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From: Soomee Kim <br />To: GRP -City Council <br />Subject: Re the Community Wellness and Crisis Response Team Mental Health Partnership <br />Date: Wednesday, February 3, 20216:22:14 PM <br />CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when <br />opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. <br />City Council <br />c/o City Clerk <br />1017 Middlefield Road <br />Redwood City, CA 94063 <br />Dear City Council Members: <br />As a Redwood City resident, I am glad that the Community Wellness and Crisis Response Team <br />Mental Health Partnership was approved at the January 25, 2021 Redwood City Council <br />meeting. I commend the City Council for initiating this project with other San Mateo County <br />cities to address the mental health needs of those in our community. I see this project as a <br />step in the right direction to decriminalize those suffering from mental health issues and to <br />deescalate potentially violent scenarios. Having a mental health clinician travel with a police <br />officer when answering domestic violence and mental health crisis situations is a great idea, <br />and I look forward to hearing about this new partnership's effectiveness. <br />I am also writing to address the cries of some to "defund the Redwood City Police" as though <br />police officers are to blame for all the social injustices we see in our city and across our <br />nation. Those who seek to defund the police are unappreciative of the police's positive <br />influence. Redwood City is a safe, thriving city where my family feels safe walking along its <br />streets, dining in downtown, and parking and leaving our car unattended without fear for our <br />property. All of these benefits are due to the positive presence of the Redwood City police in <br />supporting the community, protecting its residents, and preventing crimes. <br />I sincerely hope that the City Council continues to support the police force in Redwood City <br />and not pay attention to unreasonable cries to defund the police. Such scapegoating of the <br />police for all of our ills in society won't change a thing. Instead, we should work as a city to <br />come up with more "outside of the box" solutions, just as you did with the partnership that <br />was signed last week. <br />Sincerely, <br />f.. • 171 C4lii <br />Redwood City, CA 94061 <br />