Public hearing on community policing report tonight
UPDATE, 10:14 p.m.: City council members said they hope to change the tone of the first draft of the community-oriented policing report.
Some members said the report, written by Sgt. Robert Fox and City Manager Mike Matthes, seemed defensive of the department’s performance. Fourth Ward Councilman Ian Thomas said the report lacked some easy first steps the city could take the begin implementing a community-oriented policing model.
“I hoped not to see that kind of defensiveness, and more of a forward-looking positive embracing of what clearly the majority of the community want to see,” Thomas said.
City Manager Mike Matthes will revise the report based on the council’s comments, as well as those the public give in-person and online.
ORIGINAL: The community and council members will have the opportunity to voice their thoughts on Columbia’s community policing report tonight.
Columbia Police Department Sgt. Rob Fox’s community policing draft report is scheduled for a public hearing at tonight’s Columbia City Council meeting.
The draft report has faced criticism from local activist group Race Matters, Friends. Race Matters members Traci Wilson-Kleekamp has sent the group’s concerns to council members.
Wilson-Kleekamp said the report has an “us vs. them” mentality which is the “anti-thesis of community oriented policing,” in an email to council members.
Fourth Ward Councilman Ian Thomas said in an emailed response that the council will need to take specific steps to address those concerns and foster a collaborative spirit between the police and community.
Thomas said he will present his formal recommendations during the council meeting and believes the city’s plan should center on a theme of “Equity in All Policies.”
The report was submitted to the council early last month, but it was on the agenda at the end of a long post-holiday meeting, preventing many members of the public from commenting on it or hearing official comments. Council members then moved to hold a public hearing on the report at a later meeting.
Look for coverage from the meeting tonight at abc17news.com.
