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 are conflicting accounts of what happened regarding this communication from the CRB to the City Council. The CRB intended to send this motion via email. Once composed, the CRB Chair sent it to The Human Rights Officer and asked it be shared with the City Council. The Human Rights Officer shared at the October 8th meeting (referenced below) that he sent the request from the CRB to the council through his staff, but Councilors said they never received it.
IMPACT: The community felt heard and felt that they finally found the proper channel to communicate with the City of Duluth on the issues of riot gear. When it became clear that the message had not been relayed accurately to the City Council, it contributed to a feeling that the city can’t be trusted. The lack of concern from city officials (other than some councilors) about where the message went is also troubling. Where did that message go? Why was it not relayed as requested?