From: Carol Hegstrom
To: City Clerk Dept User
Subject: Public comment: K Housing Authority Open Forum Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025 10:41:34 AM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
To Housing Authority Board. My name is Carol Hegstrom and I am the Chair of the Housing Advisory Commission. I have 2 comments. The Richmond Housing Authority has lovely newly renovated space waiting for them to move in at Nevin Plaza, across the street from City Hall. The space is secure and spacious and looks beautiful. It is time for the Housing Authority to move in to their new space and free up much needed space at city hall. 2. The Housing Advisory Commission has not met in over a year due to lack of a quorum of commissioners.
Mayor Martinez, please recruit and appoint commissioners so that we may recommence meeting again.
Thank you.
From: M. Semler
To: Jasuara Castaneda
Cc: City Clerk Dept User
Subject: Re: Issue with leaving public comment on only Item W1 on council agenda webpage Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025 3:31:02 PM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Unfortunately, I can not attend in person or via Zoom as I have to work tonight.
Since the instructions say I have to email my comments by 1pm, I was hoping to leave my comment via this other option, which sadly doesn’t seem to be working for just this one item.
Is there any other option? I’ve included my comment below in case there is.
Thank you.
Good evening Mayor and Councilmembers,
My name is Maddie, and I am a Richmond resident. I'm expressing my support for these recommendations to strengthen police accountability and ensure that our community has the same standards of oversight that other cities in California have already adopted.
I support all of the recommendations before you, however, I especially want to emphasize the need to extend the time period for filing a complaint from the current 120 days to one full year. The existing window is too short, particularly given that many residents are not even aware that the CPRC exists.
Accountability must be trauma-informed. People who've been harmed by police officers deserve the time and space to process their experience before being required to take formal action. Healing looks different for everyone, and the city shouldn’t impose an arbitrary deadline that silences community members before they are ready to speak. State law already gives cities one year to discipline officers for misconduct and our community members should be given at least that same grace.
I also want to voice my support for the publication of an annual report that details the number and types of complaints filed, along with the findings and recommendations of both RPD and the CPRC. Transparency is essential to trust, and Berkeley’s example shows that this kind of reporting can be done.
Richmond deserves no less.
Adopting these recommendations is about ensuring police accountability, and I hope you will support these reforms.
Thank you.
Maddie
On Aug 19, 2025, at 3:22 PM, Jasuara Castaneda
<[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Maddie,
We will have to look into the issue. While the issue is being resolved, please feel free to send your comments via email or alternatively you can also give your comments at the meeting in person or via zoom. See the instructions below on these other ways to provide your comments. Please let me know if you have any questions.
HOW TO SUBMIT PUBLIC COMMENTS:
In Person: Anyone who desires to address the City Council on items appearing on the agenda,
including Open Forum, must complete and file a pink
speaker’s card with the City Clerk
prior to the City Council’s consideration of
the item.
Once the City Clerk has announced the item, no person shall be permitted to speak on the item other than those persons who have submitted their names to the City Clerk.
Each speaker will be allowed up to TWO (2)
MINUTES to address the City Council on NON-PUBLIC HEARING items listed on the agenda. Speakers are allowed up to THREE (3) minutes on PUBLIC HEARING items.
Via Zoom: Anyone who desires to address the City Council on items appearing on the agenda, including Open Forum, must raise their hand once public comment is open. The public speakers attending in person will be called first, followed by Zoom participants.
Only those public speakers that
have their hand raised once the speakers are called will be recognized.
Open Session and City Council:
Please click the link below to join the
webinar:
https://zoom.us/j/99312205643?
pwd=MDdqNnRmS2k4ZkRTOWhlUldQOUF1Zz09
Passcode: ccmeeting
By iPhone one-tap:
US: +16699006833,,99312205643#
or
+13462487799,,99312205643#
By Telephone
:
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 6833
or +1 346 248 7799
or +1 253 215 8782
or +1
312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592
Webinar ID: 993 1220 5643
International numbers available:
https://zoom.us/u/aehrwCgISx
To comment by video conference:
click on the Participants button at the
bottom of your screen and select the “Raise Your Hand” button to request to speak when Public Comment is being asked for.
When called upon, press the
unmute button. After the allotted time, you will then be re-muted.
**
To comment by phone:
you will be prompted to “Raise Your Hand” by
pressing “*9” to request to speak when Public Comment is asked for.
When
called upon, you will be asked to unmuted by pressing *6.
After the
allotted time, you will then be re-muted. Instructions of how to raise your hand by phone are available at:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362663 -Joining-a-meeting-by- phone. **
**
The mayor will announce the agenda item number and open public comment when appropriate.
Via email: to [email protected] by 1:00 p.m. the day of the meeting.
Emails
MUST contain in the subject line 1) public comments – Open Session prior to Closed Session; 2) public comments – Open Forum; or 3) public comments agenda item #__ [include the agenda item number].
From:
M. Semler <[email protected]>
Sent:
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 2:56 PM
To:
City Clerk Dept User <[email protected]>
Subject: Issue with leaving public comment on only Item W1 on council agenda webpage
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Hello,
I am trying to leave a public comment on Item W1 on tonight’s council agenda. I see this option available on every other agenda item with a paperclip next to it, but not Item W1 under new business.
Is this in error by any chance, and if so, can you please let me know when it is corrected?
Thank you.
Maddie
From: Minali Aggarwal
To: City Clerk Dept User
Subject: Public Comment Agenda Item W.1
Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025 12:12:52 PM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Mayor and City Council,
My name is Minali Aggarwal. I'm a political science PhD student at Yale and I study policing and police accountability. I live in the east bay and my partner's family all lives in Richmond.
I was horrified when I learned about
what happened to Angel Montano. This police killing
should not have happened and I'm writing to urge you to take necessary steps to prevent future tragedies like this one.
I
support the slate of recommendations that will strengthen police accountability in our community. What these recommendations will do is bring our police oversight body to the same state-wide and federal standards that other cities have.
As stated in one of the recommendations, CPRC should be authorized to review any type of complaint filed against a Richmond police officer. There shouldn't be any limits on what CPRC is permitted to review, especially given that the alternative is to have many complaints reviewed internally in RPD. This makes very little sense as an accountability measure—we know police have political interest in not sustaining complaints. I can only imagine how this makes community members feel who have traumatic experiences with RPD and then told the complaint is not sustained. We need independent oversight and the best way to do that is to empower CPRC and continue to invest in it as our community-led oversight body.
This is just one of the many recommendations that will help build trust between our community and our local law enforcement. No one is above the law. I appreciate your consideration.
Best,
Minali
From: Reimagine Richmond
To: City Clerk Dept User
Subject: Letter of Support for Agenda Item W.1
Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025 12:01:19 PM
Attachments: LettertoSupportPoliceReformAugust19th (2).pdf This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Mayor and City Council,
We hope this email finds you well. Reimagine Richmond, alongside 14 different advocates and community partners, would like to share a letter in support of Agenda Item W.1, which would bring Richmond's Community Police Review Commission to state-wide and nation- wide standards.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
--
In Community,
RR Organizing Team
www.reimaginerichmond.org
Click here to follow us on Instagram
Eduardo Martinez, Mayor
Cesar Zepeda, Vice Mayor
Soheila Bana, Councilmember
Jamelia Brown, Councilmember
Claudia Jimenez, Councilmember
Doria Robinson, Councilmember
Sue Wilson, Councilmember
8/19/2025
Dear Mayor Martinez and Richmond City Council Members,
On behalf of the [#] of organizations, we write in strong support of Agenda Item W.1, a set of critical reforms to strengthen the Community Police Review Commission (CPRC). These recommendations are necessary to build an accountable, transparent, and community-centered system of police oversight in Richmond. Importantly, these recommendations are modeled by other civilian oversight agencies to ensure alignment with the current state and nationwide best practices.
We urge the City Council to adopt the following changes:
1. Empower the CPRC to Review All Complaints Against RPD Officers The CPRC must be authorized to review all complaints involving Richmond Police Department (RPD) officers, not just specific types of allegations. Oversight should be independent and comprehensive.
2. Allow Anonymous Complaints and Redact Civilian Names Ensuring community members can file complaints anonymously — and that their identities are protected in all public records — will encourage more people to come forward without fear of retaliation.
3. Extend the Time Limit for Filing a Complaint to One Year A longer window allows individuals, especially those who may be traumatized, intimidated, detained, or arrested, a fair chance to report misconduct.
4. Publish an Annual Report about CPRC Activities
Transparency is essential. A public-facing annual report that includes case data, recommendations, and trends would increase accountability and help inform policy.
5. Release All Records Permitted Under State Law, Without Redacting Officers’ Names
Police officers are public servants, and where state law permits, their names should be released in connection with investigations and findings, to identify patterns of misconduct and track officers with repeated or serious complaints. Redactions obscure the truth and damage public trust.
6. Change the Burden of Proof to “Preponderance of the Evidence” Currently, the CPRC can only sustain a complaint if it finds by "clear and convincing evidence" that an officer engaged in wrongdoing. That is a higher standard than that used by other police oversight bodies, including RPD's own Office of Professional Accountability. The City should adopt the widely-applied "preponderance of the evidence" standard, which simply means "more likely than not."
7. Empower the CPRC to Subpoena Hard Evidence
Access to body camera footage, dispatch records, internal documents, and other forms of evidence is essential for any credible investigation. The CPRC must have the legal authority to obtain them.
8. Increase the Budget for the CPRC
The CPRC must be properly staffed and funded to fulfill its mission. Increased budget support is necessary to expand capacity, conduct independent investigations, and engage the community.
Each of these changes reflects a commitment to a more just and responsive system of police accountability. The CPRC can only serve its purpose if it is empowered with real authority, access to information, and adequate resources. The undersigned organizations urge you to implement these reforms and ensure that the CPRC can fulfill its role as an independent body that holds power accountable and protects community rights.
Thank you for your leadership and attention to this critical matter.
In solidarity,