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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20-16 George Floyd Resolution ,lil1__�1•il, Cty of South Bend souTH \• i (574)235-9321 Fax(574)235-9173 ;(U �'' • TDD 574 235-5567 1!%';‘, �.4,t �= Common Councilhttp://www.southbendin.gov '� 441 County-City Building • 227 W.Jefferson Blvd = South Bend,Indiana 46601 Filed in Clerk's Office 1865,11•''I __ Scott JUN 0 3 2020 Tim sca South Bend Common Council June 3, 2020 President 4th Floor, County-City Building DAWN M.JONES Karen L. White South Bend, IN 46601 CITY CLERK,SOUTH BEND,IN Vice-President Re: A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF SOUTH Sharon L. McBride BEND, INDIANA, DENOUCING IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE Chairperson,Committee TERMS ALL ACTS OF RACIAL PROFILING, POLICE BRUTALTY of the Whole AND THE USE OF EXCESSIVE POLICE FORCE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY Tim Scott First District Dear Council Members: Henry Davis,Jr. We have all seen the brutal murder of George Floyd, a restrained black man Second District by four Minneapolis police officers while Mr. Floyd begged for his life and Sharon L. McBride called out for his dead mother. As shocking and unbelievable these Third District recordings are, it is sad to say that similar events are not uncommon in our Troy Warner country. Fourth District Mr. Floyd's murder has led to an outpouring of peaceful protests in the Jake Teshka United States and around the world. It is unusual these days to see so many Fifth District people of different colors, backgrounds, and religious beliefs to join in a Sheila Niezgodski common cause. Sixth District This proposed resolution adds the South Bend Common Council to the list of Karen L.White people and entities denouncing the murder of Mr. Floyd and calling for At Large immediate reforms to assure dignity and justice for all people. Human decency requires no less. Rachel Tomas Morgan At Large We therefore ask that this proposed Resolution be scheduled for consideration Lori K. Hamann at the Council's June 8, 2020 meeting. At Large Thank you for your attention to this very important matter. We look forward to your support. Sincer.ly yours, Tim Scott, South Bend Common Council, First District rNrr,rnr .., 'rr City of South Bend (574)235-9321 ; Fax(574)235-9173 � 235-5567 , ; PEACE Common Council TDD(574) -� �� a� ? http://www.southbendin.gov , 441 County-City Building• 227 W.Jefferson Blvd _.'0 South Bend,Indiana 46601 1:65 io; S1' CcL Sharon McBride, South Bend Common Council, Third District 11-er<—/cz-n_ Karen White, South Bend Common Council, At-Large Member pUTFJ � U O ,r a 1865 BILL NO. 20-16 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,DENOUCING IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS ALL ACTS OF RACIAL PROFILING,POLICE BRUTALTY AND THE USE OF EXCESSIVE POLICE FORCE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY WHEREAS, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a black resident of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was publicly and brutally murdered through the actions and inactions of four police officers while he cried out"I can't breathe" and called for his dead mother; and WHEREAS, Mr. Floyd's death occurred while he was handcuffed, lying face down on the street while one officer knelt on his neck, another officer applied pressure to his back and at least two other officers ignored pleas from onlookers to save Mr. Floyd's life; and WHEREAS, the officer continuedpp1 in pressure to Mr. Floyd's neck for nearlynine (9)minutes, more than a Y gY three (3)minutes after he stopped breathing; and WHEREAS, although this method of restraint has been banned or strongly discouraged by many police departments, reports indicate that Minneapolis police used neck restraints, i.e. using an arm or leg to compress a neck without directly putting pressure on the airway, at least two hundred and thirty-seven (237) since the beginning of 2015, with at least forty-four(44) of the victims losing consciousness; and WHEREAS, despite recordings of Mr. Floyd's death having been replayed innumerable times throughout the world leading to world-wide protests, a Seattle police officer was recorded using a similar tactic on a protester until his knee was forcibly removed by another officer while onlookers screamed"get your f*****g knee off his neck"; and WHEREAS, this is the second time in the past year that members of this Common Council have expressed condolences to the family and friends of a Black man killed by a white police officer, the death of Eric Logan on June 16, 2019, though tragic,did not draw global attention to America's problems, in part, because Mr. Logan was killed in the middle of the night, in a dark parking lot, with no witnesses or video to document what actually happened and the investigation of his death left unanswered many questions in the minds of many people, unlike the public killing of Mr. Floyd, in broad daylight, with several recordings and witnesses; and WHEREAS, historical injustices and racial disparities that have existed in our country for hundreds of years have led to many Black men dying at the hands of white police officers in a system of policing in America that targets people of color and which can be traced back to the long legacy of slavery, lynching, and Jim Crow laws; and WHEREAS, it is currently not only Black men, but also Black women and girls, Latinos and Native Americans who suffer from this shameful history; and WHEREAS the very public and brutal murder of Mr. Floyd has caused world-wide outrage because such actions can no longer be willfully denied or ignorantly disregarded; and WHEREAS, racial profiling and excessive force, which includes shootings, brutal beatings, fatal chokings, and other excessive abuses, are contrary to human decency, the inherent dignity of every individual, and the American ideal of equal justice for all. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,AS FOLLOWS: Section I. The Common Council expresses its deep and sincere condolences, not only to the family and friends of Mr. Floyd, but also to the family and friends of all other such victims whose suffering is renewed and intensified every time there is another family suffers a similar loss. 4SOUTH7r1014 . ,6 A. ''-, , .- 4413. ' ti xce> ` JJ y I' i 1865 Section II. This Common Council denounces in the strongest terms possible all acts of racial profiling,police brutality and the use of excessive police force such as those that led to the deaths of Mr. Floyd and many known and unknown other victims. More specifically, the Common Council calls for every law enforcement agency or department to immediately adopt a goal of zero (0) deaths while employing apprehension and detainment procedures which provide safe practices for both officers and suspects. Section III. The Common Council calls on each individual resident to similarly condemn the actions leading to the death of Mr. Floyd and others like him. Section IV. The Common Council, recognizing the inherent dignity of every human person,renews its unwavering commitment to the goal of equal treatment of all through not only the words, but more importantly, the actions, of this legislative body. Section V. That commitment is not onlyestablished bypast acts such as: lastyear allocating $180,000 for 21 CP Solutions to evaluate the police department's policies and practices on the use of force, body-worn cameras,bias-informed policing, accountability, and community engagement and participation, but also continuing and future acts such as encouragement of implementation of 21 CP Solutions valid recommendations by the Board of Public Safety and the South Bend Police Department, encouraging the adoption of a fair and just matrix for exercising police discipline and the continued study and consideration of a citizen review board to add community input into South Bend policing. Section VI. The Common Council not only invites, but also demands, that South Bend residents hold Council members to this commitment and, further, encourages each resident to join in that commitment. Tim Scott, Council President South Bend Common Council Filed €n Clerk's Office 4 JUN n 8 2020r1110. * Y DAWN M.JONES w -+: END IN CLERK SOUTH B 1865 CITY SUB. BILL NO. 20-16 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF SOUTH BEND,INDIANA,DENOUCING IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS ALL ACTS OF RACIAL PROFILING,POLICE BRUTALTY AND THE USE OF EXCESSIVE POLICE FORCE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY WHEREAS, on May 25, 2020,George Floyd, a black resident of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was publicly and brutally murdered through the actions and inactions of four police officers while he cried out"I can't breathe"and called for his dead mother; and WHEREAS, Mr. Floyd's death occurred while he was handcuffed, lying face down on the street while one officer knelt on his neck, another officer applied pressure to his back and at least two other officers ignored pleas from onlookers to save Mr. Floyd's life; and WHEREAS, the officer continued applying pressure to Mr. Floyd's neck for nearly nine (9) minutes, more than three(3) minutes after he stopped breathing; and WHEREAS, although this method of restraint has been banned or strongly discouraged by many police departments, reports indicate that Minneapolis police used neck restraints, i.e. using an arm or leg to compress a neck without directly putting pressure on the airway, at least two hundred and thirty-seven (237) since the beginning of 2015,with at least forty-four(44) of the victims losing consciousness; and WHEREAS, despite recordings of Mr. Floyd's death having been replayed innumerable times throughout the world leading to world-wide protests, a Seattle police officer was recorded using a similar tactic on a protester until his knee was forcibly removed by another officer while onlookers screamed"get your f*****g knee off his neck"; and WHEREAS, this is the second time in the past year that members of this Common Council have expressed condolences to the family and friends of a Black man killed by a white police officer, the death of Eric Logan on June 16, 2019,though tragic,did not draw global attention to America's problems, in part,because Mr. Logan was killed in the middle of the night, in a dark parking lot, with no witnesses or video to document what actually happened and the investigation of his death left unanswered many questions in the minds of many people,unlike the public killing of Mr. Floyd, in broad daylight, with several recordings and witnesses; and WHEREAS, historical injustices and racial disparities that have existed in our country for hundreds of years have led to many Black men dying at the hands of white police officers in a system of policing in America that targets people of color and which can be traced back to the long legacy of slavery, lynching, and Jim Crow laws; and WHEREAS, it is currently not only Black men,but also Black women and girls, as well as Indigenous, Latinx and Asian communities who suffer from this shameful history; and WHEREAS the very public and brutal murder of Mr. Floyd has caused world-wide outrage because such actions can no longer be willfully denied or ignorantly disregarded; and WHEREAS, racial profiling and excessive force, which includes shootings,brutal beatings, fatal chokings, and other excessive abuses, are contrary to human decency, the inherent dignity of every individual, and the American ideal of equal justice for all. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,AS FOLLOWS: Section I. The Common Council expresses its deep and sincere condolences, not only to the family and friends of Mr. Floyd,but also to the family and friends of all other such victims whose suffering is renewed and intensified every time there is another family suffers a similar loss. U C 1 r c._ L Section II. This Common Council denounces in the strongest terms possible all acts of racial profiling,police brutality and the use of excessive police force such as those that led to the deaths of Mr. Floyd and many known and unknown other victims. More specifically, the Common Council calls for every law enforcement agency or department to immediately adopt a goal of zero (0) deaths while employing apprehension and detainment procedures which provide safe practices for both officers and suspects. Section III.The Common Council calls on each individual resident to similarly condemn the actions leading to the death of Mr. Floyd and others like him. Section IV. The Common Council,recognizing the inherent dignity of every human person, renews its unwavering commitment to the goal of equal treatment of all through not only the words,but more importantly, the actions, of this legislative body. Section V. That commitment is not only established by past acts such as: last year allocating $180,000 for 21CP Solutions to evaluate the police department's policies and practices on the use of force, body-worn cameras,bias-informed policing, accountability,and community engagement and participation,but also continuing and future acts such as encouragement of implementation of 21CP Solutions valid recommendations by the Board of Public Safety and the South Bend Police Department, encouraging the adoption of a fair and just matrix for exercising police discipline and the continued study and consideration of a citizen review board to add community input into South Bend policing. Section VI. The Common Council not only invites,but also demands, that South Bend residents hold Council members to this commitment and, further, encourages each resident to join in that commitment. Tim Scott,Council President South Bend Common Council