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9/29/2021 - Meeting Minutes Racial Equity in Policing Commission Agenda 1 12/17/2021 7:25 PM Racial Equity in Policing Commission Salt Lake City Utah Minutes Wednesday, September 29, 2021 5:00 p.m. This meeting is a discussion among Commissioners and select presenters. The public is welcome. Items scheduled may be moved or discussed during a different portion of the meeting based on circumstances or availability of speakers. This meeting will be an electronic meeting pursuant to the Commission’s determination that conducting the meeting at a physical location presents a substantial risk to the health and safety of those who may be present at the anchor location. The Commission Meeting will not have a physical location and all attendees will connect remotely. Start Time: 5:03 pm 1. Welcome and Public Meeting Guidelines Read the determination of the Commissioners to meet electronically because meeting at a physical location presents a substantial risk to the health and safety of those who may be present at the anchor location. Equity Manager, Moana Uluave-Hafoka, welcomed the commission and was later introduced by Chief Equity Officer, Kaletta Lynch. Moana touched on the importance of the commission for herself, the community, and the institutions at large, expressed her excitement to get work done and make change happen. 2. Open Dialogue Commissioner Powell started off the open dialogue by acknowledging the community’s recent “togetherness.” He discussed the loss of Aaron Lowe and the effect that it has had on the Black Community, along with the concerns that the black community faces. Being a person of color, Commissioner Powell questions what led to that night and feels the loss of his life. With his constituency being made up largely of black academics and athletes, Commissioner Powell hopes that justice will be served. 3. Public Comment (limited to 15 minutes) No public comment because there were no attendees in the meeting Commissioner McDonald asked if the community had been notified that the Commission was entering into Phase 2 and if their presence to interact was known. Racial Equity in Policing Commission Agenda 2 12/17/2021 7:25 PM Kaletta Lynch informed the Commissioners that the website (with the link and agenda) was still being used, and a new Equity newsletter will start this month to give notices to the community. In addition, Chief Equity Officer (Kaletta) and her team will have a timeslot to brief the City Council and they can continue to advertise in those public meetings as well. Allison, City Council Staff, acknowledged that the City Council has announced that September 29th would be the first day the Racial Equity in Policing Commission meets and have done so for the last 4 City Council meetings. Meetings will also be posted earlier. 4. CHAT- Community Health Access Team Fire Chief Lieb will discuss the CHAT proposal. Proposal to fill the gap between EMS and service providers in the community. CHAT is aiming to get respond to calls with one firefighter and one social worker to specific types of calls. These calls do not include dangerous scenarios with weapons, or where there is hostility that could put the social worker in harms way. The Fire Department (FD) receives approximately 30,000 calls a year and out of those 80% are medical assessments. 70% of those medical calls are basic life support calls -- not immediately life threatening. These patients could get better assistance with a social worker present at the site who gives people the service that an individual may need instead of admitting them to the emergency room. Chief Lieb sees this program can make a difference in the way that healthcare is addressed in the community and how they respond to medical emergencies. He believes that the FD has a role to play in community health where they are sustainable and progressive, optimistic about the CHAT program succeeding and bettering lives. Strengths: The FD has a good rapport and a good level of trust in the community being the number 1 rated Salt Lake City service provider. Wanting to take a softer approach towards interaction so that it is not hostile between an individual and authority. Challenges: Chief Lieb doesn’t want firefighters or social workers to be put in danger even though they may be responding to calls that require them to be put in these situations. He wants to ensure that the calls social workers are responding to are not the most dangerous calls and fall within the boundary mentioned before. Staffing is difficult and it is hard to find social workers even for the fire department. Goal is to find three social workers, two who will be working in the field and one who will be managing the team. Chief understands that there may be overlap with the SLCPD but still believes that it is essential and there is good cause to have this program also installed within the FD. Racial Equity in Policing Commission Agenda 3 12/17/2021 7:25 PM Commissioner Prospero brings up concern about triaging these calls through 911. Worried about the intensive training that they will need to receive to know when they will have to send PD and when they will not. Commissioner Anjewierden had the same concerns as Commissioner Prospero and questioned the structure of how 911 dispatch services currently with police and fire. Commissioner Anjewierden also asked about the protocol that goes behind the PD ensuring that spaces where the FD goes into are safe. Lastly, the commissioner brought up racial equity and asked how the Chief would address the discrepancies seen in marginalized communities who may not completely trust the FD because they are a government entity. Chief Lieb acknowledges that from a safety standpoint there will be overlap. He is hoping that CHAT calls are dispatched directly from 911 and acknowledges that there is going to be instances where there is a police team dispatched but many where there isn’t. There is a community relationship division through the FD which encompasses fire fighter development, recruitment and outreach for fire fighters, and communication with underserved communities in Salt Lake which allows them to have better relationships, in general, with the community. Assistant Chief mentioned dispatches optimistic attitude towards being able to institute the FD’s idea of CHAT. Commissioner Powell asks about the FD ability to staff training positions with POC and how the FD will move forward in making sustainable progressive change now that racism has been declared a moral and public health crisis in the city. “Will we be able to roll this out with trainers of color and will we be able to progressively and sustainably establish this program with the health departments support?” Chief Lieb echoes the need for diversity and his attempt to diversify on all fronts in trainers, social workers, and fire fighters. His goal has been to diversify the FD by 2% every year and they have met that goal for the last eight years. 5. Policy & Procedure Discussion Kaletta outlines that the document lays out the protocols, frequencies, and a chair and vice chair model. An attempt to formalize the commission and ensure it is acting the way it should. Cindy Lou went through the document explaining: The organization of the Chair and Vice chair, the election process, and the one-year term. Orientation for new commissioners Commission training Duties of the Chair which include: presiding at the meeting and general direction, development of the agenda in scheduling and present opportunities for the commission to vote on business matters. The Chair also serves as a resource for media contacts or selects designees to discuss commission business items. Racial Equity in Policing Commission Agenda 4 12/17/2021 7:25 PM The Vice Chair conducts the duties of the Chair if the Chair is absent. If the Chair resigns, the Vice Chair will serve until elections are held again. Equity Manager Role: minutes, noticing, the attendance of the meeting and providing commissioners the materials for the meeting. In the search for a new member, commissioners will be able to interview applicants which will then be passed on to the mayor for sign off. All commissioners are required to fill out a conflict- of-interest form to abide by the rules and an ethics training will be coming soon. The Commission is tasked with a report to the Mayor and City Council in writing to share the commissions’ findings and this process must happen AT LEAST once a year. Commissioner Johnson questioned how the commission is going forward in recruiting the fifteenth member. Kaletta mentioned that the application is opened and will be posted to the city’s social media platforms along with the different avenues she mentioned at the beginning of the meeting to Commissioner McDonald. Once applications are collected, they will be presented to the commission and from there they are able to notify the mayor of their top candidates which will go to the City Council. Kaletta also acknowledged the digital divide and mentioned that if any individual is unable to apply online then they can contact the Mayor’s Office and apply on paper instead of electronically. Commissioner Eldrige questioned if there is a deadline that needs to be met for the filling of this 15th position and if there are any restrictions on what the commission can do if the seat is unfilled. Cindy Lou informed the commission that applications are constantly being taken in whether there is a vacancy and encourages all interested individuals to apply so in a sense there is no deadline. While the Commission does strive to hit fifteen members there must be at least eight members present to get anything done, that is the only limitations Commissioner Anjewierden questions if the policy can be changed once it is adopted later. Cindy Lou states that policies can be updated they will just need to be discussed by the commission beforehand. Commissioner Powell asks how many Commissioners are needed for quorum on a subcommittee meeting and how they would communicate with the city that they are wanting to meet. Kaletta states that subcommittee meetings need to be less than a quorum (8 members) and they can meet as many times as they would like but if they can give the city a week and a half notice before the meeting when requiring city staff. When city staff is not need, an email about the meeting is sufficient. The Chair will need to make sure these different subcommittees happen and that may change from one chair to another. The Chair and Vice chair would also be in the loop about what occurs in subcommittees. Consensus was reached with the policy, and it was adopted. Meetings will occur on the last Wednesday of every month at 5pm. Racial Equity in Policing Commission Agenda 5 12/17/2021 7:25 PM 6. Chair and Vice Chair Election Commissioner Salazar-Hall and McDonald were nominated first Commissioner McDonald questioned the time constraints that would come with the chair and vice chair role. Kaletta mentions that the time commitment is about 5-7 hours for the month on average with no urgent matters. Commissioner McDonald asks if the Chair and Vice Chair can meet before and after to discuss and ensure that they are on the same page. As the leadership, it is encouraged that they would be doing this as well as working with Moana on monthly agendas. Commissioner McDonald acknowledges her connections and presence in the media and offers to give another member the opportunity to get the exposure of being in the forefront of these issues. She offers her ability to be a Vice Chair if needed but also knows her time restraints with the work that she does outside of the commission. Commissioner Salazar-Hall accepts the nomination and nominates Commissioner Prospero for Vice Chair. Role Call Vote for Commissioner Salazar-Hall. Commissioner Salazar-Hall majority electing her as Chair. Moving forward with Vice Chair elections, both Commissioner Prospero and McDonald withdrew their nominations, leaving Commissioner Hawkins as the only nominee for Vice Chair. Roll Call Vote for Commissioner Hawkins. Commissioner Hawkins received a majority of the votes electing her as Vice Chair. 7. TENTATIVE Closed Session The Commission will consider a motion to enter into a Closed Session. A closed meeting described under Section 52-4-205 may be held for specific purposes including, but not limited to: a. discussion of the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual; b. strategy sessions to discuss pending or reasonably imminent litigation; c. discussion regarding deployment of security personnel, devices, or systems; and d. investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct. A closed meeting may also be held for attorney-client matters that are privileged pursuant to Utah Code § 78B-1-137, and for other lawful purposes that satisfy the pertinent requirements of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act. Racial Equity in Policing Commission Agenda 6 12/17/2021 7:25 PM Meeting adjourned at: 6:25 pm Minutes approved through consensus: November 3, 2021 MOANA ULUAVE-HAFOKA SALT LAKE CITY MAYOR’S OFFICE This document is not intended to serve as a full transcript as additional discussion may have been held; please refer to the audio or video for entire content pursuant to Utah Code 52-4-203(2)(b). This document along with the digital recording constitute the official minutes of the Racial Equity in Policing Commission Regular Meeting on September 29, 2021.