San Diego Leaders React To Weekend Protests

Speaker 1: 00:00 The city of Lamesa. So the first round of protests that turned into violence and looting after dark on Saturday night, the focus on Lamesa was because of a video that circulated showing a Lamesa police officer confronting an African American man of the Grossmont trolley station. We're joined now by Lamesa city council woman Akila Weber, thanks for joining us, council woman. Weber, Speaker 2: 00:21 thank you so much for having me. Speaker 1: 00:22 So how would you describe what happened in the video that I just mentioned that the Grossmont trolley station? Speaker 2: 00:27 Well, you know, it's really hard to say because we still don't have the full, uh, video footage of what transpired the entire time. But the snapshot that we do see was concerning, um, in the manner in which the officer was, um, interacting with the young man that was at the trolley stop. But again, we still don't have the full picture of why the individual was stopped in the first place. And what happened in the first few minutes of interaction between the individual and the police officer. Speaker 1: 00:57 Now you were elected to the Lamesa city council just about two years ago. How big an issue do you think racial profiling is in the city's police department? Has there been any evidence of it in the past? Speaker 2: 01:09 Well, I think, you know, this is an issue that has been present throughout the entire nation and is present in every city and something that every city and every state is addressing and should be addressing. Um, there was an incident in 2018 that where there was, um, a police officer who mishandled, um, a young student that he looks high school and African American female, um, that does, that did raise a lot of concern within the community. And that's one of the reasons why I chose to run for state council on the Mesa. Um, and then we've had this issue. So, you know, Lamesa is a smaller city. We have a smaller, uh, police force. They, um, work very well with our community and we're very appreciative of them. Um, they're always at our schools. They're always at our community events. And overall we have very good, um, community police relations. And like I said, we're very grateful for our entire police force and our police chief. But like any other, uh, police unit with throughout the country, there are sometimes instances that occur that we really need to look to make sure that, um, we're training our officers very well, looking at the diversity within our officers in terms of race and also gender, just to make sure that we are providing the best relationship and the best protection and support that we can for our community that we all serve. Speaker 1: 02:28 Were you satisfied with the way your police first responded? Well, I think Speaker 2: 02:32 that, um, you know, given the size of our police force, um, and the magnitude that came in and everything that was happening, I think that we did the best that we could at the time. Um, I was in constant communication with our city manager. Um, our police chief and also our mayor. Um, we did reach out to the County to get more assistance. We actually also reached out to the state and requested that the national guard come and assist. That request was denied because the national guard had already been deployed to Los Angeles. Um, so, you know, we are a small city. There were a lot of people that evening that came in with a different kind of agenda and we utilized all of the resources that we could to the best of our ability. Speaker 1: 03:20 So Councilwoman Weber, what do you think needs to happen during your next term, your, as your term continues on the limits of the city council to tackle these issues? Speaker 2: 03:30 Well, um, you know, like I said, we definitely need to continue to work on, um, really getting our police oversight commission up and running. Um, once we look at the video and see exactly what transpired, then we need to look to see, okay, what kind of extra training and resources do we need to provide to our police officers? Um, you know, sometimes maybe just doing the minimum requirement of deescalation training may not be the best thing. Maybe we need to go above and beyond that. Additionally, like I said, looking at our police force and saying, well, are we a diverse force? You know, do we need to make sure that we're bringing in other ethnic groups, more females? Um, because that can always bring a different perspective and balance out. Um, you know, what our public safety officers can offer our community and also offer themselves Speaker 1: 04:21 and we've seen curfews the last couple of nights. Are you expecting war? Speaker 2: 04:26 Well I, you know, that's something that we're going to talk about this afternoon. Luckily last night, uh, we did not have any incidents in Lamesa. We implemented a seven o'clock curfew the night before. We implemented a 1:30 AM curfew. And the reason for that was because things were just getting so out of hand and once we realized once we were informed that we would not be getting the national guard, that that request was denied. Um, that's when we said, well we have to do something. And it was at that time where we met and we implemented the one 30 curfew. But last night it was at seven o'clock and you know, depending how things go today and how things are looking in San Diego, we'll determine whether or not we implement another one tonight. Speaker 1: 05:07 Thank you very much council woman Akila Weber of Lamesa. Thanks for joining us. Speaker 2: 05:11 Thank you so much for having me. Speaker 1: 05:18 Earlier today I spoke with San Diego city council when Monica Montgomery, who's been calling for actions and systemic racism, she attended a vigil last night at the County administration building. Yes, I did attend and Speaker 3: 05:31 part of the protests at the County administration building. It really was a vigil to George Floyd and a a call for change. And so what I saw was a peaceful gathering, very peaceful, thousands of people on the lawn. And so when I left, I did hear that, uh, the sheriff had declared it an unlawful assembly based on some activity. I was not there when that occurred, but I can tell you that while I was there, it was extremely peaceful. Speaker 1: 06:05 So later on, after dark police and downtown San Diego did resort to tear gas and rubber bullets yesterday. Do you believe that the police department in San Diego responded appropriately to the situation as it is? Speaker 3: 06:17 Well, let me say this. Uh, the police, uh, department did resort to tear gas and rubber bullets during the day as well. Um, and so this is a very tough situation because we have all types of people involved with different agendas. But I did also hear that, you know, there were, uh, peaceful protesters that were sprayed with rubber bullets into your desk. I don't think that that's a constructive way to promote the first amendment for folks that are coming together in a time of hurt and pain. Um, I understand that officers have a dual responsibility to protect the first amendment and also protect people and they have to balance that. I also will never condone that type of behavior towards peaceful protesters no matter what Speaker 1: 07:03 you've come out calling strongly for actions to address the root causes of police racial profiling. So what needs to be done to change this in San Diego? Speaker 3: 07:13 Well, there are a few things that we're already working on. Uh, one of which is changing the structure of the community review board on police practices, changing it into an investigatory model or a hybrid model instead of the review model that we have now. Um, that is, um, in the works as we speak. Um, I have been dedicated to this since I was campaigning. My, uh, role as the chair of the public safety livable neighborhoods committee is very important in this space. And my, you know, the memo that we have to do annually really lays out some of those priorities, um, in it is including, um, revising. You're looking at a ban on the carotid restraint. There are also deescalation policies that we need to really incorporate. Um, we need to look at our use of force policies and see how those can be changed when we, um, talk about our interactions with the public. The thing is we don't want an equity in enforcement. We want every person in this city when they walk out of their home to feel as though the police officers are protecting and serving them. I think most officers would agree with that, you know, but I want every person in the city and in this region to feel that way. And that is not the case right now. So we have a lot of work to do. Speaker 1: 08:30 Do you think that announcing policy changes will be enough to turn the tide on the strong feelings that are emerging right now? Speaker 3: 08:37 No, I don't. I don't think it will be enough. This is a matter of the heart we have work to do as a nation. I think it's a step in the right direction. It's what I am here for. Oftentimes we've had protests and we have not had, um, uh, a reactive response from our, uh, government officials to actually change the way we do things within the government. We have to have that as a piece of this, as a large piece of this because we know that systemic racism is wrapped up into our institutions and we need to come to terms with that as a nation, as a state, as a region, as a city, you know, we do need to come to terms with that. I am not saying that this is, you know, the magic wand, but I do want people to know that we are working on this. Speaker 3: 09:23 We are doing what they have elected us to do. This is our responsibility. It's a great responsibility, but we have to work on changing policy and we have to work on changing hearts. What hope do you have? The things will evolve in a positive direction in the next few days. Well, hope is all I have. Um, we do not know what the future holds. I know why I'm in this position at this time and in order to create change within our system, I'm very committed and dedicated to that. And I'm hopeful that, you know, Americans, uh, uh, residents of our country will stand together and get through this, but we will not get through it without dealing with the root issues that really plague our community. Um, and that is racism. Um, th this disparity, we have to deal with those issues in order to move forward. If we don't deal with those issues, we will move backwards. But if we do, we will continue to live the dream that we all hope that we'll be America one day. That's a woman want come from Gumtree. Thanks for being with us. Thank you so much. Speaker 4: 10:43 The issue of police use of force is the focus of a California law that's new this year, AB three 92 it has been hailed as the toughest law in the nation against the use of unnecessary lethal force by police. The new law has encouraged police departments in the state to develop new training to address issues of implicit bias, but is the change coming fast enough? Joining me is the author of AB three 92 assembly woman, Shirley Webber from San Diego 79th district, which includes Lamesa and Dr. Weber. Welcome to the program. Thank you and thank you for the invitation. First, what are you thinking about all this, the tragic death of George Floyd and the protests and unrests that's followed? Speaker 5: 11:27 Well, you know, it became very clear to us on Friday that Friday was the anniversary of one year anniversary of the passage of three nine two out of the assembly with 85% of the vote. And it was a bill that was not supposed to be passed, but I think the members realized it in the assembly that we needed to do something. And by passing it in the assembly like that, it pushed it forward to the Senate very easily and with the governor. Um, but you know, my heart was broken. You know, as I thought about it because, you know, we fought so hard to get that bill and that bill is being implemented and we're beginning to see some results of it in California. We're not having as many incidents of complaints regarding officers shooting unarmed individuals, those kinds of things. We haven't had that in California this year and we hope that doesn't happen. Speaker 5: 12:14 But, uh, so we, we're seeing the numbers going down. And so the idea that that training will work does work when, when those who are receptive to it. And so we're beginning the process of training. Uh, but we can't let up because one of the things I noticed in the budget this year was that they want to reduce the funding for the training. And so, uh, this may make them realize, no, you cannot let up. You can not take your foot off the gas. We have to keep pushing forward. So it was very disturbing in some way to watch this watch what was going on. Um, I as a, as a, as a person who grew up in Los Angeles, um, you know, I witnessed the, the Watts revolt in 1965. Uh, the, the, uh, national guards were really posted on our front lawn, uh, because they won the corn. Speaker 5: 12:59 And we were one house from the corner. And I watched his Broadway burned, uh, in Los Angeles. And so I'm kinda familiar with these things that happen, the, the incidents that occur as a result of a police misconduct. And then watching the community protest and then seeing others who were so frustrated come out and start burning things and, and watching the focus being taken off the issue that brought the Watts revolt or that block, the Rodney King incident or whatever it was, they've taken, taken off of those issues and then placed on the issue of the violence and the Bernie. And, uh, and so as a result of that, we find ourselves once again, 20, 30 years later, back into the same position where we were witnessing this, this happening. I am optimistic that this time we will not let that happen. That uh, we will keep our focus on the real issue that we have to talk about justice for everyone. That the issue that we're facing across this nation is over 400 years old. And when you look at it, this is really the first time that we have seen a revolt of this nation and nature that has affected every state in the union as well as across the nation. Speaker 4: 14:09 Do you think the governor's response to call for the national guard and Los Angeles was appropriate Speaker 5: 14:15 given what was happening? It was appropriate at the time, yes, because it was, it had gone a little bit beyond just the peaceful protesters and raising the issue. And it had gone to others who may have not have had the same interest in motive and it was destroying a lot of things and it was probably would have escalated to some violence of people actually being hurt, Speaker 4: 14:34 you know, with a B3 92 and other legislation you've introduced, you have been one of the lawmakers leading on police reform in the state and yet even after deescalation training, deploying police body cams, implicit bias training problems persist. So what is missing? Speaker 5: 14:53 Well, you know, there's a couple of things. We, we we pass three, nine two and we pass by, uh, the, the issue of racial profiling, uh, that we've passed nine, five, three computers before. So we've passed some legislation that's important and that impacts training and it has helped officers and chief of police who know their problems to, to resolve it. The one thing that we haven't, two things we haven't done. One, we have not made us as a Nash as a statewide policy. The issue of police review boards and empowering those review boards, they have the same power and the same subpoena power as the police review of themselves. And that's been a major issue, that communities are frustrated because if the police keep reviewing themselves and therefore the outside body can only look at those things that they've given permission to look at. Now, Los Angeles has, has changed its policy a little bit, but we have to really have a very transparent policy of police review. Speaker 5: 15:47 That's number one. Number two, police chiefs tell me all the time we need to change our recruitment process, that they find good people who would be wonderful police officers who had community engagement and what have you, but because they may have had a minor offense or something of that nature that they find those people being kicked out. Uh, sometimes they'll ask a question if you ever smoked a marijuana cigarette. And if they say yes, they're almost gone. Uh, one young gentleman told me that because people have bad credit, they can't be police officers. And most of the young people he tries to recruit out of college have bad credit. So there are a lot of things that prevent us from getting the kind of officers we need. Speaker 4: 16:26 Your, your legislation AB three 92 addresses, lethal use of force, but not the use of force. We see in the video from Lamesa just last week where a young black man is repeatedly pushed back down in his seat by a white police officer. We just heard from your daughter Lamesa city council woman Akilah Webber and Lamesa authority say they're investigating that incident. How could incidents like that be addressed by legislation? Speaker 5: 16:51 Well, you know, first of all, the question becomes, uh, when we start looking at, um, uh, stops and racial profiling, uh, we have a bill against racial profiling and, and, and looking at the information and the data that's collected. In other words, why are you stopping this person? Most of the incidents that we find ourselves, uh, caught into oftentimes are as a result of unlawful stops. People are stopped for what? Because not because they broke the law, but just because they were racially profiled. This young man in Lamesa sitting at the, at the, at the transit station had not committed a crime. They had not been a call that there was a person who had committed a crime. And as a result, he then is targeted. And what does it do? It sparks all kinds of issues with regards to law enforcement and their treatment of individuals unnecessarily. Speaker 5: 17:41 So we do have some legislation about with regards to that that needs to be implemented. Fortunately in Lamesa because of the situation, they immediately uh, remove the person out of service. But that should be a part of the training as well that you, this is something that we do not tolerate. Uh, the inhumanity that that is oftentimes given at a stop or those kinds of things. Uh, Sandy will stay, did a study recently concerning my bill down five three and saw that there still a tremendous amount of racial profiling occurring in stops. Uh, the information was presented to our city council and they have yet to respond to it Speaker 4: 18:16 message Dr. Weber for black San Diego who we hear over and over. I was just tired. Just, just heartsick with the state of policing that they're tired of promises. Hearing the things will change and yet it doesn't seem to change. Speaker 5: 18:30 Yeah, I feel their pain. I mean, you know, most of them who are, who have the feeling of frustration are younger than I am. And so, which means my frustration is two and three times theirs because I've seen more and I've heard more promises than before. What I say to people all the time is that one, we have to elect officials who have the courage to stand up. You know, many folks in my district are shocked that I fight so hard. And yet those who know me say she's done this for years at San Diego state. So this is, this is her Mo. I'd love to have a whole bunch of other elected officials in Sacramento who are as committed as I am to bring change. Uh, that would help significantly. So I tell folks, you know, it does matter who you vote for. It really does. Speaker 5: 19:11 Uh, so we have to tell young folks, you know, that yeah, this, this journey is long. It should not be as long as it is. And it won't be if we all come together and utilize the resources and the power that we have right now. Uh, this is pre the hearts of an awful lot of Californians and people across the nation. We can not let the divisive nature of of a few outsiders who come in and burn things or whatever they want to do, distract us and keep us focused on what we have to do. We have to pollute, produce, police reform at every level. If not people will not feel safe. Uh, I listened to a gentleman this morning from Minneapolis who said basically, I'm not sure if I'll call the police again. And this was someone who had call the police on this guy. Speaker 5: 19:54 He said, I'm not sure if I'll call for help again. He said, because look what happened. You said I'd been better off to just ignore whatever took place and move on. And so, you know, we don't ever want to get to that level where the police becomes more of, of a, of a problem than a solve and then a problem solver. And so we have a lot of work to do. So I tell young people continue to fight this fight. Some of you who are marching in the streets and who have the heart and the spirit run for office. Join me in these, suddenly help us with the task that we have here and let's make a difference. And so I think that will happen, but we have to basically keep pushing and not be distracted by the violence and the things that are around us. Speaker 4: 20:33 I've been speaking with assembly woman, Shirley Weber from San Diego, 79th district and assembly woman. Thank you very much for your time. Speaker 5: 20:40 Well, thank you. Thank you very much. And we will keep pushing and everybody stay safe.