Three city officials meet to discuss and finalize locations/venue, as well as dates, for the three public forums requested at the CRB meeting.
Based on the ideal locations discussed, the city officials schedule the three public forums for Oct. 9th, 10th, and 11th.
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A large community crowd attends the Duluth CRB meeting.
Chief Tusken and City Councilor Renee Van Nett attended the meeting. After nearly two hours of discussion, the CRB approved a motion to send the following request to the City Council:
Dear Councilors,
We the Citizen Review Board (CRB) request that the next vote on the purchase of protective gear be postponed until the CRB can host/participate in three community forums across the city in order to gather input and feedback on the potential purchase and deployment of protective gear. These forums will also serve as a way to gather input for potential policy suggestions in regards to the deployment and use, in the event that the vote passes. Once these forums are complete the CRB would make a recommendation on a potential path forward.
There is a huge community showing at the Duluth City Council meeting where 37 of the 40 recognized public comments urge the City Council to table the vote until a community forum could happen and/or to ultimately vote against the purchase of riot gear (source). In a 5-3 vote, the City Council decided to table the resolution authorizing the purchase of riot gear. There was no immediate plan put in place about how a community forum would happen. According to at least two city councilors, there was no discussion by the council about what the next steps in the process should look like.
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Representatives of Duluth NAACP, SURJ, PRISM, Twin Ports Democratic Socialist of America, The Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights Coalition, Twin Ports Save the Kids, and other community groups invite Chief Tusken to have a conversation with them.
During this conversation, the group asked if Chief Tusken would request the City Council table the riot gear vote due to community concerns. The Chief declined to make that recommendation and the NAACP issued a statement (“Public statement regarding the potential Duluth City Council vote on the Duluth Police Department’s purchase of riot gear”) recommending the vote be tabled and a community forum be planned involving at least two members of the Citizen Review Board (CRB).The Chief never reached out to plan such a community forum and stated later that he didn’t know if there would be such a forum.
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Chief Tusken attends the NAACP General Meeting to discuss the cancellation of the forum and next steps.
Chief Tusken asked if the NAACP was interested in planning a forum and the members present at the meeting expressed interest in collaboratively planning a community-oriented “Use of Force Forum”. The Chief did not follow up with the NAACP after the meeting and did not provide information on next steps or how the NAACP could engage in planning, other than to “reach out to [him]”. Chief Tusken also stated at the NAACP meeting that he would not be reaching out to any other community organizations to plan, as (according to him) only the NAACP had issued a public statement. He did not follow up with the NAACP or any other community groups after this meeting.
The DPD cancels the “Use of Force Forum” and issues a statement.
Included in the statement is a plan to “reschedule the event shortly…and [to] invite members of the NAACP and other communities of inclusion to help us plan the next event.”
IMPACT: NAACP, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), Superior Save the Kids, and other communities interpret this as a positive first step towards building an inclusive, community-directed public conversation around the use of force by police in our community.
Photo Credit: file / News Tribune
The Duluth Branch of the NAACP posts a public statement (“Statement from the Duluth Branch of the NAACP regarding the ‘Use of Force in Minnesota’ forum and the potential purchase of riot gear by the Duluth Police Department”) regarding the “Use of Force Forum” and the City of Duluth’s potential purchase of riot gear.
The letter requested the forum be postponed. Other community members and organizations made similar statements, both publicly and privately, that aligned with the original letter drafted from the Sept. 6th meeting and the NAACP public statement.
Photo credit: Photo by Andrés Gerlotti on Unsplash
Community leaders gather to talk about the upcoming FBI sponsored forum on the use of force.
After a conversation expressing questions and concerns about the forum, a group of community leaders decides to draft a letter to the Duluth Police Department (DPD) and the FBI sharing why they are not planning to come to the forum and making suggestions about how to make a forum more accessible to the community.