Presentation by Chief of Police Michael Parish.
Councilmembers comment.
Public Comment:
Carol Williams of Cotati
Adrienne Lauby of Cotati
Mel Browning of Cotati
Jessica Needham of Cotati
City Council requested the following for the Annual Police Report next year or mid-year:
· Breakdown of traffic stops in mechanical vs. safety stops · Outcome of targeted environment efforts (Downtown trucks, speeding, pedestrian enforcement, etc.)
· Liked comparison to other Sonoma County cities but would like to also see statistics for California overall and some other comparable cities outside of Sonoma County.
Despite the various factors that can affect the accuracy of the stop numbers by ethnicity, continue to critically review the data and how it might inform ways to improve how we serve the community. If possible, for 2022, look at police data outside of RIPA to understand the general percentage of contacts that are Cotati residents versus non-residents. There was speculation that stops may be related to poverty level and how pre-textual stops may bias towards this.
As more data is available, would like to see more granular data on what happens after a stop, perhaps working with the Sonoma County Public Safety Consortium for data analysis. Would like to discuss civilian review of citizen complaints to bolster public trust in outcomes; likely to be further discussed as part of options around civilian oversight. Look into the possibility of a "fix-it fund" to help repair minor mechanical or registration issues on vehicles for lower income citizens.