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Mid -Peninsula Volunteer Chapter of the ACLU June 10, 2020 <br />Good evening Chief Mulholland and City Council, <br />Redwood City is one of the cities in the Mid -Peninsula ACLU Chapter's region. We want to begin a <br />continuing dialogue about Redwood City's police practices in light of the national concern about <br />police brutality. Since tonight's meeting centers around training and use -of -force policies, we will <br />address three concerns. <br />These three points are: <br />1. Training related to Racial Profiling <br />Your Police Department Policies and Training website <br />(https://www.redwoodcitV.org/departments/police-department/about-us/at-a-glance) <br />states: <br />"Racial Profiling - This training provides officers with an understanding of what racial profiling <br />is and the negative impact it can have not only on the individual but the entire community. <br />Officers learn how racial profiling or biased based policing compromises the public trust. <br />...Redwood City Police Department officers attend 2 hours of training every 5 years." <br />This time would average out to less than 30 seconds per month. The importance of this issue <br />cannot be overstated. We suggest serious research and outreach begin on what other police <br />departments do to make their officers aware of the history of racial issues from the beginning <br />of slavery through Jim Crow laws to the current school -to -prison pipeline. <br />2. Police Transparency <br />a. Filing a formal complaint against a Department employee the website states: <br />"You may file an Internal Affairs complaint in person by printing and completing <br />an Internal Affairs Intake Form, which can obtained here. The completed form must be <br />signed and your contact phone number must be listed in order for the complaint to be <br />investigated." <br />Our concern is that many people would never do that because they so deeply mistrust and are <br />afraid of police. Most likely, complaints are dramatically under -reported. Attention should be <br />given to the creating an independent body that could work with the police department <br />concerning complaints. <br />