Modestans can tell city Saturday what they think of police, how they can improve
On Saturday, residents can tell the City Council about their experiences with Modesto’s police officers and the changes they want to see at the Police Department as the city starts an effort to improve police-community relations.
The council will hold a listening session Saturday starting at 10 a.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place and over Zoom. Audience seating is limited to about 30 at the meeting because of the pandemic restrictions, but audience members can leave after making their comments to allow for others to attend.
The Zoom meeting ID is 869 4597 0570 and the Passcode is 84326.
The city will have an interpreter to translate public comments from Spanish speakers into English.
Modesto is calling this initiative Forward Together. Deputy City Manager Caluha Barnes said if residents cannot attend Saturday’s listening session, they still have many chances to comment and participate.
They can email comments to forwardtogether@modestogov.com and attend the meetings for the committee the city will form to investigate potential reforms and make recommendations to the City Council. Modesto also has launched a website for this initiative, www.modestogov.com/forwardtogether.
Saturday’s meeting will include a debriefing among council members on the common themes and concerns that emerged from the listening session. The debriefing will take place after public comments and no later than 3:30 p.m.
The common themes are expected to include the need for Modesto to improve how officers respond to calls involving people in mental health crises and whether there should be some sort of independent civilian review or oversight of the department.
Barnes said the next step will be the City Council appointing members to the committee and approving the committee’s work. That is expected to happen at the council’s June 8 meeting.
Barnes said Modesto has invited about two dozen organizations to serve on the committee. She said they represent the city’s various constituencies. She said Friday that so far, about a dozen of these organizations have said they are willing to have their members serve on the committee.
She said those organizations include the Modesto-Stanislaus branch of the NAACP, Modesto City Schools, Modesto Neighborhoods Inc., the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the City Ministry Network, the Downtown Modesto Partnership, the West Modesto Community Collaborative, Golden Valley Health Centers, county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, and the Modesto Police Officers Association.
Some community members have asked that police officers not be involved in this effort because they say it would have a chilling effect on residents who have been brutalized or mistreated by police. Barnes said the city understands some people have that concern but it’s important to include members of any organization you are attempting to change.
The committee is expected to meet over six to 12 months and then provide the City Council with recommendations to implement. Barnes said the committee meetings will be open to the public.
She said the committee’s first few meetings will focus on educating committee members and the public on how police officers do their jobs so committee members can base their work on a clear understanding of how the Police Department operates.
