Mayor Emily Larson, along with city administration, recommends that the council vote on the riot gear on October 22nd.
After a deep conversation about next steps and how best to engage the City of Duluth in planning a forum, the meeting attendees began drafting a letter. It was the group’s goal to have a finalized letter distributed in a few days.
The Duluth News Tribune states that Keith Hamre (presumably on behalf of City Administration) promised that, “the city will continue to work with the Citizens Review Board to develop a policy governing appropriate use of the requested equipment”.
IMPACT: Despite lacking any kind of meaningful analysis or report from the community forums on riot gear purchase or policy, the city administration still urged the City Council to vote on the matter, communicating the message that results from these forums were never intended to inform the City Council’s decision. If the city pushes through a vote without meaningfully reviewing the data, or taking into account the voices of the community that have repeatedly and clearly asked to be heard, then it is difficult – if not impossible – to trust that the city will listen to the voices of the community when putting together a policy for the gear.
Photo Credit: file/Duluth News Tribune