Thread by @shayshinecastle

OK, now onto the police oversight task force. Members are being recommended tonight. 48 amazing applications were received.

Here are the recommended members:

Carlene Hofmann, member of the Boulder Police Officer’s Association
Mike Rafik
Nami Thompson
Madelyn Strong Woodley
Michele Simpson
Sheila Davis
Selasee Atiase
Shawn Rae Passalacqua
James Hill
Shirly White
Todd Conklin
Sammy Leon Lawrence*
Sophia Pelcanos

Plus Ex-officio members
Christian Gardner-Wood, Boulder County District Attorney’s Office
John Gifford, Public Defender’s Office

There's an * by Sammie Lawrence's name bc Mary Young objected to his inclusion. She's speaking about that now. The NAACP sent out a public email about it today; it was very cryptic.

Young said to the Camera that her objection was based on her belief that he will have a one-sided view of issues, as having been arrested by police recently.

She rated him #42 of 48; everyone else in the subcommittee rated him highly bc he meets many criteria (PoC, formerly homeless, has been jailed, etc.)

"I was going with my gut," Young says. "What I was reacting to was quite a bit of theater" from Lawrence, both in council chambers and on the body camera footage. (Only she and Brockett have seen that since there is an investigation ongoing.)

"I've been thinking about this since the words came out of my mouth."

But over the weekend, received more info about the officer involved, who was investigated for excessive force while on the Denver sheriff team.

Those allegations were tossed out, the Boulder PD said this weekend.

Young: "I still feel that Mr. Lawrence should not be appointed to the task force" bc it could be counter-productive to the task force.

"I still dissent."

The issue is that she thought Lawrence was faking when he cried in front of council during testimony earlier this month about being arrested.

Brockett, the other council member of the subcommittee, is saying of Lawrence that his background is good for the task force.

I'm "not weighing in on the merits of his encounters with police officers but speaking to his lived experiences as a young African American man in Boulder, has experienced homelessness, has a disability, has law enforcement as family members."

Carlisle is echoing Young's concerns "given that he has two charges pending against him" for that arrest. She also viewed the body cam footage, "putting some affirmation behind police force and what they were doing."

Yates agrees with Young and Carlisle. "We want the group to be diverse, .... it's a fantastic group who are going to give us some very valid, diverse opinions" but shares concerns that "it would be awkward for us to have a person on that board seeking objectivity" ...

Members of the community with similar lived experience can share their experiences with that group.
"We need to have a group of ppl who are going to be as objective as possible."

Morzel agrees. "Lawrence would be able to participate in the discussions" but it's a concern that there are pending cases. "It's very important this group get down to work and not have distractions."

Nagle agrees with everyone else (except Brockett).
Weaver: I don't have much to say about Lawrence bc that's a pending outcome, so it's not a factor in my decision.

He wants a smaller group, too (Morzel said that was better)

Jones: I'll be honest... I don't want to open up a can of worms, but the police dept. is union. How this works with that is another element I don't know. Ideally what comes out of this task force is a proposal that is well-vetted and how we could operationalize it.

She does not give an opinion on Lawrence, following Weaver's lead.

Brockett is using some words that I don't quite understand, but I *think* he is saying that the NAACP wants the task force recommendations to be community-led... ? Maybe arguing that council shouldn't overrule the subcommittee...? Not sure if that's fair, but that's my take.

Lawrence will not be included on the task force, per a majority of council members.

It may move forward with 12, bc consensus isn't the objective: it's about getting as many opinions as possible.

"I don't feel we should arbitrarily go down to 11" members, Weaver says.
Council OK; they are not formally voting on this.

Brockett: "It's certainly council's prerogative to not take the community's recommendation, but I think you lose some" buy-in.

OK jk, they are voting... ? And having a public hearing. Sign-up now, folks. Darren O'Connor, part of the subcommittee and NAACP member, speaking now.

O'Connor: You have attorneys here, and you're making decisions based on a man who is innocent until proven guilty, on information you have viewed privately. This issue has yet to be decided and you are judging.

Lawrence received 4 of our 5 votes. When 3 of us from NAACP were asked which of us voted against, all of us chose not to answer, thus showing dignity and respect.

"Council member Young, you did not share publicly, until tonight, what you shared in that room."

Why we chose Sammy: Experience as a young black man living in Boulder, experience as a homeless person, experience as a disabled person. He was also recently jailed, which was in the charter. "You're voting against what you suggested in your charter."

"A vote against him now will leave us at the NAACP feeling our voice was silenced."

Asks for a yes vote on all 13 members, Lawrence included.

Judy Houston is speaking. She was here during the racism meeting and was struck by the "emotional outpouring."
"What I'm seeing here tonight is kind of an erasure of that."

"Consider that Sammie Lawrence is actually the perfect person for this panel. I appreciate the awkwardness of him being arrested and charged with two counts... but I think he provides a perspective on that whole biz that is really, really important."

It's hard for ppl who don't have his experience to pass judgement.
He does have a certain amount of theatricality, but I love it. I object to the erasure of the process. 4 out of 5 of the panel recommended Sammie. And yet you're choosing to ignore that fact."

"It's disingenuous and disturbing to me."

Madeline Strong-Woodley, was on a similar group in Memphis: We included ppl who would typically be victimized bc they would reach the message, the persons that we were trying to communicate with. It needed to be a complete cross-section.

There were ppl from the hood. The hood in Memphis I can guarantee is no comparison... You don't even have a hood (here).

Jones: I'm a little torn here. I think the only issue for me is just that charges are pending. Not whether or not weighing in on the guilt. It's just the nature of having someone who has issues with the dept. in a position of deciding oversight of the dept... is awkward.

Young: I have every confidence in Dr. Love who is going to be the facilitator.
Brockett agrees.

But he is voting no. "I feel council would be better off" going with all 13 recommended members.

Vote to appoint 12 ppl, not Lawrence: Brockett is the only dissenting vote. Motion carries 7-1.

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