the community. Vice-Mayor Withers suggested everyone wait to see what the report had to say before going with a third party and Councilor Graham said actions speak louder than words. City Attorney Dooley said this would be a challenge the City would have to meet and she would work with the Council to develop a review process that would meet the community’s expectation as well as the Council and the Police Department. Mayor Greenlaw added that the City had been hearing from a lot of people and they appreciate the sincerity of all the messages from everyone. She said it was mutual concern that everyone was contacting the Council and they want to address all racial inequality and discrimination in all forms. She asked the entire community to join in and participate in the Community wide meetings. She said with the help of the entire community they would like to write the next chapter of this community. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time. Mayor Greenlaw declared the session officially adjourned at 6:39 p.m. ______________________ Tonya B. Lacey, MMC Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 4