Details emerge on how Modesto will engage residents in talks over how cops police city
Modesto leaders will have a conversation with the community regarding the Police Department’s policies and practices as part of an effort that could result in the city forming a civilian oversight board for the department.
The City Council on Tuesday night voted 7-0 in support of Mayor Sue Zwahlen’s proposal for a “community engagement process” that includes creating a committee that would consider potential initiatives to improve relations between the police and community.
The conversation and potential initiatives come as communities across the United States grapple with the role of the police in their communities after the May 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black man, while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Floyd’s death sparked protests nationwide and calls for police reform.
The conversations have intensified in Modesto after one of its officers fatally shot Trevor Seever, a 29-year-old unarmed white man on Dec. 29. The officer, Joseph Lamantia, was fired from his job March 18 and has been charged with voluntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty.
But some Modesto residents claim Seever’s death was one of too many incidents over the years of police mistreatment and brutality of residents by local law enforcement.
Modesto says it will include the public in its engagement process.
Researching potential solutions
It starts with a City Council meeting expected in late April to early May with one item on the agenda: The Police Department. Residents can share their concerns as well as the community groups they would like to see represented on the committee.
The city has ideas of who it would like to see on the committee but also wants to gather public input. The goal is to have a broad-based committee that represents all of Modesto’s various constituencies.
The City Council would approve the committee members. That could occur in late May. The committee would spend six months to a year looking at potential solutions to improve police-community relations and report back to the council.
Deputy City Manager Caluha Barnes said the committee meetings would be open to the public. She said one of the committee’s roles will be to inform the public about how law enforcement operates.
Some residents and community groups have called for Modesto to form a civilian oversight board and hire an independent auditor with subpoena power to investigate the police.
But city officials say it’s too soon to take any actions without going through the process of finding out what the community wants as well as having the committee research potential solutions for the City Council to consider.
Police union wants fair, equitable process
Modesto Police Officers Association President Dan Starr said Wednesday that the city and the police union have talked about the committee and he expects to serve on it.
“We definitely want to have a seat at the table,” he said. “If there is room for us to improve, we are definitely interested in this. If there are groups in the community that have trust issues with the police, we want to hear about them.”
Starr said the MPOA just wants a process that is fair and equitable.
Several members of the public spoke at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, raising such issues as the need for mental health workers to handle calls involving the mentally ill. And one speaker requested that the city make accommodations at the City Council meeting where residents will talk about the police.
She said some residents may not want to share their stories of mistreatment or brutality at the hands of the police if officers are in the meeting. She also said the typical council meeting format of giving each resident a few minutes to speak may not be enough time for people recounting traumatic experiences with law enforcement.
This story was originally published April 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
