Black Lives Matter Demands Sacramento Resume In-Person City Council Meetings

Demonstrators with Black Lives Matter Sacramento are asking City Council to resume in-person meetings as it discusses issues of police reform. On Tuesday, protesters gathered outside City Hall while officials met virtually on Zoom. 

“Right now everybody’s not being heard, so that’s the whole reason that we want them to come in-person: to hear us, not to read us, but to hear us with our crying and our anger, they need to hear everything from us,” said Tanya Faison, who founded the local Black Lives Matter chapter. 

The Council has been holding virtual meetings since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March. Initially, public comment was limited to an e-comment system, where a clerk read comments submitted in advance. Council has since created a phone line for call-in public comments. 

Crowds draw Black Lives Matter messages in chalk outside of Sacramento City Hall.Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

However, Faison feels council needs to hear members of the public in-person. “Social distancing is a thing, they can set it up inside City Hall, there’s a way to do it,” she said. 

Black Lives Matter and other local organizations are making demands regarding police reform in line with national “8 Can’t Wait” policies, such as divestment and defunding of law enforcement. 

Earlier this week, Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced plans for police reform that included having another group other than police respond to homelessness and mental-health 911 calls along with the appointment of an inspector general to look into police shootings and use-of-force incidents. 

Some advocates have stated that the mayor’s proposals do not sufficiently address the issue of police brutality and do not go far enough. At a meeting of the Measure U Community Advisory Committee on Monday, some members also strongly chastised the mayor for not taking enough steps in re-routing money from the police budget to underserved neighborhoods. 

Last week, a group of city council members put forward a letter asking the mayor and city manager to consider holding in-person council meetings again. 

“Over the last week, a number of the council members of color who have been listening to our community felt the need to make a statement to our city manager and mayor about beginning a process that can help build trust and transparency,” Councilman Eric Guerra said. “Obviously with COVID-19 that’s become a challenge, and if our last council meeting was any example, it’s difficult to do it through Zoom or any Skype meeting.” 

He said they’ve asked the city manager’s office to consider “creative” solutions to how they can bring in-person public comment back but still maintain public health standards and prevent transmission of the virus. 

Guerra said he and other council members did not have a timeline for when they hoped to be able to reconvene in-person. 

City Council met virtually on Tuesday to discuss a plan that would allocate $10 million for small business relief through federal CARES Act.