Hello City Council, Thanks to the Mayor and the Council for continuing to engage the community on policing. I would like to put forward my comments on what I heard from council members and the community: - We are blinding ourselves if we think our conversation on local policing is only happening due to recent events "thousands of miles away". I would like to draw your attention to: ‘Let’s get this motherf—ker’: San Jose officer benched after viral protest comments Officer Jared Yuen has been viewed millions of times antagonizing George Floyd protesters while getting into downtown skirmish line https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/31/lets-get-this-motherf-ker-san-jose-officers-viral-protest-comments-draw-wide-condemnation/ San Jose would be one of the cities we have a "mutual-aid" relationship with for our police. It is quite possible to have officers such as Yuen being called into Menlo Park as mutual-aid. I would also suggest that this is an example where merely hiring more officers of color to diversify the police force is not sufficient to address the problems we are dealing with: the internal culture of the police, and the social structures that allow this culture to persist. - It was noted that a lot of people are feeling "raw", and that police are doing the best job they can, and are people too. The police carry *guns*. If they have problems handling emotions while carrying guns, they are in the wrong field of work, and should be doing something else. Speaking of which, if a community and city council discussing accountability and measures to restructure the funding of city social services causes the police chief to take it as indicating "It is obvious to me that I have lost the trust of council", in my opinion, he does not inspire confidence in his capacity as chief. If he is a well-trained and distinguished police officer who thinks the Menlo Park police needs a "fresh start”, then I would take him at his word. If anything, his completely unprofessional and self-indulgent behavior makes it clear that he should *not* be any part of addressing police issues in the city going forward. Anyone in a position of power who imagines oneself to be the victim when that power is questioned, is not fit to hold that power. Doctors have to handle a lot of stress and horror in their jobs too. If they cannot handle it, they do awful jobs as doctors. The same applies to police and police chiefs. I would urge the Council to accept the police chief's resignation. - I agree with the callers and emails that mentioned that the statistics indicate that Menlo Park is overpoliced, and spends too much on police gear and staff who tend to be very expensive due to the power of police unions. Please consider redirecting some money to more useful social services such as enriching the library and child care services, and coordinating with the county in providing counsellors for mental health, domestic violence and drug use. Thanks again to the Mayor and the Council for taking the time to engage in these difficult discussions. Best, Prashanth Mundkur Downtown Menlo Park Received on Thu Jun 18 2020 - 21:04:22 PDT
