Dear Honorable Mayor and Council Members: It is with great disappointment that I read the Menlo Park bulletin and its support of the curfew imposed in the County of San Mateo. As a resident of Menlo Park, I strongly object to your support of martial law …to allow police, the National Guard or other military personnel deployed to the area to roam around in military gear while imposing curfew on residents is constitutionally highly suspect. This curfew is a preemptory action against the first amendment rights of individuals. There is no 'emergency' in our city that rises to a level that can justify curfew and curtail the civil liberties of individuals to protest. And a few acts of vandalism and (damage to property certainly must not diminish the constitutional protection afforded the people. And who gets to decide what is and is not "authorized" media and what are the criteria? Who sets these standards? We live at an age that the only way we learn of real news is through unconventional media sources and people, and not the traditional MSM. So I like to know how do you determine what media is worthy of authorization? I would have hoped that the recent protests, if anything, would have been another wake up call to officials, at every level, to evaluate policies that have given rise to the underlying causes for the protests, even if MPPD many not engage in the same behaviors as the problematic police forces. This is bigger than one city and one person. The Menlo Park Counsel, and Police Department, should be speaking publicly on these matters at this time, be transparent about their policies and records, and be proactive in initiating meaningful and impactful exchange. Soody Tronson Menlo Park resident Received on Wed Jun 03 2020 - 16:25:13 PDT
