Meeting Minutes – October 2014 Minutes

ATLANTA CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
October 9, 2014
Adamsville Recreation Center
3201 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30311
6:00 p.m.

The October 9, 2014 meeting was called to order by Chair Harrison at 6:18 p.m.

A G E N D A

ROLL CALL

(Eleven Members of the Board)

ACTIVE MEMBERS PRESENT
PAUL BARTELS (Secretary/Bartels)             ALAN MORRIS (Morris)
GERALD SOUDER (Souder)                           MACEO C. WILLIAMS, SR. (Williams)
**SHERRY WILLIAMS (Williams)                WILLIAM HARRISON (Chair/Harrison)
**BILL BOZARTH (Bozarth)                                                          

ACTIVE MEMBERS ABSENT
RUTH PRICE (Vice Chair/Price)

VACANT BOARD SEATS
Office of the Mayor (vacant 1 year and 2 months)
Atlanta Business League (vacant 2 years and 4 months)
Gate City Bar Association (vacant 2 months)

STAFF ATTENDEES
CRYSTAL BYRD (Byrd), Community Outreach Specialist;
ROBIN LOLAR (Investigator Lolar), Investigator;
SAMUEL LEE REID, (Director Reid), Executive Director;
SHEENA ROBERTSON (Investigator Robertson), Investigation Manager;
MYOLA SMITH (Smith), Project Manager and Minutes Transcriber

Guest Attendees: Atlanta Police Department, Office of Professional Standards, Major Valerie Dalton, Commander and Lieutenant Jesse Webb; and Deputy Chief Joseph Spillane, APD, Field Operations,

Chair Harrison welcomed APD and members of the public to the meeting.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Chair Harrison directed the Board’s attention to the minutes for September 11, 2014.   The floor was opened for discussion and corrections to the minutes.

Bartels moved to adopt the minutes. Morris seconded.

Correction:

Souder corrected page 11 item 4 under ‘Discussion.’ He corrected the statement to read “the question was sent to Investigator Robertson who then contacted APD with the question.”

Hearing no further corrections or discussion, the motion was approved by all as corrected.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

The following are highlights from Lee Reid’s report:

• Community Outreach - ACRB’s new initiative to hold board meetings outside of City Hall in communities for greater exposure and connection with the community. The plan is to hold at least three meetings in the community per year in different areas of the city.
• Outreach Activities - Since last May, ACRB has been engaged in a number of outreach activities, e., committee engagement seminar, festivals and initiatives focused on youth and young adults.
• Body Worn Cameras (BWCS) - Director Reid completed a study on BWCS. Each member received a copy of the study. Extra copies were also made available to guests and citizens for discussion later during Public Comments. Prior to Public Comments, Reid will give a presentation on the report.
• Third Investigator Position - ACRB staff will be interviewing for the third investigator starting Monday, October 20, 2014.
• Televised Outreach Interview - Monday, October 13, 2014, Director Reid will interview with Clark Atlanta University People’s Station to extend outreach to college students.
• Atlanta Police Department Presentation –In an ongoing effort, this past Tuesday, October 7^th Director Reid and Vice Chair Price further introduced ACRB and its purpose in a presentation at the APD Police Academy.
• Officers in Schools - ACRB have recently received case complaints involving officers in schools. Reid indicated that another study will be initiated on the selection process and training of officers assigned to schools. The study is expected to be available in the next few months

Community Outreach Specialist Crystal Byrd reported on the upcoming events:

• The Festival of Lights Parade and Festival hosted by Historic Westside Cultural Arts Council will take place on Saturday, October 11, 2014.
• Stop Mass Incarceration Concert and Conference Saturday, October 11, 2014 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Community Forum presented by the African Community Centers for Unity and Self Determination Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.
• ACRB will conduct a Community Training in collaboration with the National Action Network (NAN) Saturday, October 25, 2014. Neighborhood organizations can get in touch with ACRB if they would like the ACRB to do a workshop event at their facility.
• Byrd announced that ACRB is on social media Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and everyone is encouraged to follow to stay connected.

INTAKE REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 2014

A total of eleven (11) complaints were received for the month of September.  Investigator Robertson gave the following report:

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-074, Dermund Stewart alleging False Arrest

Mr. Stewart alleges that Albany Police Officers falsely arrested him in 2012 and 2013.

Recommend dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-075, Reginald Platts alleging Other

Mr. Platts alleges that his life is in ruins stemming from an OPS and FBI investigation and wants to be reinstated with APD. Recommend dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-076, Derrick Johnson alleging False Arrest and Harassment

Mr. Johnson alleges that he was falsely arrested and harassed by an APD officer in 2011.

Recommend dismissal because incident occurred outside of the 180 day limit imposed by the ordinance.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-077, Addisus Palms alleging Inadequate Medical Treatment

Mr. Palms, an inmate at the Fulton County Jail, alleges that he is receiving inadequate medical treatment. Recommend dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-078, Tracy Jones alleging Verbal Abuse, Improper Detainment and Excessive Force

Ms. Jones alleges that her 16 year old daughter was improperly detained by an APD officer. She further alleges that the officer was verbally abusive towards her and engaged in excessive force when he grabbed her arm. Awaiting Ms. Jones’s signed complaint. If signed complaint is received within the next few weeks, recommend investigation as an abusive language, false imprisonment, and excessive force complaint. However, if not received within the next few weeks staff will recommend dismissal.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-079, Ayoluwa Battiste-Langston alleging False Arrest

Ms. Battiste-Langston alleges that on August 28, 2014, APD Officer Terry Mulkey falsely arrested her for aggravated assault. Preliminary investigation revealed that Ms. Battiste-Langston’s criminal case is pending adjudication in the Fulton County Superior Court, and the investigation into the false arrest allegation will depend on its outcome. Therefore, recommend suspension of the investigation pending the adjudication. If the case is resolved in Ms. Battiste-Langston’s favor, investigate as a false arrest complaint. If not,complaint will be dismissed.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-080, Bailey Cato alleging Excessive Force

Mr. Cato alleges that on September 13, 2014, APD Officers Matthew Johns and Michael Soprano engaged in excessive force when they physically assaulted him during an arrest.

Recommend investigation as an excessive force complaint.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-081, Sandra Lomax alleging False Arrest and Verbal Abuse

Ms. Lomax alleges that she was falsely arrested by APD Officer T. Johnson on August 30, 2014. She further alleges that the officer was verbally abusive towards her. She also indicated that her case was dismissed. Awaiting Ms. Lomax’s signed complaint. If signed complaint is received within the next few weeks, recommend investigation as an abusive language and false arrest complaint. However, if not received within the next few weeks, recommend dismissal.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-082, Lydia Vogt alleging Rude Behavior and Unprofessionalism

Ms. Vogt alleges that on August 12, 2014, while at Springdale Park Elementary, she overheard APD Officer Michael Skillman make an inappropriate statement to another female. She further stated that when she later questioned him about it, Officer Skillman was very rude and unprofessional towards her. Recommend dismissal for lack of jurisdiction. However, it is recommended that staff initiate a study into APD’s selection process and training of officers assigned to Atlanta Public Schools.

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-083, Vicki Parson alleging False Arrest

Ms. Parson alleges that on August 12, 2014, her son was falsely arrested by Fayetteville Police officers. Recommend dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.  

Complaint Number: ACRB No. 14-084, Danteaon Chapple alleging False Imprisonment and Rude Behavior

Mr. Danteaon Chapple alleges that on September 25, 2014, APD Officer Brian Johnston improperly stopped and detained him. He further alleges that the officer was rude towards him. Recommend investigation as a false imprisonment complaint and dismissal of the rude behavior allegation because it falls outside the board’s jurisdiction.

Discussion…

1. Williams asked Investigator Robertson to briefly explain the time period under which a complainant can file a complaint.
2. Robertson explained that a complaint is required to be filed within 180 days (approximately 6 months) of the incident. One such case this month is ACRB No. 14-076, Derrick Johnson (intake report complaint number three) that occurred in 2011.

It was moved by M. Williams to accept the Intake Report.  Bartels seconded the motion. Hearing no further discussion, the vote was called and the motion to accept was approved by all.

**It should be noted that Bill Bozarth and Sherry Williams arrived before the Review of Complaints.

REVIEW OF COMPLAINTS

CASE NO. 14-044, LARRY KERR

False Arrest: Mr. Larry Kerr alleges that on May 6, 2014, Atlanta Police Officer William Marino falsely arrested and charged him with violating OCGA Section 16-11-37, Terroristic Threats and Acts. It is noted that according to the Fulton County Superior Court records, the charge was dismissed from one prosecution and Mr. Kerr was recharged with simply battery, family violence under OCGA 16-5-23 (f) and the case was transferred to Fulton County State Court.

The investigation revealed that according to APD records, on the day of the incident, Mr. Kerr called 911 and reported a black female was at his residence armed with two knives. During his ACRB interview, Mr. Kerr stated that the alleged female was his ex-girlfriend who had lived with him for over a year. Officers William Marino and Kay Mitchell responded to the location and Mr. Kerr was subsequently arrested. During his interview, Mr. Kerr admitted in the presence of the officer, he threatened to throw acid in his girlfriend’s face if she returned to his residence. Officer Marino stated that Mr. Kerr’s threatening was his sole basis for his arrest, and based on the aforementioned in this evidence, it appears that Officer Marino was justified in arresting Mr. Kerr. The ACRB staff recommends that the allegation of false arrest against the officer be assigned a finding of exonerated.

Discussion…

1. Bozarth: “Reading the case, he indicated that he cannot disagree with the finding of staff but was disturbed by the fact the complainant spent fifty days in jail. “Mr. Kerr and his girlfriend are reunited according to the interview.”
2. Robertson: “Yes. Mr. Kerr said she’s back in the house and he claims they’re not together, but they’re living together.”
3. Bozarth said that it could’ve been avoided if they negotiated a discussion. “I just think it’s unfortunate. I can’t disagree with the recommendation, the officer, having heard the threats the man made.”

Bartels moved to accept staff recommendation of exonerated. S. Williams seconded. The motion was approved with no opposition.

Chair Harrison deviated from the agenda to forego Old Business and Committee Reports to make allowances for the Body Worn Cameras report and NACOLE Conference presentations. He requested that each boardmember introduce themselves to the audience and state what respective constituency they’re appointed to and represent.

NACOLE 2014 CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

Chair Harrison, M. Williams and Investigator Lolar presented a synopsis of their individual perspectives gained from attending the 2014 NACOLE Conference in Kansas City.

NACOLE Reports and Highlights:

Williams Harrison’s Report

Mr. Harrison report focused on sessions at the conference that pertained to legal updates. In the Search and Seizure mini session, cell phones were discussed and the laws that were in place when the phones first hit the market in the late eighties or early nineties. “Since that time and only now in 2014 has the Supreme Court come down with a law that says that your cell phone can’t be searched. So, when you think about the years gone, you know, with having cell phones and the fact that the information that we keep in our cell phones, our personal information is beholden to search and seizure. Only in 2014 did the Supreme Court rule that upon arrest, your phone cannot be served without a warrant. So all those years that you’ve had cell phones prior to 2014, it’s been wide open.”

Harrison noted another update that he found particularly disturbing. There is a tracking device referred to as the Moocher Hunter. The Moocher Hunter is a mobile tracking software tool designed to assist law enforcement monitor Wi-Fi users. With this tool, an officer can actually take the device down the street and he can basically determine how many people are operating at a particular Wi-Fi station. Not only is this tool being used by police officers, but citizens will soon have the same capability to track unauthorized Wi-Fi users accessing their networks and personal information.

Another similar and controversial device being used is called a StingRay. This device impersonates a cell tower in order to force all nearby cellular devices to connect to it. The way law enforcement is using it works like this: when your cell device connects to this fake tower, your personal data is taken and all of that information then goes directly into the officer’s StingRay.

Harrison stated that these are emerging issues that eventually, people have to take a look at because they all, basically violate the fourth amendment rights regarding search and seizure. “Having all my information going to a Stingray or something that impersonates a cell tower, if I’m the targeting suspect, is one thing, but when I’m at home with my family, and one member of my family begins to use their cell phone, their information is open to scrutiny by the law enforcement as well as my own. And that’s disturbing.”

Maceo Williams’ Report

Mr. Williams reported that he attended sessions on the body worn cameras. “I know that back in Seattle maybe three or four years ago, there was an incident up there where a person was crossing the street and the camera was on the police car. The police stopped the man as he walked across the street out of the view of the camera. You heard the shots ring out and then the next thing we know, the man was dead. This is the sort of thing that follows naturally to start talking about body cameras. They ain’t cheap and there are a lot of things about the body cameras that we have to look at and talk about but the bottom line is, they have a life span of maybe eight hours on a battery, and sometimes these officers be on twelve hour shifts, you know, so what do you do about the other four hours? That is the magic question. Do you keep batteries with longer life span or do you cut them on and off? That sort of thing or what?”

Williams also reported that he has been attending sessions in DeKalb County, and during one of the sessions where Police Chief Cedric L. Alexander was present, he (M. Williams) weighed in on the matter of body cameras. Since that time, Police Chiefs Alexander and Turner have both announced that they have plans for their officers to wear body cameras. “The bottom line with the officers wearing body cameras, it’s a good thing and it is a real good thing for the people. It is also real good for the sake of knowing the real score. You want more than what you just see from the dashboard, okay. You know, it is all about the people and it’s all about citizens and when officers go home at night, they all in some way become a citizen too.”

Williams indicated that he met the next Chief of Police of Burbank, who sent him a strategic plan on how Burbank got their community and the police department to see eye-to-eye, okay. Williams announced that a copy of the plan is available to the Board upon request. He indicated that perhaps it would be a good idea if ACRB could meet with APD on some of the ideas in the plan.

Investigator Lolar’s Report:

Lolar, ACRB Senior Investigator is a founding member of NACOLE. She said, “I have to say that this is one of my babies because I am one of the founders of the NACOLE. This year’s conference was one that I was very proud to attend, because it hit a record high as far as the attendees. They put on some very informative sessions vital to what’s going on in Atlanta.”

Lolar reported that Mr. Ron Davis, Director of the U.S. Department of Justice and COPS (Community Oriented Policing Service) office was one of the speakers at the conference. “One of things that really stuck out in my mind when Mr. Davis spoke was this statement, “Whoever controls the public space controls the face of the community.” Lolar stated that Davis stressed how important it is for all stakeholders --police department, the community, politicians or the political leaders--to collaborate.

Other areas of interest included legal updates pertaining to the following subjects:

• The ADA and the Disabilities Act

Lolar said, “The courts have found that the officers failed to reasonably accommodate disabilities. As cases come up, the courts are starting to ask did the officers know or have reason to believe the person had a disability; and was there anything else that could’ve been done to de-escalate the matter. Officers are starting to be held more accountable with trying to de-escalate situations where they know that the individual may have a mental illness issue.”

• The Use of Force

Use of Force Development of Effective Constitutional Policy course was held during the conference. The course focused on contemporary issues and the objective of which is to get an understanding of the changing of police practices as it applies to policy, training, documentation, current use of force standards, and illegal traffic.

• Body Worn Cameras

Lolar said, “Mr. Reid will be going over BWCS in his presentation, but I would like to say that I had a chance to speak with a sergeant from the BART Police Department in San Francisco. I asked the sergeant since BART has had the cameras for the past two years, what were some of the main challenges. She said that the main challenge was the officers remembering to activate the cameras.”

• LGBTQ Information Session

Lolar indicated that the session was very informative. “The presenter supplied us with a lot of good information that I brought back for outreach.” Lolar noted that she plans now to see how APD policy was setup and if they had a landline officer in regards to the LGBTQ.

REID’S PRESENTATION ON BODY WORN CAMERAS STUDY AND DISCUSSION

Executive Director Reid made a presentation to the Board and community on body worn cameras. He said. “Body worn cameras have been out for a couple of years and haven’t been fully tested to determine the limitations. ACRB decide to do a study looking at over forty sources, including talking to the Las Vegas Police Department and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police Department. The cameras can be worn on the body or on eyewear. They’re used for stops, arrests, interrogation searches and instances involving officer shootings.

Five perceived benefits that the cameras should be able to provide the public:

• Visual documentation that sends an officer actions.
• Preventing and reducing false arrests and false imprisonment.
• Reinforce policy and increase officer professionalism.
• Reduce use of force incidents.
• Fast resolution of citizen complaints.

Statements and questions regarding some areas of concern:

• Will the officer be able to edit recordings and review recordings?
• How long should a department retain recordings?
• How will departments handle malfunctioning cameras during their tour of duty, for example, cameras falling, cameras being obstructed?
• To what extent will the public have access to recordings?
• Cameras should have a visible indicator showing it is recording.
• A retention period for recordings available to the public.
• Can there be a redaction?
• Will officers be able to review recordings before reports are written?
• How easy will be to duplicate the recordings?
• Privacy: Will the information be shared with other government agencies? All the encounters between officers and citizens, Department of Homeland Security and ICE linking together copious amounts of information on citizens, combined with facial recognition software.
• In addition to uniformed officers, will detectives be mandated to wear the camera?

Reid encouraged all to read the study and provide feedback. “This is a serious undertaking that is happening all across the country, and we need to make sure that everyone is engaged on how the BWCS program is implemented.”

Following Reid’s presentation, the Chair opened the floor to public comments.

QUESTIONS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS

1. Chair Harrison asked how soon the APD plans to roll out the BWCS.
2. Deputy Chief Spillane answered, “We are currently testing several different versions out in the field to develop the protocol and we are reading every study that we can. One of the studies that Reid referenced, we were involved in D.C with PERF, and the Dept. of Justice. We are really looking and that is a great study that you completed, and we really appreciate it and we will take everything into account. We actually have 30 that we have been testing to see how we are going to do that, where are we going to store the data, what’s the policy review and privacy concerns? We consulted with the ACLU and PERF on how we are going to roll them out. So we are not in a hurry to roll it out city wide because if we are going to do it, we do it right. We also want to make sure, as you (Reid) mentioned, that the officer remembers to turn it on every time and part of that is training. So, we are very active right now evaluating the cameras. There will be a lot of new products coming out because this is really an evolving field. We have been studying this for a year and a half and every month, something new and great comes out. We don’t want to have to spend a million dollars and then next year, spend another million on something the citizens would expect us to have. To answer your question, the Chief is committed to rolling this out, but all the pros and cons that you bring up, we have to work through.”
3. Larry Phillips, Sr.: “To Deputy Chief Spillane, what are the expected changes? Are there any overall expected changes with the officers wearing this body wear?”
4. Deputy Chief Spillane: “We know that actually the studies say that complaints against police go down by between sixty and seventy percent, because the officer, not only knows he’s wearing it, the citizen knows that he’s being recorded, and so the interaction feels much friendlier. The officers that we have testing it now are giving us evaluations. They absolutely love wearing the product. We’ll know as we continue to develop and evaluate how the officers feel about it, and, you know, I think when we look at it a year from now, a few years from now, I think that the cases done before this board and before OPS will start going down as far as the citizen complaints.”
5. Williams: “That’s one thing that came out there at the conference, like the officers get used to it, so it’s no longer feels like they’re wearing something extras. It’s like part of their everyday scheme.”
6. Chris Moseley: “I have a technical question. I’m not sure who to direct this to, but the cameras being tested, are they just for officers who were in cars, or horse patrol, and foot controls? Where are they being tested and what’s the use?”
7. Spillane: “Several places we’re testing. One place is the airport, where we get several citizen complaints, you know, on the curb. We got test cameras in our task force. They ride around with bicycles on the beltline, and then we have the field operations division with police dogs and the officers in cars.”
8. Reid: “And in the study, the cameras are also tested in various situations, including body worn cameras out in the field.”
9. Xochitl Bevera: I’m the co-director of the Racial Justice Action Center, and one comment we want to make was just a general voice of support from a lot of our membership. We represent folks from around the Atlanta metro area, and body cameras are something in the community that is seen as a really important measure right now, specifically after Ferguson. So, there’s a lot of support and appreciation for the Board for doing a study. One of the concerns that we have, is around community trust and confidence in the Board. And so, we wanted to make sure that I understood a particular statistic taken out of the Annual Report, which shows that there was only one complaint in all 2013, that the Board recommended be sustained, and that Chief Turner agreed with and APD followed through. Is that accurate out of a hundred and twenty-four original complaints?”
10. Reid: “First, a hundred and twenty-four is what was received. Out of that number, and I don’t have the numbers in front of me, is twenty that went over to the police department. At the time that the annual report was printed, we had not received all of the decisions back from the police department. We received the letter stating that, well; we’re still conducting a review before giving you a decision. They were not necessarily disagreeing with the Board’s decision, but they had not completed the investigation yet. To us, that’s a ‘no’ at the time until we get the final letter. Recently, we requested information from the police department that we’re looking at, to determine how the decisions that we make compare to how APD make decisions, and where the differences are. And we hope to be coming out with that study within the next few months.”
11. Williams: “I wish you would help us in any kind of way that you can, and we’ll come out to your area that you need us to come out to.”
12. Williams: “What I wanted to add to what you’re saying is that let’s just assume that there are fifteen complaints filed and five or six of them are against the same officer. Even if APD doesn’t rule the way we rule, don’t you think that when these complaints start to add up, that pretty soon that officer’s going to be gone? You should understand, but if there are zero complaints, we know nothing will be done, but the more complaints that are filed and tracked against, especially the same officers, mostly likely, that officers will be weeding out, because most police officers want to do the right thing. We just always need to weed out the bad ones, just like they do in any other organization when there is bad behavior. Filing complaints can help us do that and put attention on these problems. I would like to talk with you after the meeting and get your phone number. Thank you for coming.”
13. Phillip Champion: “I am a project coordinator with Extraordinarily, and I have a quick question for you guys. This thing is like a big issue with my age demographic, because there’s a general dislike and distrust between us and the police department. What is an effective way to, I guess, develop better relations, or how open is APD to participate in events where you guys in uniform, could come and participate in the community, where we can kind of break down the barrier between, you know, the ‘us’ verses ‘them’ mentality? Let’s be us together. So how do we engage in an effort to reach out to you guys to come out to our community and actually come out to community events outside of just patrolling?”
14. Major Dalton: “Let me answer that. I’m happy to answer that. In 2009, the City of Atlanta Police Department received a grant, and Chief Turner felt so strongly about the connection between the police department and the community, that he developed an entire division around that grant, and that’s the Community Services Division. And within that grant, there is a community policing section which I used to command. That’s what we do all day long. So, all we would need you to do is just let us know where you want us to be and we’ll be there, and any conversation that needs to be had, we’re more than happy to engage in that conversation, so that the questions that need to be asked can be asked leisurely and hopefully, we can provide the answer that you’re desiring.”
15. Champion: “Awesome. We have a couple of events coming up where we’ll reach out to you guys.”
16. Major Dalton: “Afterward, I can give you a card.”
17. Deputy Chief Spillane: “If I could just piggyback off that because someone mentioned or asked if we have a LGBTQ line officer, and Xochitl mentioned that there were issues with officers in the LGBTQ community frequently. This week, Chief Turner signed a new SOP dealing with LGBTQ community. I don’t know if you know that or not, but it’s a very good SOP that includes training for our officers to help them with certain segments of the community. So, as Major Dalton said, we’ve got the cops unit that goes out in plain clothes and some of us live in the city and do things in our own communities, etc. I agree, and I think that the understanding between communities and the police would be so much better if we all did things together.”
18. Harrison: “I’d like to piggyback on that too. I’ve participated in this focus group, that held last week with Major Martin, right, and we spoke about the same thing as far as your age demographic, and he asked if I could get somebody to just contact him, so I would like to give him your name. And the second thing with Xochitl, if you know people who are having some problems, tell them to come see me, because I really don’t see that. I mean, I know that there’s a lot of talk on the street about that, but they very rarely make it up to the office to file a complaint. So, if you know a way that you can somehow bridge that gap or something like that, I mean call me direct.”
19. Williams: In January, when we’re all back together, let’s try to put forth an effort to educate the people in this category.”
20. ACRB Outreach Specialist, Crystal Byrd: I just wanted to respond to Xochitl and to Phillip. As the Outreach Coordinator, I’ve only been here since June, and there’s a lot of work to be done as far as outreach is concerned and reaching certain demographics in the community. So, right now, we’re just trying to get that olive branch out there. One of our main things is trying to reach people who are in that millennial group and also college students, the young professionals in that group to work with us, so that we can learn how to improve on getting information out in the communities, as well as, finding ways to foster trust, and letting the people know that we actually exist. Because our staff is so small, we have to be creative and think outside of the box. We want to be able to meet with the LGBTQ community, come to the millennial and learn the most effective what to communicate with them and share our mission. So, we can talk about, you know, the mistrust and all this stuff and the stats. Look, ACRB is trying to paint a paper trail you know, and that’s the message I try to get out to people who are our age who are looking at it like, well, what’s the difference. Well, the difference is, is that we’re creating a paper trail and if a particular officer continues acting like a jerk for the last fifteen years and ACRB has been telling the Chief of Police that for the last fifteen years, and they decide not to move on it, ACRB has to let you know. And that’s the real point of the matter. We are reaching out to every segment of Atlanta as soon and as quickly as we can. I’ve sent many emails to people in the last couple months. So please invite me to your events. Invite me and I will come. We are open to suggestions and recommendations to improve our communication and to develop partnerships. Thank you.

ADJOURNMENT

Hearing no further comments, M. Williams motioned to adjourn. Bartels seconded. The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.