 Okay, we're now recording. I want to welcome everybody to the Amherst Community Chat for January 14. Today, we have special guests from the Community Safety Working Group, the Chair Paul Wiley and Vice Chair Brianna Owen who have joined us. Welcome to you both. Thank you. So we're going to learn a little bit more about their work in just a moment. First, I'm going to ask if your town manager Paul Bachman has any general updates to share. Thanks, Brianna. So the important thing for in terms of COVID-19 is that we are in the middle of a major vaccination program for first responders. Amherst has stepped up and volunteered to do pretty much the eastern half of Hampshire County, everything on this side of Connecticut River, Northampton has stepped up to volunteer to do the other half of Hampshire County. The first two days we did a couple hundred, several hundred, maybe 300 vaccinations of first responders, set up really nicely at the Bank Center, credit to Emma Dragon, our new Public Health Director for pulling us together. And, you know, our Fire Chief, Tim Nelson was there and he claims he didn't cry, but he was very proud to be one of the first ones to get his vaccination. And felt it was really important for him to be out there in front to show folks that this is a good thing to do. A very high percentage of our firefighters have already gone through so that's really good news. And it felt like for all of us, you know, like this is the, we're turning the corner we're starting to grab, take background, it's a long journey, you know, we got it took up some long time to get to this point. So, it's really, it's really felt like a really good thing and hoping to expand that vaccination program farther and farther out to other people, which we'll be talking about next week. Yeah, and I will mention based off of what a Paul Paul said just to really clarify that this phase this clinic this week is only for eligible first responders we've had a lot of calls from different groups interested in trying to come down to the vaccination clinic and we will be widely sharing that information once other groups are eligible. But right now it's just first responders. Okay, so to start off I'd love Brianna Owen to introduce herself and take it away. Hi everyone I'm really excited to be here today. My name is Brianna Owen, I have been a resident of Amherst for about the last 10 years. I graduated from Amherst High and I actually graduated from UMass Amherst too. Right now the type of work I'm doing is working in child advocacy. I'm the director of a local program at a nonprofit to specifically aid young people in the foster care system aging out with little social support. Outside of that I really look forward to doing this type of work and doing my part with police reform because the same way that there's intersections with the race in the child welfare system there is intersections with the race in law enforcement and areas for improvement. So yeah, I'm Brianna. Thank you guys. Thank you Brianna. And next I'll ask the chair of the Community Safety Working Group Paul Wiley to introduce himself. Good afternoon. My name is Paul Wiley. I've been a resident of Amherst since 1982 coming from New Haven, Connecticut. And when I came here I began working as a teacher at the middle school. And then I went through the system became a guidance counselor. And ultimately a principal for the last 18 years of my career as the principal at Crawford Farm Elementary School. Since my retirement I've been working with different organizations to work with school leaders in doing leadership coaching, delivering training and workshops. And, you know, participating as much as possible in community life. There was a point in time when I was on the ABC committee, one of the board members for three years and I was their vice chair. And currently I'm happy to be serving on the community safety working group. This is an opportunity for us to do something more for our community. And so I was happy to be asked and certainly happy to be chosen so glad to be here. Okay, thank you Paul. I'm going to take this opportunity to remind those who are joining us live. You will encourage you to ask questions either by raising your hand and zoom or star nine from the phone. Alternatively you can use the Q&A function that's built into zoom and we will read your questions live. So feel free to do that throughout any point during our conversation today. I think one of the natural first questions for those who aren't familiar with the community safety working group is to perhaps tell us a little bit about the group, what its mission is and where you're at in that process. So I'd invite both of you to speak to that. And if you want to answer different elements of that I'll start with with you Brianna. Okay, so the community safety working group right now is a board of eight people who will all come from different walks and walks of life in the community and I think one thing that's really important about this group is that we all bring different experiences, both professionally and personally. Our charge or purpose is to think about alternative safety methods for the community and also make recommendations for the current oversight of the Amherst police department. And Paul would you have you have anything to add to that description. Not much with the exception just to say that we've been meeting since the first week in December. With the exception of I think the last Wednesday, we did not meet for because people were on vacation, etc. We had a meeting weekly, and the meetings have been generally well attended by the public. And, you know, we're having an opportunity to have these discussions openly with people listening into what we're talking about. We received some very strong feedback from from folks we're hoping to get more. We have a number of things that we do, in addition to what Brianna mentioned, but we're, we're trying to learn more from the previous work in a town. The previous studies and committees, we're examining current public safety services. We're reviewing policies and current training practices, for example, the police department exploring different models that might be applicable to Amherst, or at least get ideas from. And we're collecting data, both personal narratives, and, you know, statistical data for, you know, from the community which will inform our work. We are still very early in the process, even though we've been meeting each week. And we do have questionnaires out. We talk a little bit about that in a moment. We, we have a website presence under the emmerced mass.gov website. So there are places where people can can interact with us in that way. And most recently, we're reaching out to with more specific questions and comments to the emmerced police department. And we're waiting for them to complete their work on the questions we've asked. So we're, we're deeply into it right now and it's exciting to know that we're going to be moving forward and positive. Great. Thank you, Paul. And we do have a live question from the room from Sarah and it kind of touches on some of the things you just said but maybe there's more information you can share. Sarah asked, how are you reaching out to the community for input and are you getting adequate feedback. And that can go to either of you. We want to go. We can switch back and forth. So the two ways that we brainstorm to reach out to the community was through doing two community forums. We had one last night from 530 to 730. I urge everyone in the audience to attend our Saturday one, which will be from 3pm to 5pm, where we're getting a chance to hear from people, people's experiences and also hear the recommendations on alternative ways of safety. We have the two forums. We're also doing a survey. I think it's great that we're doing a survey because it's really hard to go and talk about your experiences with the police. It's a daunting system and to show your face. A lot of people are scared of retaliation so I'm glad we're able to find a virtual way to connect with the community and hear their experiences so we can move forward in our work. I think I cannot add much to that at all with the exception of, you know, we encourage individuals to come to our regularly scheduled meetings when they're posted and announced. A lot of information is shared during those meetings, and people will get a chance to hear firsthand what the discussion is all about. One of our priorities is certainly to reach out to the community. And hearing the perspective and the stories and the narratives from the community about their relationship with the police department is critical, you know, to our work. So, again, I want to just want to circle back and say, you know, we have a very accessible website to. If you can't make a meeting. You can't attend a seminar. I mean, excuse me, a webinar or zoom meeting or a forum. Then you have access to us in that way too and you can have input directly to the website. I would say to given our discussion last night with the community. It prompts me to say that we will be thinking about different ways to outreach to the community in light of what Miss Owen just said. It is difficult to come on and be very public sometimes with some very personal experiences and stories. So we'll be looking for some more creative ways to build our information pool so that we respect people's privacy or need to be private in any way. Yeah, like I had to that is that, you know, the working group brings everyone's personal experiences to one of the things I'm really impressed by the members of the working group is that everybody brought their own set of experiences growing up like Brian did or being in the educational system like you have Paul and and and living and working here and I think that that has really created a lot of content to start with but and I thought last night's been there was a lot of, you know, really informative and sort of moving testimony provided to the working group. And I think that, you know, the need to continue to out do that outreach. And I think we were talking before we started about the challenges of zoom world, right, because we're all on screens. If you're if you're able to gather in person it would be easier, but I think the working group is like taking on that challenge and figuring out how do we move forward on that. So, I thought last night's means is a solid two hours you guys. And, and then, as Brian said, you know, Saturday again, three o'clock Saturday is another opportunity to participate live. I'm going to do another call to the folks who are live I did see a hand fly up it went down. Feel free to put your hand up and I can bring you into the room so you can make your comment or ask your question or you can use the q amp a function if you feel more comfortable and I'll read your comment and question. One question that we do have here is, what made each of you interested in participating in this work and why now. What about the times has led you to join to this group. Well, for me. I've had lifelong experiences with the police departments in the different places I've lived. I had an opportunity to, and I grew up in New Haven Connecticut. And one story I share with folks often is my first relationship with a police officer was my little lead coach. And I did not know he was a police officer. Until one day I saw him away from the field away from church, which we attended regular basis. And I saw him in his police officer uniform. And I was shocked. I said, you know you're a little kid. I thought he was a baseball coach. But now he's this, as it turns out. Many of us young folks have been I was 12, but continue to have a relationship with him and others. At the same time, I think we knew even as young kids that there were problems in our community with enforcing the law and the police. It escalated over the years as our political and social scene starts started to change more more rapidly and more deeply. You know, up to the current situation with George Floyd, for example. And I think when these things come to a head in the way that they do. It's a call in a way to try to do something to turn a corner on this kind of work, not that people haven't been trying all along. Including Brianna I know she works in the community and members of our group who do wonderful work in the community they're very active. This was just another opportunity so that was that's what do me to it. What also do me to me to me to it was the fact that I, I knew many of the and still know many of the Amherst police department members. I've known chief Livingstone for quite a while. I know several of his office, his, his officers in terms of their, their ranking from the captains and the tenants. And so they to, I believe, you know, want to want to do something to make a change and I think we have to help facilitate that because we're in a very difficult time. And building trust is really the bottom of this pyramid. We can't go any further than the amount of trust we have in our ability to work together. That's my, my reason for coming. I don't trust facilitator if you will, well with other people. And that's what we do it. Great, thank you Paul. Brianna, do you have any, any thoughts to share about what drew you to the work. Actually this opportunity to be on the community safety working group was sent to me by one of the kids who's on my case load. I've always been very passionate about social justice during my undergrad at UMass Amherst. I did do some time working as an academic diversity fellow. So what that entailed was really delegating resources and making safe spaces to talk about racism and one thing that's always stood out to me is often the people whose stories matter the most in reform don't get amplified because they don't have a seat at the table. I think I'm in a unique position being a foster alum and a white passing Latina to get a degree and be a director in the community and be so hands on and I feel like it's my place to advocate and help uplift those voices. I think we can all agree that after what happened at the Capitol that law enforcement reform is necessary beyond like words can describe and I just want to be the change that I want to see in my community. Thank you Brianna. That's really interesting that you you know one of your cases brought this opportunity to you. I mean it's really I guess rewarding for us to hear that on the government side which we try to do this outreach and recruit for these important roles and it's interesting to see that that's how it came came down to you. So I have a question and that they saw you as a leader Brianna that you should be standing up for the side that's that's really a credit to you I think. So we do have a question from the room. Asking if part of your work is assessing how much police department time and money is spent on things that can be dealt with by civilians. For example mental health response or traffic details. Let me just say the list of questions and the post to the Amherst police department includes that theme. I think we're looking for ways to build not only more trust between the Amherst police department and the community members in this town, but also what that interface looks like. We realize that community wants to have a voice in how what policing looks like we want to understand how the police use their time and their energy and their their enforcement power if you will, to do the right things for for the community. We, we've had some discussions about homelessness. We've had discussions about young people in particular who are are often often in many cities and towns not just in Amherst, but come in contact with the police and for especially for young black men color. This becomes an comes an issue. So we are, we are giving the Amherst police department an opportunity to respond to those questions. As we go forward. And you know this is this is coming up we will be coming back to the community with a couple of reports I want to say one very soon like an update about what's what's going on, and then in a summative fashion. Around June, we'll be finishing up our work with recommendations. So I don't know if that's actually is in it we're kind of waiting to hear question answers to our questions we pose relative to what you're asking, and the best people go to as the Amherst police department themselves. Breonna I don't know if I left something out there or want to add. No, you covered it. Okay. And how, when are you expected to get those responses back and how will that inform your next steps. Well, we hope to get them back sooner than later. Let me just say we, we put information out. Pretty much at the end of the month, and we anticipated there might be some delays and responses to our questions which are quite lengthy and quite broad in terms of what they covered. And they're, you know, more than several categories. We got a first response already from the Amherst police department and then we came back with some questions and comments relative to what they said. We felt we needed more information, we needed some more clarity, those kinds of things so we're in that stage right now. The timing of that I'm not sure at this point. I'm sure we'll get an update. You know, from from Mr. Backelman and the Amherst police department. Very shortly, but like I said this week we didn't have a regular meeting we're doing our forms but that's a high priority for us right now in terms of our work. Thank you. And there's, there's a question this is directed towards our town manager. Do you expect recommendations to be incorporated or addressed in the FY 22 budget? Yeah, I do and I hope that it will and I think that the timing that the council's vote was to ask for a report of an observer preliminary report at by the end of this month which we will provide. And that that timing was set up specifically to accommodate the budget schedule that we're in. I don't need to present the budget till May 1 so there's time for us to accommodate with the recommendations of the working group are going to be. And we already have that sort of notched on the side is like this is something we will want to address in the FY 22 budget. You know, the police department is working diligently on the follow up questions that the working group had a long series of follow up questions and clarifications and requesting additional information. You know, I think they anticipate getting that to ASAP. Mr. Wiley, probably Monday's a holiday probably next week sometime. So, you know, basically, we're looking at your meeting on the 27th is try to get it before that means you have time to review it and some more time to digest and whatever you want to do with it at that point. So yes to the question. The intention is to address this some in some way and determine at this point in the FY 22 budget. Great that's a that's an excellent question. Thank you for addressing that. So I just want to give one more chance to the folks in the room where we're coming up to our last five minutes so now's your chance to pop your questions into q amp a or raise your hands. While I wait for that, I will ask Brianna Owen is she can share some calls to action there's a lot of things going on with the community safety working group so what do you ask the community to be tuned into and to do right now. I urge you guys all to action to participate in our next forum that we're having Saturday, January 16 from 3pm to 5pm. I also urge you guys all to take a look at the packets that's on the Amherst website. If you're interested in learning more about the information that we're sharing with each other and also our responses from the Amherst police department. Community trust starts with community transparency and our group is being 100% transparent. If you're interested we'd love to have you sit in our meetings and welcomed. We're always welcome to public comment. Great, and your meetings are they every Wednesday or is there a certain schedule that people can be aware of your regular meetings. I believe they're usually Wednesdays from 530 to 730 they occasionally do change that information should be on the Amherst website though. You can also see that on our public meetings calendar. Any given meeting will be posted there with the joining instructions. But this group has been meeting weekly except for one week at Christmas and we can Christmas in New Year's but they've been very disciplined about meeting every week. So I do see a hand in the room. I'm going to recognize Judith and please unmute and introduce yourself. I'm Judy Glaser now I've been I've been watching all your meetings as part of the action group at the JCA and I've lived in town since 1971 and raised three children here and I'm myself wondering about dispatch, whether the person who answers the phone who is that person part of the police force. How is that person trained to to, you know, triage the calls. I haven't heard that coming up and it's been something that that a concern to me. So that's a really good question. I think it's something that working group will want to dig into dispatch is located in the Amherst police department they are. They do report to the Amherst police chief. So there is continuity there. And so the chief and his staff and they have a person in charge of dispatch and they can come in to the working group. I think that's something that working group would want to consider. I'm sure to understand all that I don't know all the answers to those questions that you pose miss Glaser but very important because that's the first point of contact for a lot of people. Thank you. I may just add to what Mr. Bachman said, Miss Glaser that I believe that is one of the questions in that we asked the in some form to the police department. Because it's, you know, at the point of contact community with the Amherst police department, people do want to know what happens at that point of contact, you know, what decisions are made by dispatch, who goes, how they go, those kinds of what resources are sent out. So we're trying to be more informed by the answers provided to us by the Amherst police department. You know, that begins our conversation with them and our community. So I believe that's in there in some fashion, if I'm not mistaken. So I think I remember reading something close to that. Thank you miss Glaser. Do you have any follow up questions to that. No, thank you. Okay, thanks. Thank you for your question. Alright, so we're coming up on our last two minutes here. I do not see any other hands in the room or questions in the Q&A. So I'd love to give you all a chance. If there's something that you didn't get asked that you want to share. Now is the chance to do that so why don't we start with Paul Wiley, anything you want to leave the community with just to reinforce I think what Ms. Owen said, I think all of us are on the same page that we want to bring focus, community focus in a way that's useful on the topics of policing and Amherst. We, we have received resource suggestions from people on our website through other communications with the town manager's office. We are doing research ourselves to find out what might be the best ways to think about and respond to the need for new ways of policing or more effective ways of policing within this current social context. So I was, I would just encourage folks to stay with us on this and you know stay in communication and dialogue with us on this. It's going to help us in the long run. And it's this is not kind of a one and done meeting thing. I see this as a long term, even beyond the work of the committee, the working group, a long term commitment by the town to continue to improve, you know, monitor monitor and support the policing. And I think we can get there. We all have to stay with it and just hang in and be courageous about our conversations if you will. So that and, you know, thank you, you know for for coming on to people who came on today and thank you for all the people who have been attending the meetings, some of you pretty regularly I imagine, and we're looking forward to the work going forward. Thank you. Thank you, Paul. And Brianna any, any last words. I just can encourage you guys to continue to attend our meetings and also help lead our work as Mr. Wiley had already said before. We do our best when you help us when you pass resources along when you attend and inform us. So I really encourage people to attend the Saturday forum from day to five. The links for that meeting are on our calendar, but they're also on the homepage under the news section. So if you just get to our Amherst M a dot gov and scroll down to the news and announcements you'll be able to get into that meeting via phone or via zoom directly. All right, Paul, Mr. Backelman. Thank you Paul. So Brianna's it gets confusing. So Paul be anything you want to leave our community with. Yeah, I think just to support what Brianna was, Owen was saying was that the flyer she designed and so it's really attractive flyers it's out there. And I'm sure that the working group will be brainstorming other ways to reach out to the public and more targeted outreach. This is a really important time. The town is committed to it. The chief is committed to this. And we have a very, the working group is just a spectacular group of people it's really, it's really encouraging and exciting to me to work with with this wonderful group. Thank you and I want to especially thank our special guests Paul Wiley and Brianna Owen. This is going to be recorded and posted to our playlist in case you want to share it with friends and neighbors it'll be up there a little bit later today. And we will be back next week on Thursday with special guests health director Emma dragon and director of senior services, Mary Beth Ogilewicz to discuss vaccines and the different groups and eligibility is that relate to the vaccine rule out. Thank you all for joining us. Thank you both. Thanks Brianna.