Hello, I deeply appreciate Mayor Taylor and Police Chief Bertini taking the time to talk with the community yesterday, June 4th. I thought both of you addressed our community's concerns with a lot of thought and consideration. I would like to raise some concerns, however. 1. I was troubled by the Police Chief's repeated statements that the community educate itself about how policing works, and about the details in its policy manual that the department rigorously follows. Perhaps it is possible that the community *has* in fact educated itself (or speaking for myself, I have educated myself) more than it previously had, about these matters, and has not liked what it found. I'm also troubled by the Chief's constant mention of efforts by foreign powers to influence opinions and stoke divisions here in the US. Yes, I am aware of those. I also came from a country (India) where statements to this effect were constantly made to deflect from legitimate issues citizens had with government officials. I find such statements extremely condescending, especially in a highly educated community such as Menlo Park. I think we in Menlo Park are quite able to see through those foreign efforts, thank you very much. We do also have legitimate concerns. 2. I would like to bring to the attention of the Police Chief and the City Council this article in 538 from yesterday, the day of the town-hall: How The Police See Issues Of Race And Policing By Perry Bacon Jr. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-the-police-see-issues-of-race-and-policing/ It gets into the details, based on extensive surveys of both police officers and the general public, of how the self-perception of the police is quite different from how they are perceived by the broader public. “Officers reject the notion that their behaviors are affected by racial bias,” said Natalie Todak, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who said she has interviewed hundreds of police officers for her work. She added that “many police officers endorse the ‘differential involvement’ hypothesis.” Essentially, that’s the belief that the police are simply targeting criminal behavior and that black people are committing crimes at a higher rate than white people. Todak also noted that beyond these racial issues, “throughout history, we can see a recurring pattern of officers and agencies resisting outside criticism and pressures to reform.” I urge the Council to peruse this article. We as a community need to get to grips with this difference of perception, and to what extent this applies in Menlo Park. It is not healthy. Deflecting concerns by pointing to foreign interference and a lack of community knowledge does not help matters. Again, thanks to both Mayor Taylor and Chief Bertini for a very useful Town Hall with the community. I hope we continue to have more of these. Best, --Prashanth Mundkur Downtown Menlo Park Received on Fri Jun 05 2020 - 09:43:48 PDT
