Proposal for local police oversight to be received by city commission
A group of concerned community members and students presented a proposal to implement citizen oversight of local police to the Mount Pleasant City Commission, who will formally receive it on Nov. 12.
A call to action was shared via Facebook post about 10 p.m. on Nov. 7 by Central Michigan University alumna Autumn Gairaud, asking people to attend the meeting.
"We need a large, positive showing of supporters at the city commission meeting," her post stated.
According to Gairaud's post, Community Action for Black Lives Matter of Mid-Michigan -- a project of the Mount Pleasant Area Diversity Group -- has been working toward getting a proposal in front of city commission.
A proposal was submitted to the commission on Nov. 6 by the the Mount Pleasant Area Diversity Group outlining details about the proposal, which calls for the creation of a Citizens Advisory Board (CAB).
The CAB's purpose would be to "improve communication between the police agencies and the community," "create a process to provide transparency and accountability of police actions" and "to enhance police credibility with the public."
"Across the country, we have seen too many cases of police misconduct with no accountability," Gairaud's post stated. "What can citizens do in our own communities to ensure that police agencies are interrupting patterns of bias and responding effectively to citizen complaints?"
The functions of the board would include strengthening the relationship between police and the community by overseeing complaints made to city police agencies.
It would be composed of three members -- one appointed by city commission, one appointed by the Student Government Association at CMU and the third appointed by the Mount Pleasant Area Diversity Group.
The Mount Pleasant Area Diversity Group is a local group committed to "actively challenging the obstacles that inhibit the community’s ability to respect, value and be sensitive to diversity," according to its website.
The group requests that the Mount Pleasant City Commission formally receives the proposal, then take the appropriate steps to consider, revise and act on the proposal.
The next commission meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 12 at City Hall, located at 320 W. Broadway St.
