After 18 days of Black Lives Matter protests, Iowa City Council unanimously passed a resolution aimed at addressing a list of demands from the Iowa Freedom Riders,…
After 18 days of Black Lives Matter protests, Iowa City Council unanimously passed a resolution aimed at addressing a list of demands from the Iowa Freedom Riders, the organizers of the nearly daily protests across town.
Most of the night was spent working through a draft resolution submitted by Councilor Laura Bergus attempting to build a policy plan around demands.
While calls to abolish the police department weren’t heeded, a long list of items — some immediate, some planned — were approved. The changes fall short of the IFR’s demands, however, any one of them might have taken months, even a year had it come to Council under different circumstances.
Across the country, protesters have called for a range of changes to their local police departments. In Iowa City, the Iowa Freedom Riders have called for the complete abolition of the department.
The resolution commits the city to restructure the Iowa City Police Department “towards community policing” which includes reducing reliance on police in non-violent situations through unarmed professionals. It points to a future with non-armed deescalators and a policing plan that thinks about approaches seen in cities like Camden, New Jersey.
It is unclear how this will be different from the community policing the city has pursued since 2013 when the ad hoc diversity committee called for community policing transition. Examples of this transition include the creation of a downtown walking patrol assignment, neighborhood resource officers, additional staffing for community outreach, leadership roles in the Housing First homelessness services program, crisis intervention training, LGBTQ+ liaisons and victim services investments.
On June 3, Iowa City Police Department assisted Iowa State Patrol in blocking Iowa City protesters from getting to Interstate 80. Law enforcement told the protesters to disperse, and when they didn’t, police tear-gassed the crowd of protesters.
The Press-Citizen has asked for information on the incident, but it remains under investigation by the department to determine if protocol was followed.
More: One week later, Iowa City Police still scant on details about tear-gassing protesters
Tuesday night’s resolution adds a timeframe for ICPD’s investigation requiring the city manager to give the Council a report on ICPD’s involvement in the use of “gas and flash-bang devices” by Aug. 1.
Councilor Mazahir Salih questioned why the date should be a month and a half away. City Manager Geoff Fruin said he is looking for an independent agency to conduct the investigation. He said he is currently pursuing the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation to be that agency.
After a lengthy discussion, Council added language to the resolution prohibiting the use of tear gas, flash-bangs or rubber bullets against peaceful protesters.
The Iowa Freedom Riders demanded all charges against them and other protesters be dropped. This was the first demand on their list. City Council agreed to it.
Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness is prosecuting all but three speeding and stop sign related charges. The decision to drop the charges is in her hands. However, the City Council has the power to request the charges be dropped.
At the June 9 emergency work session, City Council asked for a list of charges before it agreed to drop them for fear of calling for dropping more severe crimes it didn’t know about.
There are 15 charges on the list submitted to Council that ICPD made between May 30 and June 3 near the demonstration locations, during demonstration dates and times.
