Common Council - Regular Meeting

The hour of 6.30, having arrived, I will call to order the Common Council meeting of Tuesday, August 4th, 2026, and ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Thank you. Alder Matthews. Here. Alder Matthews is present. Alder Mayer. Here. Alder Mayer is present. Alder O'Brien. Present. Alder O'Brien is present. Alder O'Horwich. Present. Alder O'Horwich is present. Alder Pritchett. Here. Here. Alder Pritchett is present. Alder Tischler? Yeah, I'm here. Alder Tischler is present. Alder Revere?

Here.

Alder Revere is present. Alder Witterer? Here. Alder Witterer is present. Alder Zhang?

Present.

Alder Zhang is present. Alder Evers? I see Alder Evers. We're good. Alder Field? Here. Alder Field is present. Alder Figueroa-Cole?

Sorry, here.

Alder Figueroa-Cole is present. Alder Ugar. Here. Alder Ugar is present. Alder Harrington-McKinney. I'm present. Alder Harrington-McKinney is present. Alder Lankhella. Here. Alder Lankhella is present. Alder Lieberman. Here. Alder Lieberman is present. Alder Madison.

Here.

Alder Madison is present. Alder Martinez-Rutherford. Present. Alder Martinez-Rutherford is present. Madam Mayor, we will quorum.

Thank you.

I just want to start by making sure that everybody saw the email from Director Edgerton from Information Technology. And just in case anybody has trouble with accessing the meeting or seeing it streaming, our primary live streaming service, which is called Mediasite, is experiencing some stability issues. So if you're watching on Mediasite and having trouble, we recommend that you switch to YouTube. And that link should be in the registration email that you received. If it's not, that could be sent to you if you're having trouble. But just wanted to note that if folks are having trouble seeing the meeting, that they should switch to YouTube as a more stable way to access the live stream. That said, I just want to acknowledge that it's been a hard day and a hard couple weeks for our community, and I expect that we're going to hear from a lot of people tonight, which is a good thing and we welcome, and would just ask that we collectively, particularly on the council, give each other grace, give our community grace, and would ask that all of us continue try and refrain from using profanity in our remarks while expressing strong feelings, which are definitely encouraged and welcome. That said, I am going to ask the council, depending on how the consent agenda goes, for just a couple of questions of what order we want to take things in so that we could allow staff to go home if things are pulled from the consent agenda. So I just don't want anybody to be surprised if we take things a little bit out of order. That will only be done with the consent of the council and only for the purpose of letting staff leave the meeting if their item can be handled quickly. All right, so then the first item on our agenda is disclosures and recusals. Are there any disclosures or recusals from members of the body on tonight's agenda? Alder Field.

Thank you, Mayor. I have a disclosure on items 60 and 66. I'm a UW-Madison employee, but that will not affect my vote on either of those items.

Thank you, Alder. Alder Matthews.

Thank you, Mayor. I am also a UW-Madison employee, but that will not affect my vote for item 60 or 66.

Thank you, Alder. Alder Mayor?

You know, on noted items.

Thank you all. North Port Drive in District 18. Report of Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development. 14 votes required to adopt under suspension of MGL 2.055. Agenda item 67, which is legislative file number 93749. Amending the public health budget to accept grant funds from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc. on behalf of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment for Partnerships for Success. Innovative Health Support for Young Parents in Schools, 2026 CRES-002, Report of Finance Committee, 15 votes required. Agenda item 69 legislative file number 93842 authorizing the city of Madison to accept if awarded a private grant of up to $10,000 from the Align Energy Foundation and authorizing the water utility general manager to enter into enter into a grant agreement and sign related documents authorizing acceptance of the grant and amend the 2026 adopted capital budget to approve the grant revenue and expenses up to $10,000 for the water utility on wheels. Report to Finance Committee, 15 votes required. Agenda item 70, legislative file number 93940, authorizing the acceptance of a grant for $250,000 from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Community Development Investment Grant Program and authorizing contracts from WEDC and the Mount Zion Corporation. Charitable Organization, Inc., for the use of funds and amending the 2020 State's Adopted Operating Budget for Economic Development Division, Office of Business Resources, Purchased Services. District 14, Report of Finance Committee, 15 votes required. Agenda item 71, legislative file number 93941, approving a revised rate for the 2026 resource recovery special charge and amending the 2026 streets division operating budget. Report a finance committee appropriating funding from non-borrowing sources, updating TID proceeds and borrowing based on TID project plans and authorizing transfers to borrowing across projects. Report of Finance Committee, 15 votes required. Agenda items with recommendations different from the agenda. Agenda item 102, legislative file number 94195, authorizing the mayor and the city clerk to execute a contract between the city of Madison and Thailand for corridor safety studies and demonstration project planning and evaluation for three priority corridors in district six, district 10, 12, 19, and 20. Introduction of new business for referral without debate update slash update referrals. Goals of Transportation Commission on August 12, 2026. Finance Committee, August 31, 2026. Back to Common Council on September 8, 2026. Agenda item 103, which is legislative file number 94196, authorizing the mayor and the city clerk to execute a contract between the city of Madison and SEH for planning, engineering, and public engagement services for East Washington Avenue, US Highway 30 to Annamark, and Schroeder Road, which is Whitney Way to Gammon Road, District 3, 12, 17, 19, and 20. Introduction of new business for referral without debate, update referrals. Transportation Commission, August 12, 2026. Board of Public Works, August 5, 2026. Finance Committee, August 31, 2026. And Common Council, September 8, 2026. Agenda item 104, which is legislative file number 97197, authorizing the mayor and the city clerk to execute a contract between the city of Madison and SDH, foreign planning and engineering services for the system-wide safety improvement projects or project, citywide introduction of new business for referral without debate slash update referrals, transportation commission, August 12, 2026, Board of Public Works, August 5, 2026, Finance Committee, August 31, 2026, Common Council, September 8, 2026. Agenda items excluded by one request of orders or two speakers registered by noon on August 4th. Legislative file number, or I'm sorry, agenda item two, legislative file number 94186, presentation by Common Council President Madison on next steps regarding the Police Oversight Board and Office of the Independent Monitor. Presentation, speakers registered. Agenda item 80, which is legislative file number 94055, mid-year appropriation resolution amending the 2026 adopted operating budget by taking the following actions. Transferring $500,000 from the general fund contingent reserve to agencies, making transfers within agency budgets based on projected spending. Oops. Okay. Did someone call me? Sorry. Oh, sorry. Okay. And appropriating revenues and making other adjustments in non-general fund agencies and amending the 2026 adopted capital budget by taking the following actions. Appropriating funding from non-borrowing sources, updating TID proceeds and borrowing based on TID project plans and authorizing transfers of borrowing across projects. Report of Finance Committee, speakers registered. Items introduced from the floor. Legislative file number 94250, by title only, amending the 2026 Economic Development Division operating budget by blank amount, approving program materials and authorizing the Economic Development Division to administer a Williamson Street business support program by sponsor Alder Mayer. It will go to Finance Committee on August 31st, 2026. Business and Economic Resources Committee, August 19th, back to Common Council on September 8th, 2026. There are no agenda items with corrections in that section.

Thank you, President Madison. Alder Harington-McKinney, did you have a question?

Madam Mayor, please, I need to recuse myself from item 70893940. And I will not be able to vote on that because I will be prejudiced.

Thank you, Alder. The clerk will note that recusal, please. All right. So then on the Consent agenda, we did have an exchange with the registrant on item 80, which left me thinking perhaps they wanted to speak on item two. Instead, with the permission of the body, can we just confirm that? Because then item 80 could remain on the consent agenda unless somebody from the body wants to exclude it. So maybe let's do that first. Are there requests for exclusion from the body? Alder Pritchett?

Yes. Exclude items 76 and 78. 76 and 78. Thank you, Alder. Thank you.

Are there any other items that council members would like to have excluded from the consent agenda? All right. Seeing none, then with the body's permission, could tech staff find and unmute Jinx? I believe it's Retio. And Jinx, could you just clarify if you wanted to speak on item 80 or just on item two? You should be able to unmute yourself.

Okay, there we go. Can you hear me all right? Yes. Okay, yes. I wanted to speak on this topic as well as item two. I was told I could register for both. Is that okay?

Yep, absolutely.

Okay.

Yep. Thank you for clarifying that. No worries.

We'll come back to you in just a minute then. Okay.

Thank you. All right. So then... Let me just go through the consent agenda again to make sure that everybody has it. The following items will require a supermajority vote. Those are items 64, which requires 14 votes. The following items require 15 votes, 67, 69, 70, 71, an addition of 73, 75, 77, and 80. And we have some changes to the recommendation. Thank you. Moved and seconded to adopt the consent agenda. Is there any objection to recording unanimous vote in favor of the consent agenda? Seeing none, the consent agenda and the recommendations therein pass. So I'm going to suggest that for the sake of finance staff at least, that we take the, I believe it is the single registrant on item 80, Oh, I'm sorry, I meant to clarify that the registrant, and you have three minutes, please go ahead.

Okay, thank you. Hi, I'm Jinx Recchio, resident of Madison, and the justification for moving of certain funds reflects yet another instance of the city not valuing its constituents or hearing their asks. So two of the departments who had carryover balances that are being used are libraries and public health, I'm a library member and have had amazing experiences with the employees there and have seen them offer compassion and thoughtful services to everyone in our community, including our homeless neighbors. Public health funding is also being distributed to the other departments. And that public health funding could instead be used to help major causes of homelessness, such as mental health resources. But instead, those funds are being rerouted to other departments, with the two I want to discuss being Madison Metro Transit and police. So over this last year, there have been multiple instances of bus drivers refusing to work overtime that they're normally expected to work. They're severely understaffed and don't receive proper support. Madison Metro is also extremely over budget and a large portion of the funds being moved are going towards Madison Metro. My issue is that when looking at the projected Madison Metro budget and uses of the money, they cite they'll be going towards supplies and purchased services from contractors. They also cite that their personnel budget is actually under by 1%. So if your public employees are making it clear to you that they're understaffed and the city is rerouting money to their system, why would that funding not go towards hiring more staff and improving pay for our city transportation workers? Then finally, the police budget is also getting money during this move. They are receiving $257 during this budget transfer. And while that may not sound like much money, I do not know of any reason that a single cent more should be given to them when they already have a whopping $98 million budget, the most of the city by far. There's also the surveillance technology report that I saw, and many of the departments are very thorough about reporting exact cameras and locations, even the departments with many cameras. And I noticed that the police department only lists vague categories, does not list the counts of cameras, and also lists that all employees are given access to the camera data, but that they are trained to not use it except for express purposes. I think there's been plenty of instances of police misuse of camera data that we already know that this is not the case. And if they already have an immense budget, do not sufficiently report their surveillance technology use to the standard that other less funded departments do, and their funds are not being used to keep people safe, then why would we ever give them an extra $257? These are both examples, in my opinion, of the city not actually hearing what their constituents want and need and represent a larger failure of Madison as a whole. Thank you. Thank you.

Are there any questions for the registrant on item 80? Alder Matthews, is it a question? No, sorry. Let's just see if there's any questions for the registrant on item 80. Seeing none, then Alder Matthews, do you have a point of order?

You're muted, Alder. Thank you. My point of order was to ask if we are able to move to allow the public commenters to have their cameras on when they are giving public comment.

Alder, It's a relevant point, but what I'm told by our technology staff is that because we're in, I'm sorry, I'm going to get this wrong and I might have to ask our tech staff to explain it. Because of the format that we're in is a webinar format, we're not actually able to do that. It's technically quite difficult. It's not a regular Zoom meeting. Okay, thank you. Yeah, thank you, Alder. I appreciate the question. All right, so... Without objection, then we'll take up item 80. And item 80 is legislative file 94055. It's the mid-year appropriation resolution amending the 2026 adopted operating budget. You'll forgive me if I don't read all the details again. And on item 80, President Madison, a motion, please. Motion for that. Is there a second? Second. Moved and seconded to adopt. Thank you. On item 80, are there questions for staff? Seeing no questions. Oh, Alder Lieberman.

Yeah, just based off of the public comment, I was wondering if somebody either from finance or transportation could speak to what I believe the rising fuel costs and how that is impacting the additional request that's coming in here.

General Manager Acton is here.

Good evening, Jamie Acton, General Manager of Metro Transit. Actually, for the 2026 ask, our diesel fuel prices were locked in and actually at this point are not contributing in a major way to the budget increase that you're proposing. just passed tonight. So what we're seeing right now is increases in supplies, increases in purchase of service, which is for our paratransit contracted service. And then the third is overtime for our operators, our metro operators and other staff throughout the department that essentially keep us running 24-7, 365. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Alder. Alder Matthews, questions?

Thank you, Mayor. I was wondering if we could have a brief explanation of what the carry forward, I think it's like encumbrances are for that category of this mid-year appropriations and what the $257 for MPD would be going to.

Thank you, Alder. Director Schmidicke is here.

Thank you, Mayor. Thanks for that question, Alder Matthews. So in the mid-year appropriation each year, we look at agencies that have contracts that have been encumbered that carry over from one year to the next. So the agency may have encumbered an amount of money in the previous year's budget, and then they have to have expenditure authority to finish that contract spending in the second year. And so the items that are listed there for the various agencies are related to giving those agencies expenditure authority to meet that those contracts amounts that are carried over from one year to the next. And we just look at each agency and what their carryover amount is. For the library and for public health, since they have fund balances outside the general fund, their amounts to give them expenditure authority in the current year for carry forward contracts comes from their respective fund balances.

Alder, does that answer your question? Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Alder. Are there other questions for staff on item 80? Seeing none, item 80 has been moved and seconded. Is there discussion? Seeing no discussion, item 80 has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any objection to recording a unanimous vote in favor? Seeing no objection, we'll record a unanimous vote in favor of item 80. And then that will bring us to the question of taking up items 76 and 78 before item two, or if you would like to go to public comment on item two. I'd entertain a recommendation or a motion. Vice President Glenn. Is there a... Hold on.

I'm getting an echo. Is there a... How many people are registered to speak on that, just for timing purposes, was my question.

Alder, we don't have registrants on items 76 and 78. We have, I believe, questions from Alder Pritchett. So we might be able to dispense with those relatively quickly. Thank you, Alder. President Madison's? You're muted, President Madison.

Sorry, Mayor. I'd like to make a motion to take up items 76 and 78 before the presentation, just to be able to dispense with them.

Thank you, President Madison. There's a motion on the floor to take up items 76 and 78, and then item two. Is there a second?

I will second.

Thank you, all the work of it. So is there any objection to that order of business? Seeing no objections to that order of business, then we'll go to item 76. Item 76 is register 94044, approving the design of a site-specific public artwork for the South Point Public Works Facility at 402 South Point Road and authorizing the mayor and city clerk to enter into a competitively selected agreement with the Milligan Studio LLC for fabrication, delivery, and installation. On item 76, President Madison, a motion, please. Moses will adopt. Second. Thank you. Moved and seconded to adopt item 76. On item 76, Alder Pritchett, do you have questions for staff?

Yes, I do. Go ahead, please. My concern is this. I'm asking for reconsideration of not moving forward on the design for both the South Park Public Works facility as well as the State Street ramp. The rationale is this. Given the recent incidents here in the Madison area, and even before then, my concern is we're utilizing outside, out-state, out-of-country resources that will cost over a half million dollars. We've all been asked, at least agencies and departments have been asked, to reduce budgets by 2%. When I think about not utilizing the resources, as well as the talent that we have here in the Madison area, as well as in the state, I ask the question, why is it we're using or spending money that we really don't have? In so many ways, this amounts to having champagne taste, but utilizing a beer budget. In addition to that, one of the designers is located in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland. And I ask, you know, there is sufficient talent here in Wisconsin, here in Madison, that we can better utilize those funds and not use or spend as much money. For those individuals, for the designer in Northern Ireland, I ask the question, what does this person really, really know about the ebb and flow of Madison? Why can't we use talent that's already here? We have young people who are waiting to get a start. And many times they can get a start right here in their own communities. But absent that, we're using talent from Ireland for one project. The other project we're utilizing people or... An artist, you know, from St. Paul, Minnesota with offices, I think, in Boston, Massachusetts. Once again, what do they know about Madison? Why can't we have, let's say, for example, young people coming together, deciding what a project should look like? Perhaps instead of having a project that's going to be there forever, Have students from high schools, from colleges, from Madison, from MATC, from the university, come up with ideas that can be best, that best represents Madison. In addition to that, you can put it into a way, into a... We can utilize, let's say, look at seasonal kinds of waste instead of looking at the same thing over and over and over again. Why not have something for spring, for summer, for fall? That represents Madison. But no, when we start looking at people from the outside, they don't know Madison. And I really think that it's time we start utilizing the talent that we have.

Thank you, Alder. Our arts director, Karin Wolf, is here. Karin, do you want to address the Alders' questions and concerns?

Sure. I'll try to be brief. Thank you, Alder Pritchett, for those important questions. And I think we could do better to make sure we proactively talk to the Alders and make sure they understand the way we approach our public art program. So very important that we utilize local talent and also elevate local talent. And we do try to do that. In fact, the model you just described, we just completed a project at Warner Park Community Center. And I would love to share the video of how we made that project where we utilized a local professor and he worked with youth. It was a partnership with engineering and the school district and the UW. And we were able to complete a project that way. But our public art program is meant to to showcase Madison and have world-class art and also to elevate local artists. And we work with artists of all levels all the time through our program and try to have a really healthy mix. In the case of the two projects you talked about where the budgets are a bit higher, those do come from the percent for art ordinance that took citizens 30, 40 years to get through This was a longtime effort of many people in the community who really wanted to see a variety of public art, including projects that, you know, I'm not, like CloudGate, when you go to Chicago and you see the giant bean, they wanted some projects that were of a world-class level and they wanted some projects that were locally made. And so we do try to balance the programs. Cheerio, the project that was selected for the State Street Garage is, interestingly, it looks like those artists are from out of town, but they bought a house here and they're moving to Madison. So in this case, we have sold our community on these wonderful world-class artists. They didn't get the local preference that is required by ordinance because this is a more recent development, but they are attached and connected to Madison. The Mulligan Studio, they live in Minnesota. He's an immigrant from Ireland, but they have these Midwest connections, and they've already done projects in the area. They've been in Middleton. They're very familiar with our community, and that does give artists an advantage when they're trying to get a project here. So in those two cases, those are percent for art projects. The budgets are set by the ordinance, and... It allows us to have very, you know, to really aspire and have world-class art. In the case of the State Street Garage, we did save some of the budget and my colleague, Mary Rose Eckberg, who's managing that project, is working with several local art artists to do mural art inside the garage where it will be very visible. So there is a mix also in that project. Did I answer your question?

No, you did not. Once again, we're dealing with budget. We have no money. We cannot afford this champagne. You use the words world-class. There are individuals who don't have world-class taste. there comes a point in time when we have to think about what can we utilize here. I am quite sure that there are young people who can design murals or whatever it is that you want, and it can still be viewed as world-class because it comes from them. People from, so you're saying the person that's going to design one thing, especially the State Street Rep, is from Ireland. They've moved here.

You know,

So they recently moved here. They still don't understand. Madison, give those who have not had an opportunity to express what Madison is like to do that. That's all I'm asking. Please consider our young people.

Yes, very good point. We will and we do. Thank you. Sorry.

But it's not world class. Thank you. We're still in questions. All right. Thank you, Alder. And Director Tuttle, did you want to respond to the Alder's question?

Yeah. Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to speak to, I think, a part of the Alder's question and just mention something that Karin briefly touched on, which is that the projects that are on your agenda for tonight are projects that are coming from our percent for the arts ordinance. That is an actual city ordinance that requires that 1% of the budget of major capital projects are set aside for the arts. So the team works through the process of developing the capital budget with whatever agency is doing a project that meets the thresholds. finds out what the 1% amount of money is going to be, and then works with the Madison Arts Commission and sometimes with citizen subcommittees that are established for individual capital projects to identify the number and type of projects that we might be able to facilitate in a project using that budget. And then they help guide us on who we are selecting in terms of the artists that we'll work with for those projects. So just want to make sure that that's really clear. But the dollar amounts that you see attached to these projects are coming from our percent for the arts ordinance and are really established by the budgets of those capital projects at their foundation.

Thank you, Director Tuttle. Are there other questions for staff on item 76? Any other questions for staff? Item 76 has been moved and seconded. Is there discussion?

I just want to mention that this is in my district. I served on the State Street campus ad hoc art committee where we were choosing the art. The artist isn't just moving to Madison. He has a connection to Madison. I don't I don't want to get it wrong, but I believe he grew up in the area and one of their other infrequently visits Madison and one of the other projects they propose, which is not one that we picked was posted notes of their favorite things to do in Madison. We also received many applications from artists in Madison and as part of the application process. uh we ranked artists on their submissions and we looked at the overall quality of their past work and the quality of the proposal in addition to we did take some consideration for whether they were local artists or not but we ended up not choosing any local artists for the final three um i just want to clear that up that you know there's additional connection beyond that and additionally I do think that this is a very good piece of art I this was chosen out of many submissions I mean we had hardest from all over the world all over the country and Madison submit high quality proposals and I think we chose the best one thank you all there Alderman

Thank you, Mayor. Having participated on an ad hoc committee to select an artist for the State Street Library Mall, I already know about the robust process that we go to to locate artists and evaluate them and ultimately select one. Also, on behalf of the Council, I want to apologize to the artists if they're on this call for that anti-immigrant nativist rhetoric that has no place here, and I condemn it. Thank you.

Thank you, Elder. Elder Zhang? Starting off with a few pieces of information. One, I currently have the joy of serving on the Madison Arts Commission. Two, the campus garage will be serving a lot of people in my district as it's across the street. And three, my family immigrated here as students. So I am... feeling as if um placing students and people who have been here for a long time or immigrants against each other is not necessarily helpful discourse um but um alder pritchett i would be happy as well as anyone else on arts commission and art staff to um go through the artist selection process and maybe hear your input in another context. But I would also like to say that it is valuable for the place that we live to be beautiful. And I think there's a way to be fiscally responsible while also having a place worth joyfully living in. Thank you.

Thank you, Elder. Are there others in the queue on item 76?

Alder Pritchett? One last comment. I have nothing against immigrants. I do appreciate art. But I also know that there are numerous individuals who will never, ever, ever benefit from not only seeing but appreciating that art. So I ask them, when you have a child who is struggling and they see a piece of art, perhaps that maybe one of their classmates, maybe someone in their own neighborhood put together, that is inspirational. That can be aspirational. But to suggest that just because a person is an immigrant They don't have the right. I'm not saying that at all.

I moved and seconded. Is there objection to recording unanimous vote in favor?

No.

Alder Pritchett would like to be noted as voting no?

Yes.

Thank you, Alder.

Voting no.

So with that exception, is there objection to recording yes votes? Yes. Seeing no further objection, we'll record one no vote on that item, and item 76 will pass. That will take us to item 78, which is Legistar 94047, approving the design for the State Street Campus Garage, Hawthorne Court, percent for art project. We have already discussed this, but we do need to properly move and take it up. So a motion, please, on item 78. Motion to adopt. Seconded. Moved and seconded to adopt item 78. Alder Pritchett, did you have additional questions? No. Thank you, Alder. So on item 78, are there any questions from other members of the body? Seeing none, item 78 has been moved and seconded. Is there further discussion? no further discussion on item 78 is their objection to recording unanimous vote in favor who is lighted star 9 4 1 8 6 presentation by council president sabrina madison on next steps regarding the police civilian oversight board and the office of the independent monitor president madison is it your preference to take public comment first uh to just do the presentation is very brief just an overview so we'll do the presentation and then we'll take public comment Yes. Thank you, President Madison.

Do we need to make a motion to accept or I can just start? No, there's no action on this item. You can just start. Thank you. Okay, so for folks listening, this item or what I'm reading from is just my public statement that was shared on July 27, 2026 at 9.17 in the morning. I believe it's one of the first attachments in legislature for this item. And so you'll see it's just a statement titled statement from Common Council President Sabrina Madison on amendments to the Office of the Independent Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board. So I'm just going to give you a quick overview because we've gotten a good amount of emails. I just want to make sure I'm clear with folks listening that we're not taking up a budget item. This is not an item to vote on. So that's not what's before us. So I'm just going to give you an overview of how this item ended up on the agenda. So there were there were a set of amendments to the Office of the Independent Monitor and the PCOB through some back and forth conversations. I ended up meeting with the chair of the Police Civilian Oversight Board, Chair Meyer Pearson. We ended up having a pretty brief conversation Thursday after a press conference down at the city county building. We decided at that conversation that we would figure out how to work together, how to come to the table, how to have a conversation. That Tuesday, I had invited NACO. NACO is the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. I met with them after attending the PCOBs or the Police Civilian Oversight Board. I think it was a regular meeting, but I'll go back and double check. But I believe it was one of their regular meetings. They invited a person to present from a law group. After scheduling a conversation with her, I decided it would be great, a good idea for me to also meet with NACO. In my conversation with NACO's leadership, I learned that NACO, again, the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, had not previously presented to the full council. And so you'll see in this attachment in legislature on this item, on this presentation, you can watch that NACO presentation from Common Council. But in my meeting with them before we got them to Common Council, I learned they had not presented to the body before. And I thought I shouldn't be the only one getting the education. I thought that would be great for the full body to get the education about how in general oversight boards work. So NACO presented. I also attached in my statement, attached to the legislature, their presentation slides. Because if you're nerdy like me, you also have the slides to go along with the presentation. So you can see that there too. So part of the conversation with NACO, when we have presenters, they normally, sometimes there's a little bit of Q&A. And we ask some great questions. Because we were having some conflicts here about the office in general, I decided, I asked a question, I think just in general about, I think it was maybe another audience question I asked on behalf, but in short, my question was around what might we do in order to overcome those challenges, for example, or conflicts. And they suggested everybody basically coming back to the table or coming to the table. And so let me just see here. And I'm also using a little iPad as my second screen, so forgive me here. So NACO quoted that night, they said the reality is with the work of oversight, there has to be some level of trust or willingness to come to the table and set aside personal grievances, whatever the issues are. Otherwise, this work can just be stalled and can drastically affect the legitimacy of oversight in the city. And so I thought when I met with Maya or Chair Pearson, I followed up conversation on that following Sunday, I used that NACO quote, in education as the foundation for our meeting. So in our meeting with, in my meeting 101 on teams with Chair Pearson, we had maybe an hour long conversation and we came up where there were three points that I walked away from. So I'm going to read this word for word so I don't get anything incorrect here. So first point was the Police Civilian Oversight Board wants to ensure there is an agenda item that allows members of the public to provide comments specifically regarding the office of the independent monitor. I support that request and will assure that there is an opportunity on the agenda, which is tonight's agenda, for the public to share their perspectives on the Police Civilian Oversight Board and the Office of the Independent Monitor. So this item is on the agenda because this came out of that conversation with Chair Pearson. The second point is the Chair Pearson shared that the board would like the current amendment process to come to an end so we can move forward or move toward a more restorative and collaborative path forward. Myself and the other three sponsors on those amendments removed ourselves. Alder or Vice President Glenn and Alder Matthews removed themselves from the, I think it was an amendment or an alternate to the amendment. It's all a legislature. And then Alder Mayer decided not to move his amendment forward either. So. that ended all of the amendments or alternates or single item. The third point was Chair Pearson emphasized that the board wants to have a conversation about the best way to strengthen and clarify the city's police oversight ordinances. She shared that the board does not want this work to be reactionary and that members felt they were not all working together, that we were not all working together to address areas needing clarification. Instead, they felt that things were being done to them versus with them. So I appreciate her willingness to share that perspective. And we decided that our chief of staff for the Common Council Office, Karen, would reach out to the referrals we got from NACO and schedule an initial conversation with the potential facilitator, myself, and Chair Pearson, and allow that facilitator to help us plan for how to go forward with this conversation. We're scheduling the time to meet. So, okay, let me just fast forward or not fast forward, let's scroll. Okay. Okay, so that really wraps up. So just to reiterate or recap, the amendments that were set to come to the Common Council tonight, those have ended. They are not live anymore. Chair Pearson expressed that they just wanted those things to end, but also expressed with those items ending, they still want an opportunity to share their perspective. So keeping my word. This is why I created a presentation topic just to have an opportunity for that conversation to happen. I understand the next steps based on a conversation with Chair Pearson is that Chief of Staff for the Common Council, Karen, will reach out to, well, we already have their referrals. She would do a little bit of reaching out to them, schedule a conversation with Chair Pearson and I, and then it will be with that restorative justice facilitator that we would determine some next steps. So, That is an update on how we got this agenda item, but I wanted to make sure I'm clear. So because there was a lot of emails asking us to vote on something tonight, vote on a budget, that is not an item that we're voting on tonight. This is just an overview. It is keeping my word on the two conversations that I had with Chair Pearson and ensuring that they can still share their perspectives or the public can share their perspectives despite the also wanting the amendments to end. So hopefully that makes sense. Thank you. Oh, let me just make sure I reiterate as a nerd. This item is attached in Legistar. It's literally one of the first items. In my statement, you can click on the link. I encourage folks to watch. There's a lot of conversations about police oversight, of course, now even more so. That presentation by NACO was very informative. I heard a lot of great feedback that night from community members who were tapped in. And you can also find the presentation slides if you really want to nerd out on it. So that's it now.

Thank you, Alder Madison. So without objection, then we'll proceed to public comment. I'll remind folks that you have three minutes. I would like to just... Tell the council, unless you instruct me otherwise as chair of the meeting, my inclination is to give some pretty broad leeway to the content of the comment tonight. The issue is... A broad one, as stated, and I expect that we may hear some comment that is not directly on the question of the Office of the Independent Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board. And in my estimation, it's probably better to just let that be. But if you want me to try and enforce the rules more strictly, I would be happy. i'm not seeing any desire for that so and but you could uh you could make that request of the chair if you wanted it and so i would stay then to folks that are here for public comment and technically the item before us is about the police civilian oversight board in the office of the independent monitor and we would encourage you to keep your comments on that topic but um if you stray we're not going to cut you off immediately And again, three minutes. I will announce try and announce three names at a time so people can get ready. And I understand there may be some people that are sharing a camera at the Social Justice Center or sharing a microphone, I should say, at the Social Justice Center. And so I would ask just for some patience with our tech staff as they try and find information. the right person and see where they are. So I know that there's been a lot of work behind the scenes by staff to try and facilitate that. I will say that just because folks that are calling in not from that location are not able to turn their cameras on, we'd like to maintain that consistency. for the folks that are all in one place together and not have them be on camera either. And just in fairness to the public comment that's coming from other places. So our first registrant is Amelia Royko Maurer of Arena, Wisconsin, to be followed by Karen Chacon, to be followed by Steve Berberg. Do we have Amelia? I see Nathan, but not Amelia, Mayor.

Should I...

Is that Nathan? Yes. Nathan is registered later. So let's go to Karin or Karen Chacon of District 6 to be followed by Steve Verberg to be followed by Helen Luisi Mills. Do we have Karin or Karen? While we're waiting, Alder Matthews?

I just wanted to point out, I think Vice President Glenn unmuted to say that Amelia is at the Social Justice Center. Oh, I'm sorry.

Vice President Glenn? No, I was saying that Amelia's here at SJC.

Oh, okay. So if we can unmute the SJC location for Amelia, please.

Hello?

Yes, please go ahead.

This is Amelia Royko Maurer. I am co-founder of the Community Response Team. Polly Heenan, my roommate and close friend, was killed by police in front of my home on South Baldwin Street, two blocks from where Corey was killed, and that was back in 2012. What I saw... over the last 24 hours occur on the corner of Baldwin and Williamson Street was horrifying. I see a city that has sunken. I see leadership that is Machiavellian. I see people grasping to remain powerful and relevant for the spring election. I see a city attorney who is out of control and giving bad information. A city attorney who we've corrected, I don't know how many times by going to legislative council who gives bad counsel and operates solely as a risk manager. I saw a video of the independent police monitor being attacked by police officers. I saw blood on her hand. I cannot believe what I'm seeing. My grandparents emigrated to this country Last century, I've lived here all of my life, and I just can't believe this. What I saw this morning and today was akin to right wing authoritarianism. You all look so desperate. What I just saw on the street corner was number of people was easily a Tuesday afternoon in Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and you have one cop per person. Clearly, you have too many cops in this city. I am asking you to fully fund the Office of the Independent Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board with a minimum of $1.3 million. I'm asking the police department to stop whining about it. Do you ever see people whining about the National Transportation Safety Board reviewing transportation catastrophes? This is unprecedented, this baby act. Stop acting like babies. Oversight is normal. I am asking the council to fully cooperate with the independent monitor investigation into the killing of Corey Ruiz. All evidence, records, footage, and personnel access should be provided immediately. You have 30 seconds. While you're avoiding it, I'll just, two words, Richard Johnson. Council, we're asking you to order the chief now and the police and the mayor to order the chief now to hand over those records. There's no state law that forbids it. There's an ordinance that requires it. Do your jobs. All use of force recommendations and ad hoc committee report.

And that's time.

That's your time.

Thank you very much. Our next registrant is Karen Chacon of District 6, to be followed by Steve Verberg, to be followed by Helen Luisi-Mills. Do we have Karen? Can you hear me? Yes, please go ahead.

Just a moment. I have to pull up my notes. Okay. My name is Karen Chacon. I am a 60-year-old white female named Karen living in Madison, Wisconsin. I want to thank the City of Madison Council for perpetuating and reinvigorating the Karen meme. It's been lovely to be a Karen lately. I'm here about Item 2, File 94186, regarding the future of the Office of the Independent Police Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board. I am here because an MPD officer killed Corey Ruiz. I live two blocks from where Pauli Heenan was killed in 2012. I have worked with disenfranchised and marginalized youth for 35 years. I want to thank the council for affording me three minutes of your time to share what I've learned. Due to time constraints, I'm choosing one situation that I experienced directly, which I think supports the need for more oversight from our community. I was a teacher at East High School for 16 plus years. Some months before Tony Robinson was killed, there was a situation at East that required the ERO to arrest a student. Due to safety concerns, other police officers were present. The ERO at the school had earned the trust from the students and she was removing a student with no major conflict. I was present to deescalate students who had gathered. Most students left the area at our request and some remained. One student was yelling MPDK. One of the officers who was present had previously served as the school ERO. He had been removed due to student concerns regarding his temperament and staff concerns, myself of which was one. This officer said he felt threatened by the letters MPDK. The ERO informed him she did not feel threatened and said to proceed to arrest the student without engaging the student yelling MPDK. I need to digress here to when this officer was the ARO. There were several students and staff who expressed concerns regarding interactions with him. My personal concern was that students referred to him as Robocop because they felt he lacked compassion and behaved like a robot. I was present in the East Forum where the student was being walked out, and the officer taking him out had no concerns. Robocop did and proceeded to arrest, to try to arrest the individual saying the letters MPDK. Subsequently, hands were put on the young man, and I guess...

I'm sorry, that's your time. Thank you very much. Our next registrant is Steve Verberg of Wendy Lane, to be followed by Helen Louisie Mills, to be followed by Linda Ketchum. Do we have Steve?

Good evening. Um, thanks for giving me a chance to speak. I'm a resident of Madison and I'm asking you to fully fund the office of independent police monitor and to do it immediately. Uh, but first what a day, uh, the city government's brutishness and inability to engage constructively with the public was on full display and it was nothing short of, uh, of shameful. Back to the Independent Monitor. First, many thanks to President Madison for bringing the NACOL presentation to us and making it available on a continuing basis. The Independent Monitor's investigation into the awful in-custody death of Richard Lee Johnson Amply demonstrates how badly we need a fully funded, fully independent, fully empowered monitor. The monitor's report on Mr. Johnson's death is scrupulously documented. It shows the callous disregard of Madison police officers for human life and their willingness to casually lie. In the absence of this report, By the independent monitor, we wouldn't know that police commanders lied when they told the public Mr. Johnson died due to drug use. I really urge everybody to reread that report. It clearly demonstrates what's at stake here. The Madison Police Department's counting on you not to read it or to understand its implications. The department, which I guess carelessly provided the independent monitor with the dash cam videos and audio that exposed the deceptions, the department's now wise to how capable the independent monitor is. And that's why they're dragging their feet on providing documentary evidence in the Corey Ruiz killing and apparently ignoring her lawful subpoenas. So the creation of the Independent Monitoring Police Civilian Oversight Board was a modest reform, but it's one that can save lives. It can educate the public and finally begin to chip away at Madison's embarrassing racial disparities, if it is finally fully funded. This police department is not being trained or supervised properly.

About 30 seconds left.

I emailed all of you. an article by a UW law professor and expert in use of force that I think if you read it, you'll find it pretty persuasive I did. I guess I'm going to just note that the independent monitor was assaulted by police officers today after they fled and tried to not give a badge number to her. And that's time. Whatever.

Thank you. That's your time. Our next registrant. Sorry. Having to jump between screens here. Our next registrant is Helen Lucy Mills of District 10 to be followed by Linda Ketchum to be followed by Sharon Irwin Henry. We have Helen. Yes, she's SJC. Okay. Okay. Go ahead, Helen.

Hello? Can you hear me? Yes. Thank you. Yes, go ahead, please. My name is Helen Luisi Mills. I live on the west side. Figaro Cole is, disappointingly, my alder. I have been living in Madison for 26 years, and every few years there's a great article written by an amazing black man reminding white people how crappy they are and how crappy this city is. I'm using my polite words, Mayor Satya. I would like to draw attention to all of the times that you wear white, Mayor, as a suffragist or a feminist. It's giving a lot of Klan today. So please stop wearing white. I don't understand what happened this morning. We were expecting you. We've been hoping to see you. And we have not seen anyone other than awesome Davey and awesome Glenn at the site, talking with the people, talking with the families, talking with what's happening. This is so much bigger than Corey Reese. He was sacrificed on the altar of police execution of this city. You cannot, you cannot silence the city. You cannot silence us. Three minutes, that's your polite Midwest nice showing, and it's disgusting. I feel like maybe the rest of it would best be you singing Baby Shark, given the attention that you pay to anyone, whether I call you a Klansman or sing Baby Shark, how far are we going to get in this conversation? Yeah, fund the PCOB. Yeah, fund the OIM. But have actual meaningful conversations. How are we supposed to build trust with this? How are we supposed to build trust with this? How do you come back from this? How do you come back from this? Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo. Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo. That's what it feels like. I'm just talking into the air to people who aren't listening, who aren't paying attention. Real harm is happening. People are dying. You are killing people. And I may as well be singing Baby Shark because you're not listening and you're not going to change and you're not going to do anything. So prove me wrong. Next time you wear white, make it be meaningful. I see the rest of my time.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, I'm having some technical difficulties over here, but I think I got it sorted. Our next registrant is Linda Ketchum of District 14, representing Just Dane, incorporated to be followed by Sharon Irwin-Henry, to be followed by Lindy Pidgeon. Do we have Linda?

I don't see Linda.

Do we have Linda?

It's not here. Okay, so I will come back.

Then Sharon Irwin Henry of District 6 to be followed by Lindy Pidgeon to be followed by Bronwyn Archwick. Do we have Sharon?

Is that the right Sharon? No, no. This is Sharon. Sharon? Oh, we're on.

We're on. Oh.

Sharon Gerwin is not here at SJC.

Okay. Thank you very much. Then we'll go to Lindy Pigeon of District 18 to be followed by Bronwyn Archwick to be followed by Devin Snyder.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Hi. I just want to say I prepared this before I seen all that crap that you threw out today there, Satya. Good evening. My name is Lindy Pigeon. I've lived in Madison for about 40 years. I am here today to speak on agenda item 94186 because I believe strengthening the Office of the Independent Monitor and providing greater authority to the Police Civilian Oversight Board is an important step toward meaningful accountability. Over the past four decades, I have both witnessed and personally experienced racial profiling, What I believe to be improper investigative practices, for example, an officer looking in my daughter's window while she was getting ready for school. And behavior that I found to be juvenile and unprofessional for members of the MPD. Those experiences have affected my trust in the system that are supposed to protect all of us. Now after the latest police killing, our community is grieving once again. Families are mourning, neighbors are hurting, and trust has been damaged even further. Accountability cannot stop with individual officers. It must also extend to department leadership, the mayor, and city officials who are responsible for ensuring meaningful oversight and public trust. Supporting the Office of the Independent Monitor with adequate funding and strengthening the Police Civilian Oversight Board are not anti-police measures. They are pro-accountability, pro-transparency, and ultimately pro-community. Strong oversight benefits everybody. This action alone will not solve every problem. There is still much work to do to address systemic bias, rebuild public trust, and ensure transparency when critical incidents occur. But every meaningful change begins with the first step. I urge the council to support Agenda 94186 and to continue building an oversight system that is independent, transparent, and empowered to serve the people of Madison. Our goal should be a city where every resident feels equally safe, equally respected and protected, not just some of us, but all of us. And finally, to the mayor, I saw you crying around on the news and such about the unsustainability and cost of the encampment and memorial. Maybe if you stop letting MPD hire incompetent, racist, killer cops in the streets, you could have a buck or two, you know, save a buck or two on lawsuits and community outrage. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. I think we may have Linda Ketchum now of District 14, and then we'll go to Bronwyn Archwick to be followed by Devin Snyder. Linda, you should be able to unmute. The prompt might be hidden, or if you're on your phone, it's star six. looks like you're unmuted on our end but we can't hear you all right i'm gonna yes

Sorry. Let me catch up with the Executive Director, Jo Stain. And I served on the MPD Ad Hoc Committee for its entirety as a representative of the LGBTQ plus community. Additionally, at Jo Stain, we interact daily with individuals who are impacted by our criminal legal system. The Office of Independent Police Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board were born out of very real need to ensure public safety and to protect residents from excessive force by police and to create a mechanism to hold the Madison Police Department and its officers accountable through a transparent independent review process. In recommending the creation of the PCOB and the Office of Independent Monitor, the Ad Hoc Committee and the Council were clear in their intent that these entities must operate independently and with the authority to fully investigate use of force and complaints against MPD. We cannot presume that the police will adequately monitor their own behavior and hold their members accountable. There's too many examples where MPD has failed to hold its officers accountable for abusive behavior, either against the general public or against its own officers. That's why the independence of the Office of Independent Police Monitor must be protected. Elected officials and the city attorney must stop their constant efforts to weaken the authority in charge of the independent monitor and PCOB. The independent monitor must be fully funded to fulfill its mandate to our community. And to that end, the office of independent monitor must be funded at at least $1.3 million. Additionally, MPD must provide all evidence collected thus far in the killing of Corey Ruiz and in the death of Richard Johnson to the independent monitor in order to ensure a thorough, transparent, and independent review of their deaths. MPD must release all evidence related to injuries sustained today by protesters and city officials observing the cruel dismantling of the encampment at Williamson and Baldwin Streets. I'm in recovery from addiction and in the recovery community we say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. What we saw in the killing of Corey Ruiz is insanity. What we're seeing in terms of police refusing to fully cooperate with an independent investigation of that killing is insanity. What we're seeing at the corner of Williamson and Baldwin streets today is insanity. Our other recovery mantra is this. You're only as sick as your secrets. Madison, we're sick. We allow police to withhold evidence, allow secrets to fester, saying one thing and continuing to behave as we always have, obfuscating behind policies and procedures to protect the status quo so that our secrets can continue. It's time that we as a city... focused our recovery it's time that we take responsibility for the harm we've caused that we lay our secrets open that we're honest transparent accountable so that we can end the insanity and bring about healing compassion and restorative justice fully fund and support the office of the independent police monitor as a first step in our city's recovery thank you our next registrant

I want to try again for Sharon Irwin Henry. I think I saw her in the attendee list.

Yes, I'm here.

Yes. Go ahead. And then after you, we'll go to Bronwyn Archwick and then Devin Snyder and then Reverend Ben Wager.

Sharon? Hi. Man, this is a sad, sad day. There's so many memories floating through me. We had the opportunity to be something different. There were 187 different, the alumni came up with ratification for 187 different changes to the police department in 2017, I think. And we said, okay, yeah, good idea. And not one of them, not one of them Has been implemented. All of them were ratified. None of them have been implemented. What possibility do you think could have happened had any of those changed? Policies and procedures with the Madison Police Department that had 11 years to grow to be something different than what they are now. Because guess what the city is going to do? The city's going to keep paying out and paying out and paying out. Now, I'm down there, and an officer thinks he has the right to put his hands on the independent monitor because she wants to know a police officer's badge number. We are not the Gestapo, and we are not ICE, and this was not necessary. I've been fighting for the right of my grandson for 11 years. Now we fight for... Everybody, doesn't it seem? There are 10 of them that died just in Ozan's tenure. What about you, Satya? My grandson came up on you. You came up on his death. You're walking out of here on another one. What about you, city council? Why are you not thinking about what possibilities exist? Just unhoused the homeless again. And that's okay. An officer comes up and shoots, put three bullets in the head of Corey. Or choke out somebody and then put him in the jail and he's dead the next day. Richard Johnson. Or how about my boy? Seven bullets. As he's coming down the stairs and nobody has said anything. It's time for the IM to be able to do her job. It's time for the PCOB to be able to do their job. And it's time for you to step back. You've been fighting this and I don't know why. Because you may promise you didn't keep. You need to keep these promises now. Whether it's going to be more deaths and you're going to pay out more money. How much do you think you're going to pay this time?

You have about 30 seconds left.

I would hope that you figure something else out. I would hope you help to figure something out instead of backstabbing and doing what you did last night this morning. Bye now.

Thank you. Our next tradition is Bronwyn Archwick of District 12 to be followed by Devin Snyder to be followed by Reverend Ben Weger. We have Bronwyn.

Hi, yes, I'm here. So I have never participated in a city council meeting before, but I felt so moved because of the murder that happened of Corey Ruiz. I moved here from Los Angeles. I was seven years old when the Rodney King riots happened. And now to be sitting in this at 41 years old, to be sitting in a city, to see another one of our citizens be brutalized by the police is heartbreaking. To know that this person whose life they were just leading until an officer stepped in with no cause, there was no justification for their actions. So I would just like to echo everyone's sentiments about funding the offices, the Office of the Independent Civilian Oversight and the PCOB. We need more funding. Power must be checked. We cannot allow the people who are supposed to be keeping us safe, us citizens, to be terrorizing us. I see it every day. I live on the north side of Madison. I have a police station three minutes from my apartment building. And I am seeing these police officers rolling through my neighborhood every day because I live in a predominantly black neighborhood. I know I am privileged. I present white. But my neighbors, the people I care about, they are being terrorized every day by these police officers. And not having enough strong oversight of their actions is causing people to get killed. There is no reason for this. There is no justification for an officer of the law who is supposed to be upholding the law to murder someone. Again, I just want to stress, I want more police oversight. I want funding. I want the 1.3 million funding for the independent police monitor. I want the PCOB to be stronger. We are a community and we are strong. We cannot let an oppressive force- About 30 seconds left. Thank you. We cannot let an oppressive force that is supposed to be here to help us, to protect us, and to keep us safe as citizens, to do these actions and get away with it. We need more oversight. I urge the council, I urge you, Mayor, to please fund these offices. It is needed. Thank you, I cede my time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Devin Snyder of District 10, to be followed by Reverend Ben Weger, to be followed by Denis Livingston, DTN. Do we have Devin? Mayor, I don't see Devin. Oh. Devin at SJC?

Yes. Yeah. All right. My name is Devin Snyder. And I'm a black resident as well as I serve on the Police Civilian Oversight Board. And I want you to hear me loud and clear since you can't see me because you made this meeting virtual. The Police Civilian Oversight Board and the OIM provides functions that are essential to achieving racial and social equity in this city. Today, I was tear gassed and hit by Madison Police Department while ensuring my fellow community members were safe. the independent monitor was assaulted by the police. So when you hear us here today and you hear all these stories, this is our livelihoods. This is our everyday life. This is our experiences with the police. And so that's why someone like me joined this board because I understood that if I want to have actual change, I have to work directly with the police. but you guys have been refusing to work directly with us. And what I saw today, the disregard of property, the disregard of Black lives, community members mourning over excessive force, and then you, Mayor, come in and use excessive force on us community members? So I'm requesting... 1% of Madison Police Department's budget, which is $1.3 million. I'm also requesting all records from Madison Police Department given to Mika so she can actually do her investigation. And three, I'm calling on the resignation of the mayor because you have shown time and time again that black lives do not matter to you and you are detrimental to to our lives and your policies are not helping us. I'm done.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Reverend Ben Weger of District 15 to be followed by Denise Livingston-Detienne. And my apologies, I do think I skipped Lindy Pigeon, so we'll go back to Lindy after that. Do we have Reverend Ben Wager?

Yes.

Go ahead.

Thank you. My name is Ben Wager. I live in District 15. I'm a United Methodist pastor of the congregation Stoughton, but I live here in Madison, just a couple miles from Williamson and Baldwin. I'm speaking as a person of faith, as clergy, not on behalf of my church. Two weeks ago, Corey Ruiz was shot and killed a short drive from my house by Madison police. just blocks from where Tony Robinson was killed in 2015. And this morning, before most of this city was awake, streets crews, state troopers, police cleared his memorial. Over a dozen people have been arrested. In 2019, this council adopted Recommendation 109, standards for when deadly force is proportionate, necessary, reassessed. It was never implemented. That's not an accusation. It's a fact that you already have. And I want to name what's underneath it because I don't think it's new and I don't think that you do either. Every prophet in my tradition says some version of the same thing. You can tell what a people worship by watching what they protect whenever it costs them something. And this morning, you protected a street. What this community is still waiting for is whether you'll protect the truth of what happened to Corey Ruiz, Tony Robinson, Paulie Heenan, and so many others with the same speed. The truth cannot come from the department that killed him. It has to come from the Office of the Independent Monitor. So I'm asking for something specific on the record tonight, even with no vote scheduled. We have to direct MPD to hand monitor glass every piece of evidence, unfiltered, unredacted, immediately, and commit publicly that her findings will be published without MPD's legal team getting a pass at them first. Half an investigation isn't independence. It's a delay with better paperwork. I'm not asking you to feel guilty. I'm asking you to notice the pattern that you're building, meeting by meeting, and to interrupt it before it becomes the story of this council's response to a death in our streets. The people who were arrested at that intersection this morning are not your enemy. They are your evidence. The brutality that I have seen displayed today by Madison Police, as well as other agencies that were called in, which is quite convenient as they are not responsible or have to answer to any independent police monitor in the city of Madison, has been brutal, unnecessary, and a complete escalation of a tragic and horrific circumstance. It's been a horrific honor to stand with people at this intersection since July 22nd. None of us should have to be here. None of us should have to be continuing to say the things that have been said in this community for decades.

And yet here we are.

And yet here we are, still asking for the same things. A system that investigates itself, whether you want to give it an acronym of DCI or MPD or anything else. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, our next registrant is Deni Livingston, DTN. And then we'll go to Lindy Pidgeon. Yes, we have Deni.

Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Start off by saying their names. Tony Robinson. Richard Lee Johnson. Corey Ruiz. Say them again. Tony Robinson, Richard Lee Johnson, Corey Ruiz. These were people. These were people from our community. Let's sit with that. Let's sit with their names. Let's say their names. Let's think about their families. We talk about Madison being a performative city. And I ask tonight that we move beyond that performance. Listen to the people, fully fund what Independent Monitor Glass and her team needs. and hand everything over to her to complete the investigation, along with any other investigations. Again, I'll end with saying their names. Tony Robinson, Richard Lee Johnson, and Corey Ruiz deserved better. They deserved better. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Lindy Pigeon of District 18, to be followed by Todd Callister, to be followed by Karen Craig.

Hello. Can you hear me again?

Yes.

Hi. I just wanted to second what the gentleman from the Independent Monitor said, suggested to you, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, that you should just go ahead and resign, get a job with the Metro. You love it so much.

I'm sorry. You already had your three minutes. That was my mistake. So our next registrant is Todd Callister of District 6, to be followed by Karen Craig, to be followed by Gabriela Jenick. We have Todd.

Is Todd with SJC by chance? Because I don't see Todd otherwise.

Do we have Todd at SJC? No. Okay, we can check back. Then Karen Craig of District 6, to be followed by Gabriella Jenick, to be followed by Sharon Kilfoy. Do we have Karen? Karen Craig?

Hello? Yes, go ahead. Okay. My name is Karen Craig. I live about three blocks from Baldwin and Willie. Our neighborhood has been repeatedly traumatized by police killing our neighbors. I believe... that police should be part of and answerable to the community they are supposed to serve. Many people think that the police are here to keep us safe and to serve and protect us. However, I believe that the police are making our community less safe. At this point, I don't I think we should, everyone should seriously hesitate to call the police for any sort of problem. How can we trust them to help protect or serve the people in our community? I imagine that whoever called the police because of what was going on with Corey Ruiz is in shock that their call ended up with a member of our community murdered in the street. Ideally, we'd have grandmas from every community in the city in charge of making sure the police work for us, for our community. Absent that, we need to fully fund the independent oversight. How can we expect the police to serve us with the enormous budget that we have somehow given them? The OIM and the PCOB must be fully funded. This 1% number that is apparently $1.3 million, 1% really of this enormous budget, that seems extremely reasonable. Maybe more would make sense. Cory Ruiz should be alive. He deserves justice. Madison, really, we should do better. And that's all I have to say. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Gabriella Jenick of District 15. To be followed by Sharon Kilfoy. To be followed by Shadira Kilfoy-Flores. Do we have Gabriella?

I don't see Gabriella. Are they at the SJC conference? No. Okay.

All right. So then we'll go to Sharon Kilfoy of District 6. To be followed by Shadira Kilfoy-Flores. To be followed by Tristan Mills. Do we have Sharon? Hi. Yes, I'm here.

Hi.

Go ahead. We've got a little bit of an echo.

Sorry about that. I've got an echo here, too. I wanted to talk to you.

Sharon, are you on multiple devices?

My phone, I've got a timer on. Okay.

Let's try again and see if we can get through at least three minutes, even if there's too much of an echo. Can we get Sharon back or should I go on?

How is this?

Try now, Sharon.

Okay, how is this?

Better.

Okay. I'm not going to turn my timer on, unfortunately. So anyway, I live at 1020 Williamson Street, right down the street from where Tony Robinson was murdered and where the latest Corey Ruiz was murdered. But I'm not here to talk to you about that. I'm actually here to talk to you about my daughter, Shadaver Kilfoy Flores, who apparently is following me, and all the work that she has done. I feel that the work that she has done serves to let you know about all of the work that so many in this community have done on the PCOB. She's the person that I've watched all of these years. She was part of the community response team in 2015 after Tony Robinson died. And we're good friends with Tony's family. She and Sharon Irwin filed a formal complaint against Chief Koval in 2016, and they won that. Since being part of that community response team, she was part of the ad hoc committee that looked at the MPD police and the policies and their procedures. She testified for the PCOB. Following that, the community response team nominated her to be on the PCOB. That appointment was approved by the Common Council. She became the vice chair, the interim chair. And oh, there's my, sorry about that. There's the timer.

Okay, you've got about another minute left.

Okay, I can't get this thing to turn off. There we go. Okay, in those roles, she was part of NACOL, the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. They came to Madison. They trained the board. She became a member of NACOL. She went to their trainings in 2022, their conference in Texas. 2023, their conference in Chicago. 2024, their conference in Phoenix. She became certified by the Chicago Office of Police Accountability. If you go to the PCOB link, you can not only look at the complaint form, you can look at the ordinance that created that, you can look at all of the recommendations. Madison has the whole Office of Independent Monitor has been built on best practices and standards of oversight, de-escalation, recommendations. And I watched my daughter help to create all of it.

Thank you, Sharon. That's your time. All right. Our next registrant is Shadira Kilfoy Flores of District 6, to be followed by Tristan Mills, to be followed by Aleka Parker. Do we have Shadira?

Mayor, I don't see her. She's at the SJC.

Good evening, everyone. Good evening, go ahead. That was my mama. And if you didn't know, now you know. And if you didn't know what I've done, I was not on the ad hoc committee, but I was at every single meeting. People thought I was on the ad hoc committee because I attended more frequent than people who were chosen for the ad hoc committee. Mayor Satchell, I'm truly disappointed I met you over 20 years ago and I was very grateful when you ran against Paul Soglin because of the piss poor job that he did. But I have to say that you're doing worse. Your leadership has failed Madison. People have been hurt and people have been killed because you seem to think that independent investigating and police accountability is not necessary. And I'm here to tell you, you're wrong. You're really, really wrong. And you absolutely should resign. because you're not going to be our mayor for very much longer. So I hope you have a plan in place because you could have come down to the memorial at any given point. I would have escorted you. I would have showed you around and you should have shown a bit of compassion with a name like Satya for your community, your constituents. And instead you added trauma to trauma to trauma. shame on you and shame on the council for letting this happen in closed quarters, virtually online, instead of being at the common council where taxpayers have paid not only with their money, but now with our lives. I was there and I watched MPD not follow any of their own standard operating procedures for de-escalation. Instead, they chased a man on a bicycle with their vehicles around crowded streets with pedestrians. I saw three officers who followed procedures and three who didn't. What we saw was not only excessive use of force, it was excessive use of deadly force. You have about 20 seconds left. Thank you. If those officers would have followed their own procedures, their own protocols, Corey Ruiz, Tony Robinson, and Robert Johnson Lee would be alive.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Tristan Mills of District 6, to be followed by Aleka Parker, to be followed by Andrew Glickman. Do we have Tristan? Mary, I don't see Tristan. Is Tristan at SJC? What was the name? Tristan Mills? No. Okay. Then Oleka Parker of District 15 to be followed by Andrew Glickman to be followed by Jill Pfeiffer. Do we have Oleka?

Good evening, Mayor Alders. My name is Oleka Parker. I'm a community outreach a certified peer support and a certified parent peer support specialist with NAMI Dane County. I'm not here representing NAMI. I am here representing the people I work with every day. I work alongside people living with serious mental illness, people experiencing homelessness, families in crisis, and law enforcement. My life's work is helping people believe that systems can be trusted. that when something goes wrong, someone will listen and someone will be held accountable. Today, I'm struggling to believe that myself. Corey should still be alive. His death has shaken our community, devastated those who knew and loved him, and reopened wounds for countless people who have spent years wondering whether their lives truly mattered to this city. And then, instead of leading with compassion and accountability, this city allowed the memorial honoring Corey to be torn down. A place where people were grieving was taken away. At the same time, the independent monitor, whose job it is to seek truth, accountability, and public trust, was attacked by officers instead of supported. What message does that send? It tells grieving families that their pain is inconvenient. It tells people living with mental illness and those experiencing homelessness that their lives are disposable. It tells communities of color that accountability is negotiable. And it tells the public that independent oversight is something this city values only when it is politically convenient. I work with police officers. I educate police officers. I believe officers deserve the training and support to do their jobs well. But I also believe that true police safety requires independent accountability. Those two beliefs are not in conflict. They depend on each other. An office of independent monitor that is underfunded cannot fully do its job. Oversight without resources is not oversight. It is a problem without substance. That is why I support increasing the independent monitor's budget to more than 1% of the police budget. I have to say this plainly. I am disappointed. I expected leadership. I expected courage. I expected our elected officials to stand beside a grieving community and strengthen independent oversight, not weaken it. Tonight we have the accountability in Madison. And that's time.

Thank you. That's your time. Alder, Matthews, did you want to pause?

I just wanted to ask, I thought that everyone could see our faces at least. We can't see anyone else's faces, but I have been informed that the speaker name is what shows when a speaker is speaking. on like the webinar and everything and i was just wondering if it would be possible for us to instead show the grid view so that folks can see our faces when they're speaking to us we can relay that to the tech staff i'm not sure what's possible on their end to change the view but um i'm sure they're listening and i can teams them as well yeah i will check on that mayor thank you

Thank you, Alder. All right, so our next registrant is Andrew Glickman of District 14, to be followed by Jill Pfeiffer, to be followed by Maisel Ginsberg. Do we have Andrew?

Yeah, hi, I'm here. Good evening, everybody. Good evening, Mary. It's been quite a few weeks going on, quite a tumultuous time. Yeah, I think the independent monitor, I'd be in favor of that. Like you said, it's not a budget item, it sounds like yet. But, you know, I'm just kind of disappointed. I think there needs to be a more grieving process going on. You know, just like a period where people can really get more help with grieving, with everything, you know. Mental health doesn't just have to be mental health, but it can be, you know, just people need to have more of a grieving time for all this. So that's pretty much my input.

Thank you. Our next registered is Jill Pfeiffer of District 13 to be followed by Maisel Ginsberg to be followed by Tessa Jade Price. Do we have Jill?

Hello, yes, my name is Jill Pfeiffer. This has been another difficult day, and despite all that has transpired, I'm speaking today in regards to file 94186. I've been in the social services sector and lived in Madison for over two decades and feel a deep responsibility to do my part to help dismantle the deep shameful racial disparities that plague our city and beyond. As you can see, our community is hurting and we need to see meaningful, authentic and sustained action at all levels. Action needs to be seen from people like me and it needs to be seen from institutions like yours. Recently, many of us heard remarks from Corey's daughter who asked a question about who does she call when she does not feel safe. I can't stop thinking about this question. I'm literally haunted by it. We all need to be haunted by it and acting accordingly. I ask you to demonstrate that you are listening by fully funding the OIPM. Build a real-time racial equity dashboard so this community can see MPD data in public We need accountability for Corey, for Tony, for their families and loved ones, for the belief that we should never experience this sorrow again. Thank you for hearing me. I see the rest of my time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Maisel Ginsberg of District 10, to be followed by Tessa Jade Price, to be followed by Diana Wheeler. Do we have Maisel?

I don't see Maisel.

Not at SJC. All right. Then Tessa Jade Price of District 12 to be followed by Diana Wheeler to be followed by Michelle Martin. Do we have Tessa?

I don't see Tessa either.

Do we have Tessa at SJC? No. No. Okay, then Diana Wheeler of District 15 to be followed by Michelle Martin to be followed by T. Banks. Do we have Diana?

Hi, can you hear me? Yes, go ahead, please. Hi, I'm Diana. I am a Madison resident, and I'm here to talk about what the council committed to but hasn't done. I'm speaking about next steps for the Office of the Independent Monitor and Police Civilian Oversight Board. In 2019, this council adopted the full report of the Madison Police Department Policy and Procedure Review Committee. Recommendation 109 required necessity, proportionality, and reassessment standards for deadly force. MPD did not implement it. On July 22nd, Corey Ruiz was killed one block from where Tony Robinson was killed in 2015. In 2024 this Council nearly cut 42% of the OIPM's budget. Tonight I am asking you to stop treating oversight as optional. Fund the Office of the Independent Police Monitor at 1.3 million and require the MPD to share all documentation, all evidence with the Office of the Independent Monitor. And In general, I want to say the police should embrace transparency if they want to regain the trust of the community. Trust is earned through demonstrated commitment to best practices and training for de-escalation. And here's the council's chance to do the right thing. if the Madison Police Department is willing to learn from the Office of the Independent Monitor, the OIPM is a valuable resource with expert researchers and it can help to make the MPD less vulnerable itself to committing murder by police. I would think that the MPD would like to be as excellent as it can be. And I just don't understand why the mayor and certain members of the council and the MPD have been so obstructionist to what actually could be a really good resource for improving. Thank you. yes so i just wanted to encourage um a spirit of inquiry a spirit of learning on the part of the mpd and the mayor and and the council um and take advantage of this valuable resource um the expert data thank you thank you all right our next registrant

Oh, I'm sorry. I have to refresh the registration report. My apologies. While I'm doing that, could we have the tech staff check for Todd Callister, Gabriella Jenick, Tristan Mills, Maisel Ginsberg, or Tessa Jade Price, the people that were not present when we called them?

I don't see any of them, Mayor, but there's someone labeled P that has their hand raised. I'm not sure.

I think Tessa is still in jail. Thank you, Alder. All right. So we'll circle back just for new alders that maybe haven't experienced this before. When we do have people who are not present for when their name is called for public comment, We do tend to give them a couple of opportunities to see if they come into the meeting. So we'll continue to circle back and see if folks join us. But that said, our next registrant is Michelle Martin, to be followed by T. Banks, to be followed by Katherine Culbertson. Do we have Michelle?

Yes, I'm here. Go ahead. Hi, my name is Michelle and I am a resident of Madison, Wisconsin. I live literally around the corner from where Corey Ruiz was killed in the street by a Madison police officer. I am deeply ashamed of my city. I am ashamed by how we treat our poor. I am ashamed of how we treat our unhoused. I am ashamed by the lack of police oversight and accountability. This city should hang its head for the way we treat our citizens of color and our unhoused and the most vulnerable that live among us. We have broken trust with these communities again and again and again in the form of police violence attacks. And the minimum that this city needs to do is fully fund the Police Civilian Oversight Board and the offices of the Independent Police Monitor. They should be completely independent of the City of Madison, the MMPD, Madison Police Department. That is the very least you can do to begin the slow and painful process of healing and rebuilding trust. I stood on Williamson Street today and watched a seven-year-old girl cry at police officers because she understood as a black child her life mattered less. The fact that we have children internalizing that message because of the way the police devalue the lives of our black citizens is shameful. You should look at the photos of that little girl and you should remember them. I want you to burn them into your mind and know what we are striving for and who we need to protect. Fully fund police transparency and stop hiring racist killer cops. I cede the rest of my time. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is T. Banks of District 14, to be followed by Katherine Culbertson, to be followed by Gregory Golombiak. Do we have T? Yes. Go ahead.

Can you hear me? Yes. Yes. Hi, my name is Tee Banks, and I want to fully fund the Office of Independent Monitor and Police Civilian Oversight Board and to respect their independence as it is defined by the original ordinance and its legislative intent because Corey Ruiz should still be alive today. Because the police do not get to shoot Corey or anyone else and not be held accountable because we need community control over the police. Not holding the police accountable is what got us here. Corey Ruiz was publicly executed by Officer Kiel Peterson and other cops watching two blocks from the murder of Tony Robinson by Officer Matt Kinney. We fought for the Police Civilian Oversight Board and the Office of Independent Monitor after the brutal murder of Tony. We need community control over the police so the police don't think they can just murder us, abuse us, and use excessive force and not be dealt with. That's why we need to fully fund the OIM and the PCOB. The Office of Independent Monitor should have more money so that they can have the resources to do their best work and fully fund the positions of people who actually care and will go toe-to-toe with the racist, murderous, lying cops. The independent investigation initiated by the Office of Independent Monitor is why we know that Richard Lee Johnson died not because of a drug overdose that the police lied about, but because of the excessive force and restraint and neglect and lack of medical intervention. The Office of Independent Monitor and Police Civilian Oversight Board need to be fully independent and not controlled by the state. This is the only way that we can get the truth out about what happened to Corey Ruiz and prevent it from happening again. The OIM has proven that they will do what it takes for the truth and advocate for justice of Corey Ruiz. His family deserves the truth. The community deserves the truth. And Officer Kiel Peterson and the police and all the state offices that seek to cover up Police's murder and excessive force needs to be held accountable. Corey Ruiz should still be here. He should be alive. Justice for Corey Ruiz, tonight I am asking the council to do these things on record. MPD is directed to fully cooperate with the OIM independent investigation into the killing of Corey Ruiz too. All evidence, records, footage, and personnel access requested by the OIM shall be provided immediately without condition. I am also saying that the Office of Independent Monitor and that the findings of the investigation should be published publicly and without censorship by the MPD administration. Fully fund the OIM and the PCOB and listen to the family, the community, and houseless neighbors and fund housing and other services needed that we need, that we deem necessary and control over how it is. And that's time. But funding is spent. Thank you. Time.

Yes, Tessa has just walked in. Okay. Well, we can go to Tessa then. Tessa Jade Price of District 12 at SJC. And then we'll come to Catherine Culbertson to be followed by Gregory Glembiak to be followed by Hiela Franklin. Tessa?

Hey there. I'm going to need that. Nope. You get it? Go ahead. Oh, cool. Yeah, my name is Tessa. I apologize I'm late. I was helping bail out some people. I've heard we have about 25 people we've needed to bail out today, about $10,000 in bail, which is interesting because I was there at 4.30 a.m. when the peaceful protest was raided violently by MPD, by the Wisconsin State Patrol, and by various forces that were hurting the people who were peacefully protesting, hurting the people who were trying to keep that memorial there, to honor Corey Ruiz's life. And I'm here to just say that we need to fund the independent monitor. We need to bring police accountability. We need to fully cooperate with the independent monitor. We need to make that accountability that's executable, that's real. We can't have theoretical accountability. We can't have on paper accountability. It's got to be real. It's got to be, we have teeth because without teeth, this is going to keep happening. That's why it's been happening for, you know, forever now. And it's on us to end this. It's on us. to fix this because it's completely preventable. The murder, the public execution of Cory Ruiz was completely preventable. And that's something that should be investigated by anybody who's involved in police accountability in this city and probably beyond. We need people who are ready to hold the police accountable. We need them in various boards. We need them wherever we can find them, because otherwise we're ending up in these standoffs with the police. They're completely unnecessary. We have policeful protests. We have people asking for justice. We have people giving free food to each other, people offering clothes, people offering these things. And we're trying to bring the community together. And we did. It was a beautiful camp for two weeks almost. And, you know, seeing it crushed as it was this morning was unforgivable. Frankly, I think it demonstrates underlying white supremacy in the city. I think it demonstrates a lack of accountability for the various police that were involved. And I think it demonstrates a lack of respect for the for life of Corey Ruiz, who deserved so much better. That's about it.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Catherine Culbertson of Westport Road, to be followed by Gregory Golombiak, to be followed by Kiela Franklin. Do we have Catherine? Mary, I don't see Catherine Culbertson online. Do we have Catherine Culbertson? No. Okay. So then Gregory Golombiak of Second Street to be followed by Kiela Franklin to be followed by Kevin Williams. Do we have Greg? He's here. He's here. So Greg at the SJC?

No.

I'm speaking as an individual, not on behalf of OIPF. Today I witnessed out-of-control MPD officers shoved in a pack, independent police monitor Mika Glass, and badly cut and injured her hand. Seeking to arrest her after she simply asked an officer for his badge number. The instigating officers were already under investigation by our office and knew who Monitor Glass is, and there's so little accountability in MPD that they felt free to physically attack the monitor. I got pepper sprayed by an MPB officer while filming arrests, not interfering, and clearly identified as OIPM staff. And what is happening right now, including the assault on Mika, the pepper spraying on myself while carrying out the lawful duties of our office, the use of excessive force against peaceful protesters mourning excessive force, the refusal of MPD to provide our office with records and evidence in the Corrie Reed shooting that we are entitled to, and the broken promises to clergy, our mayor is entirely complicit. Everyone takes that into account in the upcoming election and that all of us reconsider their current endorsements. A few key points. First, OIPM is far from having the funding needed for its missions. As you would have all seen in NACOL's presentation for police oversight agencies that perform investigations, such as us, they recommend one investigator for every 80 police officers. Under that standard, we should have six to seven full-time investigators, given the size of MPD. In reality, there's only me, a .6 FDE physician, I do data analysis, forensic analysis, case management investigation, and monitor glass, which has a large set of responsibilities separate from investigation. In other words, we are impossibly understaffed, and we lack funding for a lot of other crucial things as well. Second, OIPM and PCB have been under constant attack by city officials up until the shooting in Corrie. The oversight mechanism has been sabotaged, undermined, and attacked in so many creative ways, many, I believe, flowing from the mayor's office. And having to defend against hostile ordinance amendments has eaten up a huge amount of OIPM and PCB time. The attacks in our office have to stop now, cannot be allowed to resume once the spotlight fades. Third, I'm asking the council direct MPD to fully cooperate with our independent investigation into the killing of Corey Ruiz. All evidence, records, footage, and personal access requested by OPM should be provided immediately and without condition. We are investigating concurrently with DCI and are finding they prove important when the DA makes a decision about whether or not to prosecute. I will also note that the city attorney's offices have a structural conflict of interest with police oversight agencies and the intrinsic affiliation of our city attorney's office with MPD has manifested many times. Sometimes resulting in highly biased, erroneous legal opinions. For example, when the city attorney's office sent Alders a memo incorrectly claiming that the council cannot give NPD specific orders of policy. So I would suggest that any adverse city attorney's office opinions on our right to be treated skeptically and that Alders may wish to seek opinions from the legislative council.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Kayla Franklin of Prairie du Sac, to be followed by Kevin Williams, to be followed by Stacey Gabarski. Do we have Kayla? Not there?

No, I don't see Kayla Franklin.

Okay. So then Kevin Williams of... indeterminate address in Madison. Sorry, District 4 in Madison to be followed by Stacey Garbarski to be followed by Justin Lewis. Do we have Kevin?

I don't see Kevin either.

Nope. Okay. Then Stacey Garbarski of District 12 to be followed by Justin Lewis to be followed by Sarah Chaudreau. Do we have Stacy? Hi, can you hear me?

Yes, go ahead. Okay, thank you. Let me just pull up my notes. My name is Stacy Garbarski. I've been a Madison resident for the past 15 years and have resided in District 12 for the past five years. I wrote what I was going to say before today's utter lunacy. And I wrote it quickly because unlike the police, I actually have a job that services the community and saves lives. I'm here regarding item two, file 94186, the future of the OIM and PCOB. I am in support of a strong and fully funded independent oversight of the police because I love and respect my community. And the people I love and respect are treated with care, humanity, and reverence. Corey Ruiz was murdered by the Madison Police Department, July 22nd, 2026. And it's the community that is saving each other during this time with no help from local government. Allocating money to the community will save people's lives. When a tragedy, even one as negligent, barbarous and preventable such as the murder of Corey Ruiz happens, we see movement and money from our neighbors. How many unhoused people are being fed at this time because of us? Incalculable. How many times did the mayor set foot at Quarry Memorial before or after condemning it? A predictable zero. The point being, when we invest resources, money, into the community, then people are safer. When we keep investing in parties, people, and constructs that are a disservice, then people will keep dying, and in another few years, it will go by, and then we'll be in the same meeting again. I'm asking that this council do their job and serve the people. If you need me to list out what everyone else has said before me, then you're not listening. You are being blessed with actionable items set out by black and brown voices in the community. You don't even have to think or speculate about what to do next. Thank them for the answers and do it. Defund the police. Justice for Corey and his family. Black Lives Matter. I yield my time. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to pause just a minute because I've been going back and forth with the tech staff on Alder Matthews' request. It is possible for the tech staff to switch the public view rather than being just whoever is speaking at the moment to being the full grid. But Because we haven't done that before, I just wanted to get a sense of the body. So is there any objection to showing the full grid? Seeing no objection, then can the tech staff switch that over, please? We'll just give them a minute to do that while I call the next speakers. All right, so our next speaker is Justin Lewis of District 1, to be followed by Sarah Chodrow, to be followed by Stephanie Rierich. Do we have Justin?

I don't see Justin, Mayor. All right. All right.

And then do we have Sarah Chodrow of District 15 to be followed by Stephanie Rierich to be followed by Megan McGlone? We have Sarah. Looks like Sarah is here.

You should be able to unmute.

Sarah, it looked like you were unmuted on our end, but we couldn't hear you. Might be a problem with a headset. Now you look like you're muted again. All right. Just in interest of time, Sarah, I'm going to come back to you. Do we have Stephanie Rierich of District 6? Yes, at SGC. Thank you. Stephanie?

Thank you for the opportunity to speak and thank you very much to the Alders for withdrawing your names from the amendments to the ordinance that created the Police Civilian Oversight Board. I'm in District 6. I live and work on Willie Street. I work at the Social Justice Center and I co-own a small business and I serve on the PCOB because the police have killed six people now in my neighborhood since I've been aware of this. So I didn't set out to be focused on policing, but as my friend Sherry Maples at the time said when Paul Keenum was shot and we helped with the community response team that we can't let this be the standard on the little weary side of Madison. If we let this be the standard for policing here in what people believe to be a friendly, I hate the word at this point, but progressive community, We can't pretend to care about justice anywhere. So I'm here to say that with all these previous police shootings, people have rallied to do the tiresome grunt work to create situations that can institutionalize a better circumstance here. And we have it now. This is the first time that the police have killed someone in my neighborhood where we have the infrastructure to have an independence investigation. So the bare minimum is provide all the evidence to the independent monitor and fully fund the independent monitor with 1% or more of what the police budget is. And I just need to say we... This city and county have had racial disparity task forces and disproportionate minority confinement task forces for at least 20 years since I've been doing these things and keep spending money the same way where all the money goes to the police and the money is taken away. more and more away from restorative justice, from community building, from housing access. You have stated a commitment to equity in this city and you stated a commitment to actually humane policing. And now you need to put the money where your mouth is and your actions. About 30 seconds in that area. So I, I, All of Madison really needs this. And please engage in some collaborative actions toward these things, as you also stated that you want to. And the actions today have really been about pitting us against each other and exercising more command and control. So I hope this is a turning point for Madison. And please demonstrate that you're going to do commit to equity and justice and community for real in this city. And that's time.

Thank you. I do just want to ask for the people who are registered on Zoom, if you're able to change your name to the name that you registered with, that will help the tech staff find you when we call you. So that would be very helpful. If you're able to do that. All right. Can we try again for Sarah Chodoro, who I know is here? That was having trouble with. Unmuting. Looks like we lost Sarah. Okay, we'll come back again. Then our next registrant is Megan McGlone of District 6, to be followed by David Sterkin, to be followed by Sam Nesovanavik. Do we have Megan?

Mayor, I don't see Megan either.

No, okay. Do we have then David Sterkin of District 4 to be followed by Sam Nesavinovic to be followed by David Wilcher? Do we have David?

Hi, yeah, can you hear me?

Yes, please go ahead.

All right, my name is David Sterkin, and I live in Alder Revere's district. I have three requests to make. Number one, MPD should immediately provide all evidence in the investigation of Corey Ruiz's killing to the Office of the Independent Monitor. The Independent Monitor should also be given all evidence needed to investigate the police actions that have occurred today. As the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, or NACL, told you all in a presentation the day before Corey Ruiz was killed, unfettered access to records is one of the most important necessities for effective civilian oversight of law enforcement. Moreover, NACOL told you that 68.8% of the oversight agencies in the 100 largest U.S. cities do in fact have unfettered access to records, so our independent monitor's lack of access is an outlier. MPD claims that they are prohibited by law from sharing this evidence with the independent monitor, but they refuse to cite a statute for this claim. In particular, Wisconsin Statute 175.47 does not prohibit this, so there really is no excuse, and I cannot think of any good reason why the independent monitor should not be given this evidence. The Common Council should pass a resolution pressuring MPD to voluntarily comply with the independent monitor's subpoena. Number two, increase the funding of the Office of the Independent Monitor and link that funding to the size of MPD's budget. The Independent Monitor's current budget is about $400,000 per year, while MPD's budget is about $100 million. So our Independent Monitor's funding is at about 0.4% the size of the police budget, which would make it the second lowest percentage out of the Independent Monitor's in NACL's presentation. To be effective, our Independent Monitor should get at least 1% as much funding as the police get. not taking 1% from the police budget, but rather 1% the size of the police budget. This would not violate Wisconsin Statute 66.0608, as some alders disingenuously claim. Fully funding the independent monitor would also be far cheaper than body cameras, which former chief Sean Barnes estimated would cost taxpayers between $3.2 million and $6.7 million. As a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials showed in 2016, wearing body cameras increases assaults against officers and does not reduce police use of force. There may still be some arguments for body cameras, but in this instance, I believe that the mayor's offer to buy body cameras is an expensive distraction meant to placate the public without angering the police union before her 2027 mayoral election. That taxpayer money would be better spent on the independent monitor, the CARES program, and permanent supportive housing. Number three, do not reintroduce amendments to limit the independence of the independent monitor in the future. We appreciate that Alders dropped the amendments that were previously going to be voted on at this meeting, but the cynical interpretation of that is that Alders will simply wait until public attention dies down, then reintroduce similar amendments at a later date. You are all elected officials, so to strategically schedule votes when the public is not paying attention would go against the democratic process. Whatever you want to say about the Police Civilian Oversight Board and the Office of the Independent Monitor, say it today while the community is engaged, not when you think no one is listening. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Sam Nesivanovic of District 15, to be followed by David Wiltshire, to be followed by Julie McDougall. Do we have Sam?

I'm here. Can you hear me? Yes, please go ahead. All right. My name is Sam. I'm a youth worker here in the city of Madison, and I've lived here for almost exactly a decade now. While it's a place that I've called home for years, that pride has been eroded, especially so since July 22nd. Madison has a deep-seated racism problem. We can look as far back as the displacement of the Ho-Chunk. We can look to UW Madison housing, a chapter of the KKK in the 1920s. We can look to the urban renewal that happened in the Greenbush neighborhood pushing Jewish and black residents out. Or we can look to the killing of Tony Robinson or the death of Richard Johnson or to the killing of Corey Ruiz. As a white person myself, this is a city where white people confuse disruptions as threats, confuse inconvenience with chaos, confuse earnest calls to self-reflect from fellow community members as personal attacks, as taking things too far, taking things too emotional, or making things too antagonizing. The willingness to sit in the discomfort of confronting our biases and values is not even on the table for most white people in this city, and that's got to change. I echo the calls for the arrest of Kiel Battinger Peterson, the officer who shot and killed Corey Ruiz, and for the other officers who were involved in his death to be placed on unpaid leave during this investigation. I also call on the city and this council to ensure that the Office of Independent Police Monitor and the Civilian Oversight Board have the financial and institutional support that they need to properly conduct an investigation of Corey's murder. That means that OIM needs to be better funded and MPD must comply with their requests for records and information. And as mentioned before, the city has an operating budget of $452 million, and the MPD receives over $98 million of that money, roughly 22% of the city's operating funds. As a previous registrant stated, more of this funding needs to be redirected to permanent supportive housing, substance use recovery programming, and mental health resources. This is what's needed to care for unhoused neighbors, not brutalizing them, not throwing them in jail, and not turning a blind eye to their needs. And finally, I want to call on all of the alders in this meeting, and I want to call on the mayor to do better, to embody a stronger leadership. The fact that y'all moved this meeting to be virtual instead of meeting face-to-face with residents feels like an insult. I'm just incredibly disappointed. And as a lot of folks have said, there are elections coming up next year. So please be on notice. We need you to change. You are the leadership that the future of the city, the kids of the city are supposed to look up to. Do better.

Thank you. Our next registrant is David Wilcher of District 11, to be followed by Julie McDougall, to be followed by Eleanor Gagnon. Do we have David?

Yes, can you hear me?

Yep, please go ahead.

Thank you. My name is David in District 11. This morning, I watched the memorial to Corey Ruiz come apart. Our fellow citizens stood in front of it because it was the last thing they had left. And as our civic leaders, what else did you give them? For two weeks, this city has explained everything that they can't do. They can't charge the officer. They can't control the DOJ's timeline. They can't give the MPD records to OIPM. They cannot fix the national housing crisis. They cannot fix substance abuse or mental health alone. But only some of that is true, and the previous David to me just explained why. I have watched Madison hide behind what it can't do until that has become the whole of what it does. So let's talk about what you can do. You fund the office of the independent police monitor, not the governor, not the district attorney, not the state, not the president, you. That office gets four tenths of 1% of MPD's budget. Three people carrying an office bill to do five jobs. No statute did that to us. You did, and you can fix it by fully funding them to 5% of the MPD budget as a permanent budget for. This week, the monitor says your own ordinance gives their unfettered access to police records, that she subpoenaed them on the 27th, and that MPD is not complied. The mayor says the department will hand things over when state laws allows, but that they can't do it right now. Both can't be true. The lawyer who would normally settle that represents MPD, the mayor, and all of you at once. The need for OIPM to have independent counsel is staring us in the face. Dr. King warned us about a preference for a negative peace in the absence of tension to the presence of justice. We sit here tonight and Willie Street is clear and the traffic moves, but nothing has been made right. If that feels like peace, you need to ask yourself why. Corey's family is going to spend years asking what happened to their son, trying to find justice. OIPM, the office built to help them after Tony, has too few people, no records, no independent lawyer, and no budget up to the task. This isn't the DA's doing, it isn't the state's, and it isn't the governor. It's a budget that you all write and an ordinance you control. If we can have 1% for the arts, maybe we can get 10% for human life, 5% for OIPM, and 5% more for CARES. Whatever you fund this fall and what you do to give this city real oversight in practice is the answer you're giving Corey's family and every person in this city who watched that video of Corey's death should read it as what you think their life is worth.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Julie McDougall of Says Atwood, but also Janesville, so perhaps Janesville, Wisconsin, to be followed by Eleanor Gagnon, to be followed by Deborah Newlander. Do we have Julie?

Mary, I don't see Julie. I see a Jules.

Okay. Then Eleanor Gagnon of District 15, to be followed by Deborah Newlander, to be followed by Kira Milanich. Do we have Eleanor? I'm here. Can you hear me?

Yes, please go ahead. Hi, I'm new to this city. I moved here from Alaska and before that Berlin. And in Berlin, a city of over 3 million people, no one has been shot by the cops in over two years. Three million people. No one's ever been shot. Police officers don't even carry guns. So there's that. I just want to talk about how we have experienced as a community. Someone was shot point blank rage in the middle of the day at a busy intersection. And the fact that this happened is insane. And the fact that nothing has been done and the fact that the officer has not been arrested while 10 at least of our protesters have been arrested for doing nothing but protesting is absurd. He should have been arrested immediately. He shouldn't be on paid leave. He should be in jail waiting for trial. He should not be at home eating food, watching TV.

He should be in jail and no protesters should be in fact.

We have video evidence from multiple angles and eyewitnesses. Again, this happened at a busy intersection in the middle of the day. And the murderer is allowed to enjoy a paid vacation while we breathe. And this isn't the first time. I'm new to the city, but I've already learned about three other deaths at the hands of the cops here. I've never felt safe from cops, but I definitely don't feel safe anymore. I had to look at the blood splatter of a dead man for over two hours while the cops stared us down and threatened us. And it took them an entire, a power hose to try and spray it off. And it will never, that stain will never move. We had to watch as the cops violently dismantled a peaceful sanctuary that offered real support to our unhoused neighbors that our city should be offering. That support should be given, offered by our city. So for demands, I'm asking that you guys fund the OIM and the PCOB, release all the footage and information so that they can conduct an investigation, staff the police and fire... Oh, sorry. Staff these places with people who are not part of our police, connected with the cops. And please ask the Attorney General to arrest Gil Peterson. Our city will not be safe until he and those who helped him execute our neighbor are held accountable. And our city will not be safe until we have clear ways for the people of Madison to check the violent abuse of power by police officers. No one should be pepper sprayed by the cops. No one should ever fear being shot by the police. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Deborah Newlander, to be followed by Kira Milanich, to be followed by Autumn Jorkas. And just noting for the body that I'm counting at least 100 more registrants. So if at some point you wanted to pause for a brief break, somebody could raise their hand and move that. Otherwise, we'll just keep going. So, Alder Harrington-McKinney, I see you. We'll get through these three, and then I'll come to you. Thank you, Alder. All right, do we have Deborah? I don't see Deborah. Do we have Deborah at SJC? No, thank you. Do we have Kira Milanich of District 15?

Hi, my name is Kira Malanek and I'm a white 65 year old woman who has lived in Madison for 40 years and own a home in the Eastmoreland neighborhood for the last 28 years. I'm here tonight to speak about item two, but first I need to speak about what happened earlier this morning at the Memorial Society on Baldwin and Willie Street. I am deeply saddened and enraged that the city chose to re-traumatize our marginalized community. The times that I went to the site, I witnessed a community that had created a peaceful gathering place to grieve and care for unhoused folks. There should have been a respectful way to deal with this situation, one that prioritized compassion and open communication instead of the unjustified use of force that happened. And to the mayor, I still remember when you first campaigned to be mayor, you spoke passionately about the unhoused community and your commitment to make their lives better. Your words moved me. So I am so very saddened and disappointed in your lack of follow through on your commitment. In fact, your office has been downright hostile to those facing homelessness. And to all the alders and mayor, I am tired of hearing you say that you are willing to have conversations around this and all the well-documented horrific racial disparities in Madison. It is way past time to stop talking and to take real concrete actions, including fully funding the office of independent police monitor by redirecting at least 1% of MPD's budget. This needs to happen now so that the independent monitor can do the work she should be doing. And two, to direct the MPD to give monitor glass full access to all records related to Corey Ruiz's death. A black man was unjustly killed by police on the streets of Madison on your watch. This wasn't the first police killing, but I hope it is the last. And now you have chosen to escalate the situation by raiding the memorial site. You could have chosen to do what many in the community have been asking of you for years. If you would have acted on these demands earlier, it is very likely that Corey would still be alive today. Please have the compassion and courage to do what is right for our community, enact these demands, and help prevent more unnecessary deaths and violence on the people in our community who are the most vulnerable. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Autumn Jarkas of District 6, to be followed by Scarlett Olson, to be followed by Megan Suchamel. Do we have Autumn? Mary, don't see Autumn. Is Autumn at SJC? No. Thank you. Then our next registrant is Scarlett Olson of District 8 to be followed by Megan Suchamel to be followed by Tiara Strotter. Do we have Scarlett?

No, Scarlett? They should have the ability to unmute.

Scarlett, you should be able to unmute yourself. There might be a prompt hidden behind a window on your desktop. All right, well, while we're waiting... Alder Hange-McKinney, did you wish to move a brief recess?

Yes, Madam Mayor. I'd like to... Give us a recess. This is hard to hear, and I think that we need to take a break, and then I'm going to say 10 minutes. I don't want to push it because we have, did you say we have over 100 still in place? That's correct. So I request a 10-minute break, a recess, and then we'll come back, and then we'll go through all this together.

Thank you. Alder H. McKinney moves a 10-minute recess. Is there a second? Second. Moved and seconded for a 10-minute recess. Is there any objection to taking a 10-minute recess? Seeing no objection, it's 9-16. We'll be back at 9-26.

We're about two minutes out from returning.

Mirror two, I just want to let you know. It's not here.

Sorry, Vice President Glenn, can you say that name again? I don't have that name on the list of people we skipped.

Autumn Jokic?

Oh, Autumn. Yes, thank you. Okay, it's 926. So I would ask the council members to return and turn your cameras back on. And I would ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Thank you. Alder Matthews. Here, sorry. Alder Matthews is present. Alder Mayer. We'll get back. Alder Meir. Alder O'Brien. Present. O'Brien is present. Alder O'Hovitch. Here. O'Hovitch is present. Alder Pritchett. Here. Alder Pritchett is present. Alder Tischler. I'm here. Alder Tischler is present. Alder Revere.

Here.

Alder Revere is present. Alder Vitiver. Here. Alder Vitiver is present. Alder Zhang. Alder Jean is present. Alder Evers. Alder Field.

Alder Evers is here, but his mic isn't working.

Understood. Alder Evers is present. Alder Field. Here. Alder Field is present. Alder Figueroa, call. Alder Glenn. Here. Oakland is present. Alder Ugar. Here. Alder Ugar is present. Alder Harrington-McKinney. I'm present. Alder Harrington-McKinney is present. Alder Lankhella. Here. Alder Lankhella is present. Alder Lieberman. Here. Alder Lieberman is present. Alder Madison.

Here.

Madison is present. Alder Martinez-Rutherford. Present. Alder Martinez-Rutherford is present. Alder Mayer.

Here.

Alder Mayer is present. Alder Figueroa-Cole. All right, Madam Mayor, we still have a quorum.

Thank you. All right, I would like to begin by going back through some of the names that we missed to see if they're present. And if my memory serves, we're at Scarlett Olson in the list. So we'll come back there once we run through these names that we passed over. And I just would note for folks who are waiting, we do have a large number of folks still in the queue. So if you think we maybe missed you, we probably did not. We've got a lot of folks yet to come. So I would ask that we check for Todd Callister, Gabriela Jenick, Tristan Mills, Maisel Ginsberg, Katherine Culbertson. Kiela Franklin. Kevin Williams. Sarah Chodorow.

Justin Lewis. Go ahead. I was just going to say, I don't see any of those people in attendance still.

Okay. Justin Lewis. Megan McGlobe. Julie McDougall, Deborah Newlander, and Autumn Jarkas. We have Autumn at the Social Justice Center. And it looks like we might have Sarah as well. So we'll go to Autumn and then Sarah.

Okay.

Yeah, okay. Okay, my name is Autumn Yotsis. I'm a Madison resident. I live in the Marquette neighborhood just off Willie Street. I'm here about item two, file 94186. I'm speaking to advocate for the full funding and independence of the OIPM because we need to hold our government employees accountable The interim police monitor has accused the MPD of obstructing their investigation into the homicide of Corey Ruiz. In the face of these obstructions, alongside the end of trust between my community and the MPD and you, Satya, I urge the council to provide at least 1% of the Madison Police Department's ridiculously high budget to the Office of the Independent Monitor. to give the monitor subpoena power to conduct its investigations and mandate that the chief of police follow monitor and citizen oversight board policy recommendations. Satya, this morning you had the cops violently arrest people I love in my neighborhood. Peaceful people who were protesting a murder. Their bodies were slammed on the pavement and dragged across broken glass. I saw cops with batons, assault rifles, and riot gear take my neighbors away. I have to walk down that street with that in my memory now, a street you refused to visit for the past two weeks. Satya, you might think you're above the fascists in our federal government, but you've shown yourself to be wearing the same skin as them. Your actions are no different than the tyranny we are collectively facing. As a queer woman, I'm disgusted in your behavior and your dog whistles and your disingenuous language. As a service industry worker, our livelihoods are not your excuse for desecrating the memorial. We are not stupid, but we are enraged. I won't ever forget the sound of vigil candles shattering or the sight of flowers being shoveled into a bulldozer. Satya, you have lost your empathy. So I will speak in terms of money. Throw money at this problem since you want it to go away so much. You never even came to see the ground where Corey was slain. Fully fund and empower the OIPM. And to all the people of Madison listening tonight, I am crying with you and I love you. And remember that we have shown each other these past two weeks that we are better than the offices and systems which siphon off our money and claim to serve us. Amen. That's my time. Shane.

Thank you. Let's try for Sarah Chodoro of District 15. I think it's the Sarah name in the attendee list. Hello, can you hear me?

Yes. Okay, thank you very much. My name is Sarah Chodoro and I live in District 15. It is imperative that we as a city fully fund and empower both the OIPM and the PCOB. The amount of time and energy that has been spent hashing and rehashing the accountability measures for the OIPM and their $400,000 budget is astonishing and frankly absolutely infuriating when we continue to pour $90 million into the police department that has killed multiple people on Willie Street alone and most recently shot our neighbor Corey Ruiz in broad daylight. I have been a mental health professional since 2017, worked in the children's wraparound program for seven years, and I can say that the murder of Corey Ruiz and the violent arrests of unarmed protesters earlier today disgusts me and infuriates me, but unfortunately does not surprise me. When I worked with families of kids in significant mental health crisis, I witnessed the same pattern again and again. Parents call police to help them in an overwhelming situation because they don't know who else to call and police come in and subdue. I've witnessed and heard stories of this playing out multiple ways. Sometimes a child ends up handcuffed and crying. Sometimes a kid runs away in fight or flight because of past experiences with police and they are chased down. And we all know stories of police intervening with people in mental health crisis and them ending up dead. All of this is to say the murder of Corey Ruiz was shocking. But that same approach of subdue by whatever means necessary takes shape in police encounters all over our city. None of us should be okay with that. We have to fund the accountability system that so many members of our community have fought so long and hard for. Additionally, what if instead of pouring $90 million into more weapons that kill our neighbors, we use some of that to fund the agencies that provide food and housing and healthcare and unarmed nonviolent crisis intervention because that is possible. I provided it and I know many people who do. In one of the many conversations I have had with my children recently about the murder of Corey Ruiz, I explained to them that the police were chasing him because someone said Corey took their bike. So we talked about what we could do in the event someone were to take something that isn't theirs besides chasing them and hurting them. My older child said, maybe Corey needed a bike and maybe we could find a new bike for the other person too. So if my three and five-year-old can understand that the way to have a safe community is to ensure that people have the resources that they need to live, what is stopping the rest of us, Madison, from wrapping our minds around that? So in closing, we are looking to you, Mayor and Council, to fund accountability for MPD and to start using our dollars to keep our neighbors fed and housed.

Thank you. Our next registrant is. Scarlett Olson of District 8 to be followed by Megan Suchamil to be followed by Tiara Strader. Do we have Scarlett?

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Hello, my name is Scarlett Olson and I'm here to speak in favor of an independent and fully funded independent police monitor and police civilian oversight board. These demands are a basic requirement for justice and a city that intends to provide for all of its residents. Anything less than arresting the killer cop, defunding and disarming MPD and stripping their legal immunity is a disgrace. The immense and aggressive rate of the encampment and vigil not even 24 hours before today's meeting is a clear escalation of violence by the city towards our community. It is no surprise that the murder of Corey Ruiz has occurred so close to the previous murder of Tony Robinson by the very same department. The police exist solely to defend the wealthy and uphold a status quo built on racism and violence. A status quo which you fully support and violence which you can clearly see as inevitable. We are told that the police are here to keep us safe and Corey's memorial had to be destroyed for safety, our own safety. How are the police keeping us safe when they murder us in the streets? How is sending nearly dozens of the same police and state troopers with rifles into a vigil keeping us safe? Why is it that we sit here less than a year after Derry Drive was torn down, that you only now offer the unhoused within the encampment housing? You are only willing to help those who you violently oppress if you believe it will break the solidarity that this community has built and that help is only offered with the threat of violence behind it. The corruption of this council and the police is undeniable when we are unable to arrest an officer who is on video shooting a man in the back of the head.

But we are perfectly capable of arresting a man who refused to talk to the police.

The police will never keep our community safe while they are armed, unaccountable and view the very community they are sworn to protect as an enemy to fear. I demand that both the independent police monitor and police civil oversight board be independent and fully funded.

Thank you. Our next reddition is Megan Suchamel of Westport Road, to be followed by Tiara Strauder, to be followed by Elizabeth Whalen. Do we have Megan?

Mary, I don't see Megan.

Megan at SJC? No. Okay. Then Tiara Stratter of District 12 to be followed by Elizabeth Whalen to be followed by Samantha Bosco. Do we have Tiara? I don't see Tiara. Do we have Tiara at SJC? No. Okay. Then Elizabeth Whalen of District 15 to be followed by Samantha Bosco to be followed by Alex Lindenmeier. Do we have Elizabeth?

Hello? Yes, go ahead. Hi, I just have registered to speak in support of fully funding the police civilian oversight board and independent monitor. I think it's the least that we can do in this community. I think much larger changes on all levels of government are absolutely necessary in terms of our, how we look at and enact justice. Um, but for the short term, fully funding these two small checks on policing in the community, um, would help aid along the way to a larger change. Um, what happened today at Willie street was unacceptable and really sad. And, um, watching people be arrested for doing nothing was terrifying. And so I just, I think that any power the city has, which will be allocating some funding, they should use to make a change so this doesn't happen again. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Samantha Bosco, to be followed by Alex Lindenmeier, to be followed by Mia Masak. Do we have Samantha?

Yes, I'm here. Go ahead. Thank you. My name is Samantha Bosco. I live in Marsha Rummel's district, and I am here speaking in support of of fully funding the OIPM and the Office of the Independent Monitor. I just want to say I am tuning in during a celebration of my 40th birthday in a different time zone. That's how important this issue is to me. And I think that this body should really be ashamed of itself. You all have voted to close shelters. You have proposed amendments to try to reduce funding for the Office of the Independent Monitor. And then this is what happens. You're trying to undercut our community's ability to protect itself. And please, you need to fully fund at least 5% of the police budget for the Office of the Independent Monitor and the Community Police Oversight Board. and ensure that the police are fully cooperating with every single piece of evidence, every report, every communication, every record gets turned over to the OIPM directly. It is horribly shameful that you talk out of one side of your mouth about peace, a peaceful resolution of this, and then to send in riot police reports Horses, our comrades being brutalized in the street with tear gas, being dragged through broken glass. It's awful. It's horrible what you have allowed in the name of business as usual. And so, yeah, you need to, at a minimum, fund this accountability office. And you know that we're going to, you know, when the elections come around, this is going to be your referendum. And we're going to fight. We're going to work at the state level to defund the police. You all should be so ashamed of yourself that you have let this happen time and time again over decades. We need to protect our homeless people. We need to value Black lives. We need to disarm police officers. We need to completely change the way that they are trained so that they do not ever resort to violence when it is not needed and is often never needed. That is all I have to say. I see the rest of my time. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Alex Lindenmeier of District 6, to be followed by Mia Maysock, to be followed by Mary Boone. Do we have Alex?

Yeah. Hi, everybody.

Go ahead. I missed shout out to whoever turned the screens on to see y'all's face. I wish you guys could see your constituents' faces, too. Gosh, we've lost the humanity in all this, haven't we? I'm not going to sit here and say you should be ashamed of yourselves because the majority of us already know the reality. And you know what you need to do. You know the right thing to do. You've known it all along. You knew it when we found out about Richard Johnson. You knew it when Tony Robinson was murdered. You knew it when you saw that video of a guy getting executed in the street in the middle of the day. Fund the independent monitor. Fund the PCOB. You know the right thing to do. You do. All of us are embarrassed. And if you're thinking about your political career, of course you are. But shout out to the people that aren't thinking about their political career. Stop being strategic. Stop playing politics. You know the right thing to do. Shout out to the people who are being courageous. Courage is something your constituents value and they will vote accordingly. So to the alders that continue to show up and be courageous, thank you. You know who you are. You know the people that are showing humanity and courage and love in a time like this in a city that should be just so embarrassed and ashamed. But it's just business as usual, so we need to do better. We all know that police find ways to de-escalate and not shoot white people all the time. Stop hiding behind what you can't do and start getting creative about what you can do.

You have about 30 seconds left.

Madison is watching you for your political career right now. So if you're trying to be strategic about what re-election feels like, that's shameful in itself and you know it. We all know it. If you haven't been sitting on this council very long, you at least know Richard Johnson's name. All of it is bullshit. You know it.

That's your time. Thank you. Our next registrant is Mia Maysak to be followed by Mary Boone to be followed by Elizabeth Light. Mia is from Williamson Street. Do we have Mia?

Mayor, I do see Catherine just as a heads up. It looks like they joined. Okay. We'll circle back around.

And I don't see Mia. Okay. Do you have Mia at SGC? No. All right, then let's go to Katherine Culbertson of Westport Road.

Hear me? Yes, go ahead. Okay, hello. My name is Katherine Culbertson. I'm a Madison resident. I'm in full support and demanding the full funding of the OIPM. Everything that has come to light yet again through the absolute execution of Corey Ruiz is appalling. The lack of response and upholding the agreements with the independent monitor speaks volumes about what you all are protecting. It is self-serving, racist, and violent. The patterns are beyond blatant. Let's not continue to move as if all of us are not seeing this for exactly what it is. Mayor, you are an absolute disgrace. You claimed you have no power when it comes to arresting the officer that executed Corey Ruiz in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day, in the middle of our community. The history leading up to this murder is blood-soaked. Your language, rhetoric, and actions have exposed your lacking humanity, empathy, accountability, and sense of reality. You took it upon yourself to make an incredibly aggressive call for armed officers to clear the vigil site in the middle of the fucking morning. pardon me, in the middle of the morning in the most disrespectful way imaginable. You have shown us all that you care more about addressing the inconveniences of a few versus the lives of many. One life is too much. You are actively engaging in behavior and practices that put people's lives in danger every single day. Beyond the immediate dangers you are actively maintaining, the ripple effect is massive and will continue to span generations if you continue as you are now. This is absolutely appalling, and I do not understand how you could possibly be continuing in this way. We're talking about people's lives. I just do not understand how you come to a point of power in politics and you can just so blatantly disregard lives. Please fund the OIPM completely. Please work with the independent monitor. Please do better. I have nothing else to say.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Mary Boone of District 14 to be followed by Elizabeth Light to be followed by Tamar Zick. Do we have Mary? Thank you.

I don't see Mary Boone. I see Mary Kate. Well, it looks like Megan is also joined as well.

Okay. Thank you. Do we have Mary Boone at SJC? No. All right, let's do Elizabeth Light of District 12 to be followed by Tamar Zick to be followed by Megan Setchamel. Do we have Elizabeth? Elizabeth? Yes, I'm here.

Go ahead. My name is Liz Light and I live in District 12 on the north side of Madison. I'm in support of funding the Office of the Independent Police Monitor to the fullest extent possible. I'm in support of this council and the mayor using their authority to demand the MPD's cooperation with the OIM, as well as using their authority to demand MPD's implementation and compliance with the 177 requirements recommendations of the madison police department policy and procedure ad hoc committee in lieu of the life-saving systemic overhaul that our community desperately needs by way of abolition our only tool to hold police accountable is the oim since the mayor has been unwilling to do so why has this council not ordered the chief of police to implement the recommendations of the ad hoc committee including being in full compliance and collaboration with the PCOB and the OIM. This mayor and this council have a responsibility to protect our community from harm. The research back recommendations that include the development and ongoing compliance with the OIM are the people's access point to justice. We all have access to the data. If this office and these data-driven recommendations are minimized or dismissed by this council, this message the body sends our community, especially to the black and brown kids in Madison, a population that very likely holds MPD's next victim of extrajudicial killing, we know how to protect you. You tell us we know how to protect you. You have the data. You've had it the whole time. And what do you say with this? You say... We know how to protect you and we choose to not protect you. Your willfulness is astounding. Every day you sit on your hands and you throw away the years of research and collaboration of the Madison Police Department Policy and Procedure Ad Hoc Committee. Do your jobs. Follow the ordinance that demands you rein in the violent occupying force that is MPD. If this body or any attendants have not yet watched the drone footage of the independent monitor, our amica glass being assaulted by multiple MPD officers at the Corey Rubies Memorial today, please do so. As we meet here, MPD is actively pepper spraying and arresting protesters attempting to protect the sacred site of Corey's murder. This is so shameful. Justice for Corey Ruiz, justice for Richard Lee Johnson, and justice for Tony Terrell Robinson. Thank you. Thank you.

Our next registrant is Tamar Zick of District 15 to be followed by Megan Suchamel to be followed by Amy Basil. Do we have Tamar? Mayor, I don't see Tamar. Do we have Tamara at SJC? No. All right. Then let's go to Megan Suchamel of Westport Road. Megan, you should be able to unmute yourself.

No? Yes, thank you. Okay, I am Megan Sukumar. I have been out there all week taking care of the community, the most neglected in our community, ones that don't seem to have the care nor support of anyone who claim to be leaders of this city. It is deeply shameful. It is so deeply embarrassing. I'm calling for the full support of The IOPM. Corey Ruiz and his family do not deserve to be treated this way. None of us in the community deserve to be treated this way. These are our neighbors. This is our community. These are human beings. And the disregard today for human life, for all of the donations of the resources that have been given to help these human lives is nothing but shameful. I ask that you do better, that you actually do something to care for the people that you claim to care for, the people that you claim to lead. I'm so full of rage, I don't even know what to say. Today was so deeply shameful. Justice for Corey Ruiz, justice for Tony Robinson, justice for every life who has been stolen by Madison Police Department. This won't end unless you make it end. Justice for the martyrs. We will not stop until we get justice for the martyrs. That's all I have to say. Shame on you. Shame on all of you.

Our next registrant is Amy Basil of District 15, to be followed by Amanda Jane Hoffman, to be followed by Sam Chance. Do we have Amy? Amy is here.

Go ahead. Hi, my name is Amy Basil. I'm an Eastside Madison resident. I don't need to say what everybody else has been saying. Megan, I 100% hear you and Eleanor and a lot of other folks have said what we're asking for is complete funding of the Office of Independent Police Monitor and letting them have the authority that you've given them to conduct an independent INVESTIGATION, GIVING THEM THE RESOURCES TO DO THAT. THE MADISON POLICE DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, THEIR BUDGET. I'M THINKING THAT THEY CAN TAKE SOME CUTBACKS ON THINGS LIKE THE REST OF US, LIKE CUTS TO HOUSING AND NUTRITION RESOURCES AND OTHER COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND CUTS THAT YOU ALL HAVE HAD TO VOTE ON. Redirect that and hold the police department accountable. The police need to be accountable for their actions. Any officer that discharges their weapons shouldn't be on paid administrative leave. Why not issue body cameras to police officers instead of weapons? You know, if you're going to do body cameras. But any officer who's involved in a use of force incident shouldn't be given paid administrative leave. And I guess I'm wondering why we're not trying to be a leader in the country here since we're in the spotlight. There has been a lot of healing going on down at the memorial site and weeks, a week and a half, almost two weeks without police there, without the mayor there. without a lot of community leaders, but others who were there trying to heal. I was there with them on some days and I didn't have to be on a lot of other days, but there were people down there taking care of our community. And I ask that we all do better and all try to be a better member of our community. Let's admit, Mayor, admit you were wrong in how you responded to this. Instead of ordering the police to destroy a memorial and protect property in that perpetual systemic racism that policing has been built on, try to be professional. Try to be collaborative. Confront somebody. About what your thoughts are. Involve the youth. All of the alders have great ideas of involving our youth here in Madison, I'm sure. Bring those people in who are doing the work. And as a quote from someone, what we run from pursues us. And that's time. And what we face transform us. That's your time.

Thank you very much. Our next registrant is Amanda Jane Hoffman of District 6, to be followed by Sam Chance, to be followed by Madeline Manning. Do we have Amanda? Mary, I don't see Amanda, but I see a Jane. Okay, can you check on the Jane? Jane should be able to unmute. Jane, are you Amanda Jane Hoffman? You should be able to unmute yourself. And to whoever is the main account, if you could rename yourself to the name that you registered under, that would be very helpful. In general, and anybody who's on the Zoom that is wishing to speak, if you can rename yourself to the name you registered under, it will help the staff find you.

This is a different person.

Okay. Thank you so much, Jane. Appreciate it. All right. So no Amanda Jane at SJC. So then Sam Chance of District 15 to be followed by Madeline Manning to be followed by Duane Washington. Do we have Sam Chance?

Yes.

Yep. Great. Go ahead. Hi.

Good evening. My name is Sam Chance. I am a Madison resident in the Sasse neighborhood of District 15, represented by Alder Martinez Rutherford. I have lived in this neighborhood most of my life. I attend O'Keeffe Middle School blocks from the place where Corey Ruiz was killed by the Madison Police Department on July 22nd. I still live less than a mile away. I'm here to speak about item two on next steps regarding the Police Civilian Oversight Board and Office of the Independent Monitor. Madison is among the most racially disproportionate policing and arrest outcomes in the United States. Last year in Madison, nearly half of adult physical arrests involved black people, three quarters of youth physical arrests involved black youth, and more than half of all recorded police uses of force were against black people. This is based on MPD's own 2025 annual report, and the actual numbers may be even worse. This context is absurd for the state to consider defunding and curtailing the independence of the OIPM. To that end, I urge the council to fully fund the Police Civilian Oversight Board and Office of the Independent Monitor, create a real-time racial equity dashboard for MPD activity, commit to a timeline for body-worn cameras and a financial audit of MPD, and direct MPD to direct all records to the OIPM. I repaired my remarks so far last night before the events of this morning. Before going to sleep, I listened to a statement from Corey's family, which called for peacefully downsizing and relocating the memorial site and beginning to reopen the streets and surrounding area, which would respect the trauma experienced by Corey's family and our community. I knew it was only a matter of time before the city cracked down, but I was hopeful that maybe there was a path forward that didn't involve state violence. This morning, I woke up to images of Madison police terrorizing and arresting community members peacefully gathered and brutalizing the independent monitor, protecting their property, protecting traffic. This is shameful, and I yield the remainder of my time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Madeline Manning of District 15 to be followed by Dwayne Washington to be followed by Aaron Fisher. Do we have Madeline?

Yes. Yep. Go ahead. Sorry. Hold on. Okay. You can hear me? Yes. Okay. Hi. My name is Madeline Manning and I am a Madison resident. I first want to ask that the elders that are on their phone or looking at other computer tabs to please be present for this meeting. And thank you to the elders giving their attention to their community. Thank you. The Office of the Independent Monitor has the authority to conduct an independent investigation. I'm asking the Council to immediately fully fund the OIM at the minimum of 1% of MPD's budget, which is $1.3 million. There's no state law that prevents the MPD from handing over all this evidence. The OIM must be protected and not censored by the state. All evidence should be provided immediately for the independent review of the death of Corey Ruiz by Kyle Peterson and MPD's killing of Richard Johnson. I yield my time. Thank you.

Our next registrant is Duane Washington of District 5, to be followed by Erin Fisher, to be followed by Melissa King. Do we have Duane? I don't see Duane in attendance. Not at SJC either. So then Aaron Fisher of District 15 to be followed by Melissa King to be followed by David Blaska. Do we have Aaron Fisher? Aaron, you should be able to unmute yourself. The prompt might be, there you go.

Can you hear me now?

Yes.

Hi, I'm Aaron Fisher. I've lived in Madison for 37 years. I'm a resident of District 15. I registered to ask that you fund and support and cooperate with the Independent Monitor and the PCOB. And now I have to ask for the safety of the Independent Monitor from law enforcement officers who've assaulted her. I don't have any faith or hope that anyone else is going to give us any police accountability. There is no one else I expect to do that. I have the independent monitor. I have the PCOB. And if they don't get funding, if they can't do their job, there's no one else I have any trust in or any expectation of anything improving. I'd like to also echo earlier requests for the mayor's resignation. That's how I feel as well. Yield the rest of my time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Melissa King of District 6, to be followed by David Blaska, to be followed by Alicia Steele. Do we have Melissa?

I see Melissa Isbell, but not Melissa King.

Do we have a Melissa King at SJC? No. And then David Blaska of District 10 to be followed by Alicia Steele to be followed by Jamie Hawkins. Do we have David? I don't see David. I assume David's not at SJC. Then what about Alicia Steele of District 12 to be followed by Jamie Hawkins to be followed by Michelle Ellinger-Lindley? Do we have Alicia? Yes. Yes.

Okay, I think you can hear me. Yes. My name is Alicia Steele, and I live on the north side of Madison. I've been paying attention to the problems with the Madison Police Department, and since Paul Heenan was shot while he was staying at my good friend's house, And then not long after that was the killing of Tony Robinson. These were unnecessary and obvious excessive uses of violence on the part of Madison Police Department. Madison has a huge problem with racism. We try to act like we're all Midwest Nice Progressive. And behind that, what we have like 9% of black people in the population who constitute around 50% of the use of force incident reports from MPD. Okay, let's focus. What I'm asking here for today and every day moving forward and what I've been asking for previously is to protect the PCOB, their independence. and also fully fund them and fully fund the Office of the Independent Monitor. They need to have many more people working to be able to do this investigation. Right now, we need to have emergency funding to them. We need to have emergency funding to the Office of the Independent Monitor now because we can't wait till the next budget cycle. This is a very emergent problem in our city and tensions have been increased by the actions this morning And Mayor Satya, our city has a lot of problems and you are one of them. We need you to step down. We do not need you as mayor. This has been a problem with trying to sweep things under the rug for this whole time. And at this point, it's coming to light to people who never saw it before. All right. So we need to keep the PCOB completely independent. We are not having the mayor put people on there or have any of those things happen. I'm glad that some of the alders took back the initiatives that they were trying to propose that would have taken power from the PCOB and done shady things with that. We are watching. I'm continuing to watch, okay? We are not going to stand idly by while this body or the mayor or MPD or the city attorney slow watch this while hoping they can gloss it over, misinform, and ultimately sweep it under the rug. what happened this morning created more chaos and violence and an unstable situation where it was not necessary because I believe we were close to being able to do something similar peacefully. Fully fund the OIM now and give them complete access to all of the evidence right now. There's nothing holding that back. Just say it and get it done.

That's it.

That's your time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Jamie S. Hawkins of District 12, to be followed by Michelle Ellinger-Lindley, to be followed by Edward Kuharski. Do we have Jamie? Mayor, I don't see Jamie. Do we have Jamie Hawkins at SJC? No. No. All right, then Michelle Ellinger-Lindley of District 18, to be followed by Edward Kuharski, to be followed by Sarah Tossing. Do we have Michelle?

Hi, can you hear me? Yes, go ahead. Awesome. Thank you. Well, I prepared these comments before this morning's awfulness. I am angry. I'm angry about the actions of the city, of this mayor. I'm angry. Madam Mayor, I may not have always agreed with you, but I respected you and I will never forgive what I witnessed today. You continue to undermine any efforts to center community and public safety and center yourself and your hunger for power and control. Shame on you and shame on this council for not calling it out. I hope that those who stood behind you at that campaign press conference a couple of weeks ago will reconsider their endorsements because no one should be supporting this mayor right now. And I agree with what someone else just said. This is an emergency. This city is not just horrible for black people in terms of our massive inequities, but it was proven on July 22nd and it's been proven again today. THAT THIS MAYOR, THIS CITY, THIS COUNCIL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW, ARE NOT ACTING IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL RESIDENTS. BUT REGARDING THE NEXT STEPS, BECAUSE THIS ITEM IS ABOUT THE OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT MONITOR AND THE POLICE OVERSIGHT, EXCUSE ME, POLICE CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BOARD, I'M SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO WHAT THIS COUNCIL IS ALREADY COMMITTED TO AND MORE IMPORTANTLY WHAT HAS FAILED TO GET DONE. This council adopted the full report of the MPD policy and procedure review committee in 2019, which required strict necessity, proportionality, and assessment standards for deadly force. And MPD simply did not implement it. And now we're here again. And now we're here again. We have to stop treating police oversight as if it's optional and not mandatory. In 2024, this council nearly slashed 42% of the OIPM's budget. And I spoke out then. And tonight, I'm asking you again to shift your priorities and redirect at least, at least 1% of MPD's budget, $900,000 straight to the OIPM so it actually has the resources to conduct real independent investigations. When people are killed in our community, we cannot stand by. We need to independently investigate. And while I'm relieved that the ordinance changes that would have forced OIPM to share legal counsel with MPD were withdrawn. About 30 seconds left. Thank you. We need to strengthen what is left by protecting OIPM's budget in law and in building. a real-time racial equity dashboard so that the public can track MPD's traffic stops, use of force incidents, and arrests by race, district, and officer. But that is not enough because this city does not want transparency where they want translucency at best. And the opacity that we have seen is absolutely important. And that's time. That's your time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Edward Kuharski of District 6, to be followed by Sarah Tossing, to be followed by Diana Soles. Do we have Ed? Ed, you're unmuted on our end.

I'm unmuted on my end. I don't know why you can't hear me.

No, we can now. Go ahead.

Okay, good. My name is Edward Kaharski. I'm an architect and homeless and housing advocate in the east side of Madison. And the Marquette neighborhood and Willie Street are the core part of where I do my work. And for 15 years, I've been working on advocacy for the homeless. And if we had been being adequate about serving those homeless people, we have failed miserably. which we are doing at great extra cost to the community, by the way, we would not have had this situation. This was a targeted killing. And I think you all need to know something that I learned the afternoon after the shooting. which is that MPD officers visited the Occupy Madison Village on 304 North 3rd Street on Tuesday, the day before this whole accident, looking for a homeless guy with a knife. So this was not just something that arose out of a citizen call of somebody checking car doors on Willie Street. This was a targeted, planned thing, which kind of helps explain how there were six officers involved all of a sudden. This is not okay. And there's way more to this, and I have great hope for John Patterson because he's old enough to remember when he had a... a decent, humane police department under David Cooper, and he trained someone under him, but he has not disclosed this. Nobody's disclosed this, and we have to fight the idea of framing this whole discussion of what went on from the moment that Mr. Ruiz was checking a car door and that this whole thing rolled out on the basis of not even probable cause, but just an unverified report of somebody doing something like that. which happens on my street every Friday night sometimes. So what? You know, it's ordinary behavior. It's certainly no more than a civil forfeiture, and that is not subject to a death penalty in my state. So I want to... Just to advocate, as many have here, that we need a complete restart here. We have 17 years of Mike Koval doing aggressive police training to our force and then being chief for a number of years and advocating aggressive policing, despite the written policy for de-escalation. So we say one thing on paper and we do exactly the opposite thing. And this is an absolutely extreme example of what happens when you let that culture thrive.

You have about 30 seconds.

You know, and this is stingy to let people not complete a complete thought either. But, you know, what's... which side were you going to be on on Edmund Pettus Bridge? That was obstructing traffic. But sometimes you do that. And our right to have peaceably assemble to address grievances of our government is beyond just not inconveniencing some store owner or a mayor's election concern. And that's time.

That's your time. Thank you. Our next registrant is Sarah Tossing of District 14 to be followed by Diane Soles to be followed by Deborah Newlander. Do we have Sarah? I don't see Sarah Tossing there. Do we have Sarah at SJC? No. No. Adriana, will you see who the user named main account is? Because it seems like they can't rename themselves. Yeah, that's me, Sarah. I'm Sarah Tossing. Oh, Sarah. Okay. Excellent. Sorry. It's okay. Don't use this. So this is Sarah Tossing of District 14. Go ahead.

Look at us all, we're being human together. Yeah, so I'm in District 14 with Alder Lieberman. I sent you an email over the weekend. I really look forward to your response. I'm here also echoing the voices of those before me with agenda two, that the OMPI should be fully funded and that all of the requests that she's made through like legal ways, those shouldn't be obstructed. She should be able to have that material so that she can write a report and we can understand more of what's happening in the city. I am curious what the state law that keeps being talked about is that is prohibiting all of that. So I'll continue to do my research. And the other thing I heard someone else say too was like the trust within the community and the police. That's absolutely true. It's really something that I hope that we can all work forward to making that trust again or ever. And that's my time.

Thank you. All right, our next reddition is Diane Soles of District 15, to be followed by Deborah Newlander, to be followed by Joanna Corden-Hill. Do we have Diane? I don't see Diane. Do we have Diane at SJC? No. All right, then I think I saw Deborah Newlander in the list. to be followed by Joanna Corden-Hill, to be followed by Pamela Minden. Deborah, you should be able to talk. But it looks like maybe your audio isn't working.

Yeah, there's no microphone icon next to her name.

You might need to choose in the bottom left corner of the Zoom screen, there's an audio function. You might need to choose your microphone, Debra. While you figure that out, I'm going to see if we have Joanna Corden-Hill from Main Street to be followed by Debra, if we can, and then Pamela Minden. We don't see Joanna in attendance. Not there either. Okay. And then we have, yes, Pamela Minden.

I'm here. Can you hear me? Yes. Thank you for allowing me to speak. I have to say that everything I've heard tonight speaks my mind and speaks my heart. We lost a community member. And I don't want to forget that. While the loss is most acutely affecting his family, we all feel it. When any one of us is taken away by violence, it diminishes all of humanity. I had thought I was going to call to support channeling 1% of funding from the police into all these important efforts to monitor the police. But now I realize how incredibly ludicrous it is that we spend the money we do to arm people to kill innocent civilians. We have militarized our police. When I first moved to Madison over three decades ago, I remember reading the works of the then police chief, David Cooper, and having the pleasure of talking directly with Sherry Maples, who was the director of the police academy. And their vision of policing for Madison was that the police would be officers of the peace. What we are seeing now is so far from that vision. It just riles me that we are spending the amount of money we are on weapons. A budget is a statement of our values. And what the budget of this city says is that we value reactive, violent response to conflict rather than proactive, preventive approaches to providing people with their basic needs. So thank you, everyone, tonight. Thank you, Mayor and elders, for listening. I cannot wait for your response. Thank you for community members for being here tonight, for speaking up, because we are going to have to do this continuously. We need to turn the police into officers of the peace. Thank you for giving me this time.

Thank you. Let's try again for Debra Newlander of District 15 to be followed by Erin Scaravota to be followed by Lizbeth Morazonek. Debra's gone. Debra's gone. Okay, we'll come back. Then Aaron Scarivota from District 12, to be followed by Lisbeth Warzonek, sorry, to be followed by Jason Furman. Do we have Aaron? No, I do not see Aaron Scarivota. Do we have Aaron at SJC? No.

No, Mayor, but do we have a Mary Boone? Yes, we did.

Is Mary Boone there? Yeah, she's just having a hard time unmuting. Yes, we do have a Mary Boone. No, she's not here. Okay, she's having a hard time. We can come back to her. Thank you for noting that. All right, so not Erin. Do we have Lisbeth Razonek of District 14 to be followed by Jason Furman to be followed by Kathy Seiden-Thomas? Do we have Lisbeth?

Yes, can you guys hear me? Yes, go ahead. Just a note, all of the constituents have valid forms And there's ways we should be applauding them. Not even able to see our faces if we want to. Another way you can shut us down. But there are things that I can add. And I'll quickly say that I'm in District 14. Lieberman is Alder. And the neighborhood is on the south side with the Common Council. Also Mayer. Decision to tear down the memorial and telling the community, the protesters, those who walk in solidarity with them, the artists, the homeless people, the encampments, the chefs, the volunteers, you led us to be enraged. And we're ready for that battle. Thanks, officers, I almost forgot, for deciding to tear down people, for arresting those that do not agree with you, to continue to arrest and stand ground as we sit here and have this conversation. Great. Have you seen that the office executing point-blank Corey Roaz said, In the video, it's not been named. Hmm, where is that? This is the direct result of what leads to a target for surveillance, policing, and more. This is very authoritarian for you. Huh, well, we have a long list of demands and a huge group of people that are ready and waiting, so get ready. Many of the communication here tonight believe that we can't be free until all of us are free, not just the white people or upper class, for example. As a member of the disabled and mentally ill community, I hurt when another is hurt, especially in our home, four corners of Williamson and Baldwin. We've seen anger, enragement, tension, frustration, and more. And death is never the answer for us. This is why collective liberation needs to be front and center now. Who keeps us safe? We keep ourselves safe. Cory Perez was killed by Madison police on this street with community members that watched it happen. And now a riot has started. Members are not just arresting, but beating more and more. And we still wait for the most pressing issue that the police are arrested and hurting people right now. And that's time.

Thank you. That's your time. All right, our next registrant is Jason Furman of District 6. And then let's try for Mary Boone and Deborah Newlander. And then we'll go to Kathy Seiden-Thomas. Do we have Jason? Mary, I don't see Jason. Okay. Is Jason at SJC? Don't think so. Then let's try for Mary Boone of District 14.

I don't see Mary.

Okay. Then what about Deborah Newlander? I don't see Debra. Okay. Then Kathy Seiden-Thomas of District 13 to be followed by Jennifer Voychek to be followed by Harry Richardson. Do we have Kathy? Yep. Can you hear me?

Yes, go ahead. Great thanks. So my name is Kathy Seiden Thomas and I'm a 52 year old white woman living in South Madison District 13. Before I share the comments that I prepared, I want to note the importance of reflecting on history and our shared history and what has been celebrated in our country's history. I'm so thankful for my the neighbor who shared the, sorry, I thought I lost my audio, who shared the comment about the march on the Edmund Pettit Bridge. And I think of, you know, the great Congressman John Lewis telling us to get in good good trouble and how we celebrate that. We celebrate civil disobedience and blocking roads and blocking bridges to fight for the rights and the justice of people. And today that was shut down. I was reflecting on how the police system is rooted in a system created by white people to arrest and brutalize enslaved people who were just trying to escape to freedom. And early this morning, our neighbors grieving on Corey Street, finding their own freedom, were arrested and brutalized. Saying we can do better is an understatement. And as a white woman, I feel it's my responsibility to be part of a movement to dismantle these systems of oppression built by people who look like me. And speaking to you tonight is one small part. Corey Ruiz was killed by a Madison police officer on July 22nd, killed one block from where Tony Robinson was killed, and others were killed in that same neighborhood. Our community watched this tragedy happen and is still waiting for the truth. Our city ranks number one among 35 major U.S. cities for racial disparities and traffic stops. Black residents are 9% of our population, but represent 43 to 57% of all MPD use of force incidents. As many others have mentioned, the MPD's budget is $90 to $100 million dollars. And the Office of the Independent Monitor has $400,000 and only one analyst. We need to put our funding and our decisions where our priorities are and our values are and our words are. So I'm agreeing with others who have asked for to fully fund. the Office of the Independent Police Monitor to create a real-time racial equity dashboard and commit tonight to a timeline for body-worn cameras and financial audits. Corey Ruiz deserved accountability. The community deserves it. We need to fund the office that provides it. Thank you. Thank you.

Next petition is Jennifer Voychek of District 15 to be followed by Harry Richardson, and then we'll try for Mary Boone. Do we have Jennifer?

Mary, I don't see Jennifer.

We have Jen Voychek at SJC. No? Thank you. Then Harry Richardson of District 6 to be followed by Mary Boone to be followed by Hazel Belling.

Mary? I don't see.

Harry Richardson of STC.

Mary Boone is gone.

She got disconnected and she said she emailed her. Okay. Thank you. She did pop back in. She's got her hand up, so we could try for her. But you don't have Harry at SJC? Can you hear me? Okay.

Mary? Yes. Go ahead. Mary Boone. Finally, I've waited four hours because this is important to me. My name is Mary Boone and I'm a lifelong resident of 68 years. This is my first time attending a Common Council meeting. I'm here regarding the future of the Office of the Independent Monitor. Corey Reyes was killed by a Madison police officer on July 22nd. The Office of Independent Police Monitor has authority to investigate, though they don't have the resources. They need more staff. I do respect the Madison Police Department. They have great officers, but then there are those. who are not that need to be accountable and trained to follow the rules on how to deescalate properly. I want my black daughters and my grandchildren to not fear for their life when they're approached by Madison Police Department. I want my great grandchildren to be able to trust police officers and not be afraid of them. So I ask you to please do these three things. Please fully fund the OPMI office in the POCB and direct one to 5% of the police budget to the office. Don't treat this oversight as an option because it is not. Please commit to a timeline to provide body cameras to a financial audit of the Madison Police Department. And lastly, from the words that I read from a Madison 365 article, the words of David Hart, quote, Madison wraps itself in a blanket of liberal righteousness, a city of lakes, farmer's markets, bike paths, concerts on the square, and yet it remains haunted by the same racial and economic fault lines that define the republic, end quote. I thank you that I got in for this time to voice my opinion. And no justice, no peace. Thank you.

Thank you. Thanks for overcoming the tech difficulties. Thank you. Our next registrant is Hazel Belling of District 12. But before we go to Hazel, there's a number of folks who have their hands raised in the attendee list. I just ask that you make sure that the name that you have on Zoom is the name that you registered with. And we still have a number of folks that we haven't gotten to yet, so please be patient. But we really need... You have to be registered to speak, and we need the name in Zoom to reflect the name that you're registered with so that we can find you. Our next registrant is Hazel Belling of District 12, to be followed by Eric Howland, to be followed by Nico Magallon. Do we have Hazel?

I don't see Hazel.

Do we have Hazel at SJC? No. All right. Then how about Eric Howland of District 13 to be followed by Nico Magallon to be followed by Jacob Lang? Do we have Eric?

Yes.

Yes. Go ahead, Eric.

Thank you. I'll try and skip over some of what I prepared today. I wanted to talk a little bit about the depth of the movement to get police reform. And particularly about the way there's so much emphasis, particularly now, as people see the way that Corey Ruiz was handled before he was shot, that there's such an impulse to have de-escalation. And even though the Madison Police Department has a great statement endorsing de-escalation, you wonder why we don't see it in any of the videos, we don't hear about it, although hopefully it goes on somewhere. But I got an insight from listening to Professor Ian Main on WRT, what he described as force first policing. And one of the earlier speakers said that maybe that came in with Koval as first a trainer. And then, of course, the person that killed Tony Robinson was also made into a trainer. but force-first policing, which is just the opposite of de-escalation. It includes, according to Professor Main, always retain a tactical advantage over the civilian. Reaction is slower than action, so act first. Only the civilian can de-escalate the situation. So the police can't do that. Only the civilian can deescalate the situation by choosing to comply. So if the training is like that, then Madison needs to grapple with the difference between the training and the sort of... culture of Madison policing and the aspirations and the great statement about how Madison Police Department endorses de-escalation. Fortunately, there is a solution to this with the creation of the Office of the Independent Police Monitor. Madison Ordinance 5.197 says tasks the Tasks the Independent Police Monitor with monitoring compliance with the 2019 report, which several people have referred to. That's the 177 recommendations. And Madison Police Department's own standard operating procedures, their goals, and their mission statement. So that's a big job because it's going to require going back. If you're going to try and change this culture that's grown up through the training of force-first training, then it's going to have to be negotiated. I'm sorry.

That's your time. Oh, okay. Thank you. So I want 1%. Just want to say that for most of the folks that have your hands up in the attendee list, you are on the list, but we just haven't gotten to you yet. We have a lot of people wishing to speak tonight. And if you are able to change your Zoom name to the name that you're registered under, it will greatly help. Our next registrant is Nico Magallan of District 6, to be followed by Jacob Lang, to be followed by Barbie Jackson. Do we have Nico?

President.

Go ahead.

Thank you. My name is Nico Magallon and I'm a Madison resident of nearly 20 years. I've been a proud resident of 1205 Jennifer Street for the past six. Now I'm here about the Office of the Independent Police Monitor and about what independent oversight means when a man is dead again. at the hands of Madison police. Corey Ruiz was killed by a Madison police officer on July 22nd on Williamson Street near my house in the city in a community that watched it happen and is still waiting for justice and reconciliation to begin. A community praying to God that we don't have to experience this nightmare of injustice again after the murders of Tony Robinson and Polly Heenan at the hands of MPD officers Matt Kenney and Stephen Himes respectively. The Office of the Independent Police Monitor has the authority to conduct an independent investigation. Monitor Glass can examine whether MPD's policies were followed, whether de-escalation was attempted, whether the use of force standards this council adopted in 2019 and MPD never implemented guided what happened that day. But that investigation requires something this council must guarantee tonight. Unfettered access. Every piece of evidence, every report, every communication, every record turned over to the OIPM directly, fully, and immediately. Not filtered through MPD's legal team, not delayed, not redacted before the monitor even sees it. No independent investigation is truly independent if the department being investigated controls what the investigator can see. We've already seen what happens when MPD disagrees with findings. Earlier this year, Monitor Glass published an annual report documenting the most extreme police disparities on record in this city. MPD objected. The report was pulled from the city website. No public accountability. That cannot happen with this investigation. Not again. A man is dead. He was killed in broad daylight. We all saw what happened. So tonight, I'm asking this council to say three things on the record. One, MPD is directed to fully cooperate with the OIPM's independent investigation into the killing of Corey Ruiz. Two, all evidence, records, footage, and personnel access requested by the OIPM shall be provided immediately and without condition. And three, the findings of that investigation shall be published publicly and without censorship by MPD or the city's administration.

You have about 30 seconds left.

Corey Ruiz's family deserves the truth. This community deserves the truth. The truth cannot come from the department responsible for what happened. It has to come from Monitor Glass. Give her everything she needs to find it now. Thank you. I yield the rest of my time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Jacob Lang of District 12, to be followed by Barbie Jackson. And then we're going to try again for... Joanna Corden-Hill. Do we have Jacob?

Hello.

Go ahead.

My name is Jacob Lang. I am a resident of Madison District 12, and I am speaking in support of strengthening the office of the Independent Police Monitor and Police Civilian Oversight Board. In fact, I call upon my alder, Julia Matthews, to make a motion to that effect, if not tonight, then in the very near future. The murder of Corey Ruiz is not an isolated incident. It is the culmination of years of Madison police misconduct, obstruction, and outright illegal practices. The police union, Mayor Satya, District Attorney Ozan, as well as some Madison alders are aware of these practices and have refused to do anything about it. Instead, they delay, deny, and redirect. We know this. Mika Glass of the OIM said so herself. Just today, she released a statement saying, quote, instead of confronting the warning signs coming out of their own police department, city officials have poured their energy into undermining, manipulating, and working around this office, our mandate, our authority, and our work. She has also said that Madison PD has refused to share any evidence of the shooting of Corey Ruiz with the OIM despite a lawful mandate in our ordinances. They have also ignored a direct subpoena from the OIM. They are violating the law today. Madison Police need to respond to these inquiries now, and the OIM and or PCOB needs to be granted the funds, but more importantly, the authority to hold these corrupt institutions accountable. They need to be granted direct and unfettered access to all police misconduct cases and any other cases they deem relevant to an investigation. They need to be granted the authority to restrict police budgets and the ability to fire police officers without needing to go through a police union, a police chief, a district attorney, or any other political body. Only then will we start to see some level of accountability among our police force. And if any of that is impossible due to state law, then we need each and every one of you to join us in the streets when we escalate our call for justice to the state capitol. And Mayor Satya needs to stop lying about how she is cooperating with the OIM investigation in public statements. There's also been talk of implementing police body cameras tonight. I would only support such a proposal if the budget, data, cameras, and all other materials were housed under the OIM, PCOB, or similar civilian body. We will not approve an increase in police budgets so they and third-party data mining corporations can surveil us even further. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Barbie Jackson of District 7, to be followed by Joanna Corden-Hill, to be followed by Carol Jenkins. Do we have Barbie?

Yes, I'm here. Go ahead. Good evening, President Madison and Alders. I am grieved by the killing of Corey Ruiz by a Madison police officer in broad daylight. As you can hear, our entire community is grieving, outraged, and demands transparency, accountability, and consequences for this tragic killing. I am appalled by today's events as graphically described by so many here tonight. My name is Barbie Jackson. I am a 59 year white and privileged resident of Madison who has a 30 year mentoring relationship with a wide range of low income primarily black children, youth, and young adults, which has given me a deep and visceral awareness of their life challenges and the harms and traumas many of them have suffered. I'm passionate about these dear people. We must accomplish systemic change together. As a young student I arrived on campus in September 1967 within a month of my arrival, the campus and the city were in flames following Madison police tear gassing and brutally clubbing protesters, including ball soglin who were trying to block recruitment by Dow chemical the manufacturer of napalm. and Agent Orange, which were devastating the people of Vietnam and the U.S. soldiers drafted and sent to war. The impact of this time period documented as the war at home left an indelible mark on my understanding of power imbalance and on my life personally. The tactics you, Mayor, used today to destroy the memorial for Corey and against the people holding vigil for him are reminiscent of that time. It was a rapidly evolving situation then. How will this situation evolve? If you think the current direction is unacceptable, then make it stop. There must be accountability for this tragedy. The Office of the Independent Police Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board are a critical component of the systemic change that must occur in Madison. I AM THANKFUL, PRESIDENT MADISON, FOR YOUR STATEMENT TO THE COMMON COUNCIL WHICH EFFECTIVELY REMOVES ALL EXISTING PROPOSALS TO AMEND THE CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED ORDINANCES THAT ESTABLISHED THE OIPM AND THE PCOB. I AM THANKFUL FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMITMENT TO CHAIR PEARSON TO PURSUE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE TO REBUILD TRUST AND CREATE A STRONGER FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPORTANT WORK OF POLICE OVERSIGHT. HOW WILL THAT BE ACCOMPLISHED IN LIGHT OF TODAY'S EVENTS? I call on the full Common Council to respect a restorative process toward assurance that there will be no future efforts to interfere with the independence and authority of the OIPM and the PCOB. About 30 seconds. We will be watching you as the 2027 elections approach. In the wake of the tragic killing of Corey Ruiz, there are many calls to fund body-worn cameras. I call on you to assure that any such future funding shall not impact full $1.3 million funding of the OIPM and PCOB in the upcoming budget. We will be watching.

Thank you. Our next registrant, let's see if the Josie in the attendee list is Joanna Corden-Hill of East Main Street.

That's me, yes. Can you hear me? Yeah, go ahead. Awesome. Thanks. Hi, my name is Johanna Corden-Hill. I'm a lifelong resident of Madison. I'm really grateful to be able to speak tonight and that everyone has stayed on for so long. And I'm especially grateful to everyone who has spoken and shared. I'm in alignment with much of what's been said very eloquently. I'm only... it's really sad to me that we can't be in person and that you can't look into our faces and we can't look into yours while we're saying this, because if we were, I would really want to engage with you as fellow humans and residents of Madison, um, and just implore you to do the right thing. Like I, I know you want to all of you. And, um, I, I think we all do, but I think a lot of fear gets in our way and, um, I know that you care and don't want murder to be happening on your watch. And so I just, yeah, on top of everything that's been said and the desires to fund these really important offices and boards, I just implore you to look inside your hearts and think, what is that thing that I'm scared to do? But I could make huge impact if I did it. And be brave like a lot of us are being now in this time and join us and stand with all of us. I'm so proud of everyone who's speaking and showing up and we can all do this together. Thank you. I saved my time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Carol Jenkins of District 15. And then we're going to try again for Deborah Newlander and see if the jewels in the attendee list is Julie McDougall. But let's first see if we have Carol Jenkins.

I don't see Carol Jenkins, ma'am.

Not at SJC either, okay. So then can we try for Deborah Newlander of District 15? Deborah, you should be able to unmute yourself. If you're on a computer, the prompt might be hidden behind a window. If you're on a phone, it might be star six. I'm sorry, Deborah, we can't unmute you on our side any more than we already have. All right, I'm going to have to keep going. Then can we see if the jewels in the attendee list is Julie McDougall from Janesville?

I'm Julie Wood Touré. I'm later on the list. Also, I can't change my name, just so you know.

I don't think anyone else can change their names. Well, now we know who you are. So thank you. I appreciate that. Thanks for letting us know. All right. So then we're going to go. Oh, sorry. Julie, you're next. You should read a little farther down the list. So if we can get Jules back. This is Julie Wood Touré from... District 12, to be followed by Nicholas Watt, to be followed by Sydney Lawson.

Hi, my name is Julie Le Touré. I am a almost lifelong member of Madison. Moved here in 1979 when I was three years old. I also have two adult children who are black. I am white. I grew up in privilege, and then I had black children. And Madison has broke my heart over and over again when it comes to racial issues, specifically around, well, all kinds of ways that Madison underserves black folks. My children are watching this. Their hearts are breaking or they don't feel like they belong in Madison because of the ongoing systemic deafness to another yet another time. I do think that this has built on top of the Tony Robinson protests, and it is louder this time, and it's more organized this time, and it's more in people's faces this time, because guess what? Madison has not changed its response. You have been... You have... It has been... The actions are there for you to take. Their actions are there for the police department to take, and they're not taking them. And the way to make that change happen is to have an independent police monitor. This is the way that change actually happens. Rather than doing another study, rather than having another subcommittee, rather than having another listening session, what you need to do is actually put some teeth into action and fund an independent police monitor who has an ability to make suggestions. And when the suggestions are made, make those changes.

And that's what everyone's asking.

Change what's going on. We're tired of... Officers from Madison treating black and brown people differently. We are tired of seeing that the right way to respond, the way that we see the police officers respond to armed white people, the way that we see police officers respond to white boys downtown feeding with knives is not the same response that is given to A marginalized, yes, probably mentally ill, yes, probably maybe using drugs, homeless man on Willie Street who, you know, there's privilege and then there's lack of privilege. And what we saw as Madisonites was, hey, maybe no one will pay attention to this one. Guess what? People paid attention. I'm paying attention. People who are in my sphere and my parents, my parents who are so middle of the road, they're paying attention. They're saying, wow, I'm really surprised. You know, they're paying attention. My parents, they don't like to read books. They've never been activists. They're from the hippie generation. Guess what? They walked out. But they're paying attention to this because they understand it's their grandchildren.

Thank you. That's your time. Our next registrant is Nicholas Watt of District 15, to be followed by Sydney Lawson, to be followed by Heidi Wegleitner. Do we have Nicholas?

Yes, Mayor. Go ahead. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Alders, for taking the time here to listen tonight. This is what democracy looks like, huh? Where we sit in our individual rooms away from each other, where you listen to faceless voices. in which the state controls those voices. I'm pretty disheartened, obviously, that we can't be in person to have this discussion, much needed over a long discussion. I've been a resident of Madison for nearly 20 years. I am a small business owner. I'm an attorney. I have put in my time organizing in politics and for social justice. And from what I've seen in the city of liberals and progressives, is disheartening. Apparently, it's also what democracy looks like to gun down a man for allegedly stealing a bike, allegedly checking car doors that didn't belong to him. A man, Corey Ruiz, has been failed by the system, the criminal justice system, the mental health system, the housing system, at every level, and it ended his life. And that's not fair. I come from a life of privilege. I grew up in a small town in Southern Illinois, practically in Kentucky. I've definitely seen overt and outward racism in my life, but the racism I see in Madison, the quiet racism, the insidious racism is tough. So I would ask today that the city and you all show some leadership fund the Police Civilian Oversight Board and the Office of Independent Monitor at 1% of the police budget for transparency, for community trust, for the purposes that you all voted for it to be. And make sure that they, that Monitor Glass has the authority and the power to ask and receive the documents she's been demanding so we can get to the bottom of this investigation of the killing of Corey Ruiz. It's not that you all passed an ordinance for a reason. Now you need to back it up. And so, again, let's fund it at that 1% level. Let's give the Office of Independent Monitor what it needs, its resources and its staff to litigate the subpoena that it's provided to MPD if necessary. Thank you. But let's not stand in the way any longer. Just finally, what happened this morning, Mayor, you opened this meeting four hours plus ago asking for grace for the community, yet you show none. What happened this morning, instead of engaging in the community, you just tried to remove them. And from my understanding is that there's still activity at Corey's Corner tonight, and I hope it continues until we get justice. And that's time. Thank you.

That's your time. Thank you. Our next registrant is Sydney Lawson of District 12, to be followed by Heidi Wegleitner, to be followed by Iris Fisher. Do we have Sydney? I don't see Sydney in attendance. No. Okay. Then Heidi Wegleitner of District 12, to be followed by Iris Fisher, to be followed by Ian Koscheck.

Go ahead, Heidi. Thank you, Mayor and Common Council. I represent District 2 on the Dane County Board, and for over 20 years, I've represented low-income folks in housing cases, folks facing housing insecurity, homelessness, families, individuals, people with disabilities, many folks who are black and brown. And I've seen... over and over again how low income and black and brown and communities and people with disabilities are over policed, are disproportionately harmed by police and how so many more resources go towards causing that harm than go to supporting them meeting their basic needs and ensuring their stability. I was really proud of the Madison City Council when it adopted the ordinance to create the independent monitor and the police civilian oversight board. It is a model and it is so needed. And it provides the opportunity for truth for people in our community who have been unfairly treated to have their experience, their truth out there available for you, for policymakers, for the community and not be denied. And while I know that the power of the city and the council can't do everything to change our broken criminal justice system, our harmful criminal justice system, you can't do everything to correct that. But you can do this, as other commenters have stated. You can provide the minimum sort of funding needed The $1.3 million that is essential for monitoring and accountability of this huge police force. Please do what you can and use your power to fund and support this office. I hope you've read each and every word that Aramika Glass has put out since she has taken this position. And I am so grateful for what she is doing. It takes tremendous courage, even when people are constantly putting up roadblocks. When she is putting her body on the line just to get the most basic information. She all deserves your public support and defense. Please stand up and do what's right. Please work with us on the county board. We can do better together, but we have to talk. We have to listen.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Iris Fisher to be followed by Ian Kozachek to be followed by Rebecca Jamieson. Do we have Iris? I don't see Iris. Of Sun Prairie? No, Iris at Social Justice Center. Okay. Then Ian Kozachek of District 12 to be followed by Rebecca Jamieson to be followed by Kayla Shaw. Do we have Ian? I don't see Ian either. No. Ian at Social Justice Center? No. All right. And then Rebecca Jamieson of District 18 to be followed by Kayla Shaw to be followed by Keena Atkinson. Do we have Rebecca?

I don't see Rebecca. No.

Okay. Okay. And then Kayla Shaw of District 1 to be followed by Keena Atkinson to be followed by Brenna Kautz. Do we have Kayla? Go ahead, Kayla.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Okay.

My name is Kayla and I live in Madison. I am here about my story and what independent police oversight means in real life. In 2018, my parents called MPD because I was actively suicidal. Instead of helping me, they put me in a position where I was able to harm myself further, laughed at my severe distress, arrested me, and threw me in jail overnight. I was not taken to an emergency room or given medical care. They didn't even allow me to clean the blood off my body. The charges may have been dropped, but this only worsened my mental health, and I attempted suicide shortly after. While my experience was awful, I know it could have turned out much worse if I was a person of color. People aren't just treated unfairly by police. They get injured. They die. MPD has a pattern of approaching people in mental health crises with ignorance. A man is dead. His life is gone. This isn't just another day of work. This is a tragic loss. His death deserves to be treated that way. Corey was already apprehended by the time he was shot. He was not a threat. Healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than any other profession. That includes police. We do not use weapons. Police need more accountability. They need to use de-escalation techniques in the same way healthcare professionals do. Lethal weapons should be the absolute last resort in the same way police or medications are in healthcare settings. Clearly, the way things are being done is not working. There has to be another way, whether that's cross-training paramedics or firefighters or allowing them to come to certain calls with police if they volunteer. The less people with deadly weapons, the better. I ask that you do not let Corey Ruiz's death be investigated by the same department that took his life. All the evidence should be handed over to the independent investigators and the officer arrested. Please consider other avenues of apprehension in the future as well. No one deserves to die. Thank you for hearing me and everyone else. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

Our next registrant is Keena Atkinson of District 6, to be followed by Brenna Kautz, to be followed by Tana Shermer. Just note that I think we still have about 80 folks' names on the list. Obviously, they're not all here, but that's sort of what we're looking at. Do we have Keena? Keena?

Yes, I'm here. Thank you. Go ahead. Hi, my name is Kena Atkinson. I live in Madison, Wisconsin, District 6, a block over from where my former classmate, Corey Ruiz, was murdered two weeks ago. And in the same city where my childhood friend and classmate, Ashley DiPiazza, was killed by the police. This month would have been both of their 20th year class reunion. The police stole their futures and to this day have not been held accountable for murder due to the irresponsible MPD internal review process. I am calling for the city to fund the OIPM at $900,000, build a real-time racial equity dashboard so that this community can see MPD data in public and to disarm the police. I am here to tell my story about what independent police oversight means in real life. I am a part of the 75% of people who have taken the steps to file complaints that were ruled invalid. The first time that I ever in my life had a gun to my head was two months after the police killed Ashley. On July the 14th, 2014, on East Washington First Street, I was surrounded by the police when I was seven months pregnant and held at gunpoint. There were multiple guns pointed at me with my son, my best friend and her children in the car with me. And our hearts were pounding through our chest and the threat to our lives was real. And they said, the police said they wouldn't give me any ticket and they just wanted to talk because I fit the description. They wanted to talk to me with their guns drawn. He saw my UW Madison ID and my wallet. And then they told me they were not gonna document the interaction as if that did me a favor. And when this happened, and the only thing they gave us was a sticker at the end of this interaction. And when this happened, I wondered to myself, how many times do I have to conveniently fit the description? Because I've been racially profiled by the police on multiple occasions, and I supposedly always fit the description. If one in four people file, then I'm one of the ones, one of the 75% of people, because I have filed a complaint before, and I was informed by the lieutenant that the officers were within their duties or authority. So when I was 25, I didn't get a proper external review. No one knew about what happened. And no one from the police department felt like it was wrong. So not only did we not get a review or justice, we didn't even get an apology. We got a sticker. It was their word against mine. I was nothing but a black woman who supposedly fit the description. They followed me from the neighborhood I lived in, Darbo, where the population is at or below poverty levels. People urged me to file a complaint. Economically, I was one of the lowest people on the totem pole, and no one who was supposed to protect and serve me served or protected. They actually caused unnecessary harm, terror, and trauma. As a black woman, we're statistically disproportionate to worse prenatal complications. That's your time.

Thank you. Alder, Mayor?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I had a constituent, Johanna Corden-Hill, who said she missed her time to speak as she's still in the queue.

No, she spoke.

She did. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Our next registrant is Brenna Kautz of District 10 to be followed by Tana Shermer to be followed by Amy Mondlock. Do we have Brenna?

Yes. Can you guys hear me?

Yes. Go ahead.

My name is Brenna Kautz and I'm a Madison resident. I have lived here since 2023, but I've lived in Wisconsin my whole life. I am appalled at the events that have transpired and the reactions of those involved and policymakers and officials. Police and other government employees cannot be immune from consequences. Why is it that laws are enforced on civilians with violence and murder if the officers feel like it, I guess, but those, quote-unquote, enforcing those laws are not held to any standard of accountability or moral code? There must be a robust system to hold police officers to the consequences of their abhorrent actions." We should not have to beg for fair treatment and accountability. It's embarrassing. It's a disgrace. It feels like I'm a little kid trying to talk over, you know, someone that they don't even notice me. Independent oversight is absolutely needed. It's obviously needed. You can train police officers all you want, you know, with de-escalation and, you know, the body cams if you want, whatever. But when a racist officer is trigger happy, it doesn't matter. That training, it doesn't matter. So the accountability, at least the accountability has to be there. I see very little emotion on the authority members' faces tonight. I fear that you are ignoring our words, and I feel very powerless even being able to speak. Being restricted to polite words, no swearing. Because it's the polite thing to do? Would it be too aggressive to swear? Would it be too violent or, you know, impolite? I feel like it's more violent to murder, but maybe that's just me. I'm not sure if you are listening. At best, I think you might be taking notes on how many angry Madisonians there are so you can do damage control on the city's opinion of you. You have about 30 seconds left. If you cared about the people's well-being, there would already be accountability for police. Clearly, there has not been so far. Please change that. I implore you, please change that. We will not stop. We will continue fighting and we will stay angry and try and try to continue holding people accountable. Thank you.

Thank you. I want to apologize. I didn't realize that in a webinar the attendees can't actually rename themselves, so sorry for telling you to do a thing that you couldn't do. Apparently the only way to change your Zoom name is when you first enter the webinar. So if you don't have the correct name, you could try exiting and coming back into the webinar and entering the name that you registered under. And if that would help, then again, my apologies. I didn't realize that that was a technical restriction. Our next registrant is Tara Shermer of District 14 to be followed by Amy Mondlock to be followed by Jerry Paredes Vasquez. Oh, excuse me. It's Tana Shermer. Do you have do we have Tana? Yeah, I'm here. It's Tana. Sorry. Go ahead.

So I want to thank you guys for giving me the moment to speak and to give my opinion on everything going on. You know, there's a lot of controversy with everything. And if people are saying, oh, you know, it's Corey, it's Tony, it's Richard, there's several others. One of them specifically was my friend Ashley DiPiazza. The Madison police officers knew she was going through a mental health crisis because of her boyfriend and her whatever was going on inside. a mental health crisis, didn't point that gun at nobody else but herself, didn't threaten anybody. And she was shot 14 times by Madison police officers that I personally know because of growing up in Madison. I've lived in Madison for almost 30 years, usually all on the east side. I personally have called the police numerous times. Okay, I have several kids. My five-year-old, her father had no custody and placement of our child. Three out of the four times that he took my daughter with no custody and placement, the Madison Police did not do anything. And they've done things like my son and his friends were there being boys and made a mistake. They were speeding. They pulled into wherever and parked. My son's only black friend in the vehicle was followed by not one, but five officers. He got his face slammed into a door. All the white kids walked off. They didn't even try to stop them. The Madison police are doing these things that they should be protecting us. And we can feel like we can't call them. If there's a situation, it's gotten worse. And I can't sit and watch this happen and do nothing. I'm raising my kids here. I should be able to feel okay and feel like if we need to call the police, that we'll be safe. I've personally had one incident myself where I was the only one that called. After my niece's 21st birthday, I was basically... physically assaulted by one of her boyfriend's friends. They were all drunk. They were, you know, having a great time at first. Got left there. This man physically assaulted me. Called me some very racial, nasty names. And then... I literally took my pocket knife because I'm a female. I have a small pocket knife. I put it in between my feet. I called 911. Again, the only person I called 911. Only report. Why did I get arrested? Why did I get arrested that day? This has to stop, Sasha. This has to stop. This is arson. And we're taking back over. If that's what it is, you know, you should do it the right way. Y'all didn't spend no money on this stuff. I cleaned up. I brought food. I brought clothes that were donated. The city didn't do nothing but stand around today, and that's what the thousands of dollars are talking about? Today is the only day they've been there, other than the first day. I've been there every day with other people. I'm tired of it.

I'm sorry. Thank you. Our next registrant is Amy Monlock of District 12, to be followed by Jerry Paredes-Vasquez, to be followed by Matt Flom. Do we have Amy? Not at Social Justice Center.

Mayor, we're wondering if it's this person named Asmon.

Yeah. Is this Amy? Is that you, Amy?

This is Amy. Yeah, go ahead. Yes. So, good evening, Alders and Mayor. My name is Amy Monlock. I am a City of Madison resident with a long history of community involvement as an organizer, activator, activist, and educator, which includes having coordinated the peaceful and prepared team that played a key role in maintaining nonviolence. during the 2011 takeover of the state capitol. I am extremely disappointed at how our city and our police force operates in regards to serving communities of color as well as communities in need. What I have seen is Madisonians who are calling out simply to be recognized and respected as people and people who are asking for support and help. People who need housing, mental health support, jobs, and simply to be allowed the opportunity to survive and thrive, and are instead being met with a wall of police who are there to control them rather than to listen and support. We need to change this. Peaceful and successful communities come through communicating, respecting people as people, and assuring that everyone has the resources to survive and thrive. They do not come through violence and control. I am requesting the full funding of the Office of the Independent Police Monitor, OIPM, and the Police Community Oversight Board, PCOB. I'm also requesting that the Madison Police Department be required to work with both OIPM and PCOB, including supplying any and all requested information on the recent killing of Corey Ruiz and all incidents on which the OIPM or PCOB request information. Thank you for your time this evening.

Thank you. Our next reddition is Jerry Perez-Vasquez of District 14, to be followed by Matt Flom, to be followed by Dana Colosi-Lind. Do we have Jerry?

Buenas noches. Can you hear me? Buenas noches. My name is Jerry Paredes-Vasquez, and at 11.23, I am one more very concerned Madison resident speaking on file 941869. I want to thank everyone who has shared their testimony and thank every council member who's listening deeply enough to be transformed by the gift of the breadth and the depth of the testimonies that we're hearing today. I know I am. Unfortunately, we are having this meeting in the midst of a disgraceful day in our city, one that reveals that we clearly have different understandings of what we mean by reasonable use of force, humanity, dignity, care, restoration, and accountability. Today has shown us that we have drastically different understandings of how to support our community through grief. as well as to how to transform the longer history and larger pattern of trust repeatedly being broken between community and police. In a country and a time when black and brown values, migrant women, trans and queer, as well as poor and unhoused communities are often under attack, Poorly risked killing in the aftermath of today's disgraceful and speak volumes about the need for this council to secure that our community has a well-funded resource and independent office of independent police monitoring in our city to prevent and stop what seems to be a growing pattern of unreasonable use of force by the police. Madison, as we know, ranks number one among 35 major US cities for racial disparities in traffic stops. Black residents are 43% to 57% of all MPD use of force incidents, well being only 9% of the population. Six years ago, the ask the community had for the council was the creation of the PCOB. In 2019, this council adopted the full MPD policy and procedure review committee. Recommendation 109 required necessity, proportionality, and reassessment standards for deadly force. MPD did not implement this. If anything, today, as well as these past weeks and months, have increased the need for a well-funded resource and independent OIPM in our city to make sure that what is stated in policies meets the ground with implementation and avoids more violent incidents like the killing of Corey Reese, Richard Johnson, or Tony Robinson. In the violent events of today, the independent monitor Ari Mika Glass was disgracefully intimidated and injured by Madison police officers, as we learned, proving again the deep necessity for real structures of accountability for the use of force by the police. The office of the... Independent Police Monitor has the authority to conduct an independent investigation and it needs these councils and federal support and resourcing and we, our community, need you to do so for the well-being and safety of every resident in our city. As everyone else has stated today, I am asking you to redirect at least 1% of MPD's requested budget to better fund the OIPM, create a real-time racial disparity dashboard for MPD data to track traffic stops, use of force, and arrest police with an officer.

Thank you. That's your time. Our next registrant is Matt Flom of District 3, to be followed by Dana Colosi-Lind, to be followed by Heather Anderson. Do we have Matt?

Yeah, can you hear me?

Yep, go ahead.

All right, just good evening to everybody at home. I'm really sorry we couldn't actually be together tonight. I can hear that a lot of us are still in a lot of pain, and it's unfortunate that they decided to try and keep us as separated and faceless as possible. I'm just here because I'm... in agreement with getting everything fully funded, the police civilian oversight board. We don't need any more studies. We don't need any more votes about it. It just needs to get done at this point. I went to school with Corey and It just keeps happening, and I don't see an end to it until we actually change things. Seeing the monitor assaulted today feels right in line with what should be expected, unfortunately. The fact that the person that murdered Robinson is training people is just absurd. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Dana Colussi-Lind of District 3, to be followed by Heather Anderson, to be followed by Anik Dupati. Do we have Dana?

I'm here. Go ahead. All right, thank you. I am Dana Colusi-Lind, and I am a resident of District 3. I'm here in support of strong, fully funded, independent oversight of the Madison Police Department. Corey Ruiz was killed by a Madison police officer on July 22nd. The OIPM has the authority to conduct an independent investigation, but does not have the resources to do so. The thought that stuck with me over the weeks that followed Corey's killing was the fact that very little had changed with policing in this city since Tony Robinson's murder. Community leaders worked tirelessly to get the OIPM and PCOB created, but they were not given the resources to be successful. They are still in this fight, but without the authority to influence the behaviors of the police department, nor hold them accountable, it was only a matter of time before this situation repeated. You have the opportunity to change the course of our future by fully funding the OIPM using a portion of the police budget and enacting the recommendations made by the group for Group 109. Corey Ruiz deserved accountability. This community deserves accountability. As a final note, I am deeply disturbed by what occurred during the raid on the memorial encampment and the subsequent police presence this afternoon and tonight. The folks that were camped out overnight were surprised by the abrupt presence of heavily armed police and state patrol and then had to scramble to pack their belongings under the cover of darkness and fear. While most officers were respectful this morning, the sheer number and presence had the potential to inflame existing tensions. We saw that escalate this is a clear lack of communication between the city officials and the leaders at the site which caused confusion, chaos, and harmed the inhabitants. This was not the way to resolve a delicate issue and I urge you to do better for a city that is still grieving and angry. You can begin to make it right by adopting the proposals from the community regarding the OIPM. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next register is Heather Anderson of District 15 to be followed by Anique Dupati to be followed by Kylie Timler. Do we have Heather?

Mary, I don't see Heather.

Do we have a Heather at the Social Justice Center?

No.

All right. Then Anique Dupati of District 12 to be followed by Kylie Timler to be followed by Jessica Armbruster. Do we have Anique?

I don't see Anique.

Okay, thank you. Then Kylie Timler of Stoughton, Wisconsin, to be followed by... Do you have Kylie? Yes. Okay, so to be followed by Jessica Armbruster, to be followed by Heather Stapleman. So we'll go to Kylie of Stoughton.

Hi, my name is Kylie Timler and I'm here to speak on item two file 94186 regarding the office of the independent police monitor and what independent oversight means. Corey Ruiz was killed by a member of the Madison Police Department while the community was grieving and awaiting the truth. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, you ordered the removal of a memorial in the darkness of the morning from the comfort of your office while justice has still not been served. Justice can take many forms, but today I'm speaking specifically about ensuring that Madison's Independent Police Monitor, Monitor Glass, who was assaulted by your police officers, is given the full cooperation and unrestricted access necessary to determine whether MPD followed its own policies. Was de-escalation attempted? Was the use of force consistent with the use of force standards this council adopted in 2019? Were the department policies followed? Those questions cannot be answered unless this council guarantees an unobstructed investigation. Every unfiltered piece of evidence and every relevant document must be turned over to the Office of the Independent Police Monitor immediately, completely, and without redaction or alteration. MPD's objections to Monitor Glass's racial disparity report led to its removal from the city's website. Why? Does a city that claims to value transparency, inclusion, and equity believe that the public should not see data about the racial disparities in policing? Transparency can not only exist when it is politically convenient for you. I am demanding that we become a community that values human life over property and institutional protection. Look at the incarceration statistics and explain why black members of our community make up over half of the jail population while representing only about 6% of the overall county population. The legacy of slavery lives on through the policing of black bodies today. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery except as a punishment for a crime, creating a system that has disproportionately impacted black communities for generations. And if this council is serious about racial justice, then be a part of the solution tonight. I am asking that this council commit on public record to three specific actions. First, direct the Madison Police Department to fully cooperate with the Office of Independent Police Monitor's investigation into killing Corey Ruiz. Second, require that all records, communications, footage, reports, and personnel access requested by the Office of the Independent Police Monitor be provided immediately and without conditions. And third, commit that the findings of the independent police monitor will be released publicly without censorship, interference, or suppression by the Madison Police Department or the city. About 30 seconds. Cory Ruiz's family deserves the truth. Our community deserves the truth. And every resident deserves transparency about what happens when black men die at the hands of the Madison Police Department. And if this council truly believes in accountability, then prove it tonight. And, Satya, we see the video of you crying over the police in 2020. And I want to know where those tears are for the black men who die at the hands of the police. Thank you.

That's your time. Our next tradition is Jessica Armbruster of Waunakee, to be followed by Heather Stapleman, to be followed by Alyssa Strafe. Do we have Jessica?

Yes, can you hear me? Go ahead. Hi, thank you. My name is Jessica Armbruster. I am a social worker here in Madison for well over 15 years. I do community mental health with adults in Dane County. Many of our adults who... are in the Willie Street and Baldwin area where this tragedy occurred. My entire career, my entire life in Madison, I've seen and witnessed these disparities for the people that I serve. Aggressive police interactions, clients being tased in their own front yards, clients being followed, chased, physically assaulted by police when they were doing nothing but trying to survive and trying to manage an illness that can also be so incredibly cruel in a community where we continue to just defund the resources that could help them, could house them, that could show their worth and dignity as people and how much we actually love them. I've already been scared in my career. Anytime the police have to get called for my people or that they have to have an interaction with them. And now after the killing of Corey Ruiz, I am terrified. My staff is terrified. My clients are terrified. Why is it that us as healthcare workers and social workers, other staff that supports our unhoused community members, caregivers, so many others can deal with deescalating situations every day and nobody is hurt, yet the people who are supposedly here to serve and protect us cannot manage to do the same? Why is MPD allowed to agitate, aggress, and kill our community members in the street? Why is our Madison jail disproportionately filled with our black and brown members of our community? These people are my clients. These are my people. These are my friends and family. And that is why we have to have the OIPM fully funded. It has to be independent. It has to be staffed and have the resources to do the job it was set up to do. I am asking you to fully fund the OIPM with at least 1% of the police budget. I want the council going on record to tell MPD they need to fully cooperate with the OIM's independent investigation into the killing of Corey Ruiz. Corey's death should not be handled by the same department and the people that are responsible for it. It needs independent review. Any evidence, records, footage, any information that Ms. Glass in this position needs should be handed to them and her immediately. And then findings should be published publicly so that we know what the recommendations are, and it should be published without censorship from MPD or administration. Corey and his family especially, as well as... 30 seconds left. The community member that's been mistreated or terrorized by MPD deserves to have this. They deserve a department that has independent oversight and accountability. Lastly, just what happened today on William Baldwin was abhorrent. To continue to traumatize the community with more brutality is abhorrent. And I would ask this council and the mayor to use your power to support community.

Thank you. That's your time. Our next registrant is Heather Stapleman of District 15, to be followed by Alyssa Streif. Yes, and then to be followed by Marcy Fritz-Newberry. Do we have Heather? Heather?

I don't see Heather in attendance.

Nope. Okay. Then Alyssa Streif of District 17 to be followed by Marcy Fritz Newberry to be followed by Darlitha Williams. Do we have Alyssa? I don't see Alyssa either. Okay. And then Marcy Fritz Newberry of District 6 to be followed by Darlitha Williams to be followed by Lisa Marie Outter. Do we have Marcy? I don't see Marcy. Doesn't look like we have Marcy. No. Okay. Okay. And then Darlitha Williams of District 16 to be followed by Lisa Marie Outter to be followed by Peter Newell. Do we have Darlitha?

I don't see Darlitha.

Okay. Sorry, I'm just trying to keep track here. Then Lisa Marie Outter of District 7, to be followed by Peter Newell, to be followed by April Kigea. Do we have Lisa?

Thank you. Can I be heard?

Yes, go ahead.

Thank you. My name is Lisa Marie, and I know it's been a long day and a long night. I've prepared my three minutes, but speakers before me have expertly stated what I demand. Police oversight, monitor glass having complete access to do her job, and the MPD to be held accountable for the lives they've stolen from us. You have heard nearly identical demands and requests. And aren't you tired? Do you want to go home with your family? and not be hearing nearly identical demands from hundreds of your constituents, your voters. Yeah, we would like to go home too. We would like to be with our families. Corey would like to be with his family and his family would like to have him back. We have been here time and time again, and we are saying the same thing and you are hearing the same thing tonight. This many hours later, you might even be desensitized to these demands by now. It looks like you have become desensitized to the killing of the black and brown community desensitized to a city being destroyed lives being destroyed. I know that you can't comment to our comments right now. You shouldn't even show much on your face. You have to stay professional. But I do hope this can hit the personal. I hope that this can hit your soul and that you take us home with you. Prove that you're listening and taking this in. And frankly, I don't trust you to hear us. I don't trust you to follow rules to keep us safe, especially when you decide out of an abundance of caution to hear your constituents virtually only. Why are you so afraid, Mayor Satya? You have an opportunity yet again. And how many more times do Corey and Tony and Victor and Paul and Richard have to give you this opportunity to do the humane thing? Like so many people before me have told you, all of you, you know what to do now. Put life before money. Put humanity before politics. The whole country is watching. Not just your voters, the whole community is watching Madison. What will you do now?

Thank you. Our next registrant is Peter Newell of District 4, to be followed by April Kagea, to be followed by Brian Standing. Do we have Peter? Peter? I would see Peter in attendance. Okay. And you see if Solstice House is Peter?

That would be me.

Okay. Go ahead.

My name is Peter and I'm a resident of downtown Madison. I worked with the unhoused community. Firstly, Madam Mayor, your treatment of the most vulnerable Madison residents today was an abhorrent and unnecessary escalation. The erosion of trust will be difficult to repair and is a severe impediment to your relationship with the people you purport to represent. I pray, yet I'm not hopeful this situation will change. I was present for the murder of Victor Montero Diaz, a situation irritatingly similar to that of Corey Ruiz 20 years ago. No change. The clock is ticking towards the next extrajudicial police execution in Madison. Every few years we find ourselves in the same place. Absent substantial change, we will find ourselves there again all too soon. There can be no more Cory's or Tony's or Richard's or Victor's. We will no longer pay for oppressive white supremacist law enforcement policy with our black and brown children. My suggestion, fully cooperate with the independent monitors investigation into the killing of Corey Ruiz and release all of the evidence requested immediately and unedited by MPD. Yes, the same independent monitor assaulted by police this very afternoon, a fact that should give you, Madam Mayor, serious pause. Again, community prays for your better judgment despite evidence of your lack of compassion or connection with your constituents.

Thank you. Our next registrant is April Kagea of District 16, to be followed by Brian Standing, to be followed by Nathan Reiko Maurer. Do we have April? I'm here. Can you hear me?

Yeah, go ahead. Good evening. My name is April Kigea and I live in District 16. I'm here tonight regarding the future of the Office of the Independent Police Monitor and the PCOB. Like many in our community, I have spent the past two weeks grieving, listening and asking hard questions regarding the death of Corey Ruiz. And today, Madison residents and the world who is also watching woke up to find that the Willie Street encampment had been cleared starting around 530 a.m. Whether people supported the encampment or not, many of us were left asking the same question we've been asking these past two weeks. How are decisions that deeply impact our community being made and are the people most affected being heard? Trust is built through transparency, communication, and accountability, not after the fact, but before decisions are carried out. As a black woman raising two black sons and four black children in Madison, I know that fear has consequences. Too often, black families carry the weight of knowing that someone else's fear can change our lives forever. History has shown us that white fear can become a powerful and dangerous weapon when it influences policing. That is exactly why the independent oversight exists, to ensure that fear never outweighs facts, transparency, or accountability. Independent oversight isn't about being anti-police. It's about ensuring that when government exercises its authority, the public has confidence that there is an independent system in place to review actions, ask difficult questions, and promote accountability. Right now, the Office of the Independent Police Monitor has an important responsibility, but it lacks the resources to fully carry out that responsibility. And at that same time, Madison continues to experience significant racial disparities in policing. Those realities make independent oversight more important, not less. I'm asking the council to do three things. First, fully fund the Office of the Independent Police Monitor so that it has the staff and capacity to fulfill the mission the council created. Second, commit to greater transparency by making policing data, including traffic stops, use of force, and arrests easily accessible and understandable to the public. Third, continue strengthening civilian oversight because accountability should not be something we invest in only after a tragedy. It should be a core value of how we govern every day. As a resident of District 16, I want to live in a Madison where people trust their government because they know they are being heard, where accountability is more than a promise, and where transparency is not optional. The events of the past two weeks from the death of Corey Reese to today's encampment removal have reminded us that trust is fragile. We cannot rebuild trust without meaningful accountability and genuine community engagement. I want to urge you to fully fund the Office of the Independent Police Monitor and to demonstrate that Madison is committed to not only public safety, but to build public trust. Thank you. Thank you.

Our next registrant is Brian Standing of District 15, to be followed by Nathan Reichomauer, to be followed by Sadiqa Deshazer. Do we have Brian?

I'm here. Can you hear me?

Yes, go ahead.

All right. There's been a lot of talk about Corey Ruiz. I want to talk about another incident. On the afternoon of Monday, July 20th, at the corner of Pinckney and King Streets, I witnessed approximately a half dozen Madison police officers restraining a man on the sidewalk. The man was already handcuffed. He had his hands behind his back. He was yelling inarticulately. About six officers surrounded him, kneeling down. One officer was pressing the man's head firmly into the concrete sidewalk. I asked the officers, why are you pushing this man's head into the sidewalk? The officer said the man resisted and broke the officer's finger. The officer showed me his finger, which was indeed swollen and red. The officer went on to say that the man had attempted to smash his own head into a wall. The officer said he thought he was having a mental health episode and explained to me that police officers were straining the man's head to try to keep him from hurting himself. As we were talking, another officer approached with a foam helmet, which I understood was intended to protect the man's head. I asked the officer where the CARES team was. The officer said, the what? I said, the specially trained mental health professionals who are supposed to respond to mental health crises. The officer replied, oh, I don't know anything about that. The ambulance is on its way. I left before the ambulance arrived. Two days later, Madison police shot and killed Corey Ruiz. This raises a lot of really troubling questions to me. How were the Madison police able to avoid a lethal, although still very violent, response with respect to the man on Pinckney and King, yet felt it necessary to use lethal force on Corey Ruiz? I can tell you one difference between the two. The man on Pinckney Street was a white man, and Corey Ruiz was black. Where was the community alternatives, where was the CARES team in either incident? Why didn't the 911 center dispatch CARES personnel instead of armed police? Why did the officer at the Pinckney Street incident have no idea what CARES was? What kind of nonviolent de-escalation training do Madison police officers receive? Do they know anything other than violence? How many current officers were trained by noted de-escalation critic Mike Koval? How many have been trained by Matt Kenney, the Madison police officer who shot Tony Robinson? Yes, fund the monitor. I do not trust the Madison Police. I don't trust any other entity.

You've got 30 seconds left.

And protect your own mentality is too deeply embedded. Until that monitor is fully supported, I can tell you personally, I will never call the police again. I don't trust them to respond appropriately to any situation, and I cannot live with the idea that I might be responsible for someone's death. I am filled with so much anger, shame, and despair. Do the right thing.

Thank you. Our next tradition is Nathan Reiko Maurer of Arena, Wisconsin, to be followed by Sadiqa DeShazer, to be followed by Peter Haney. Do we have Nathan? Is he at SJC? We could have SJC, please.

Mayor and members of the Common Council, my name is Nathan Roycomower. I grew up in Madison. My parents still live in Madison. And I've lived and worked in Madison for decades. I'm here to remind you that we see you. We see your values expressed in how you act. We see your politics play out in the covert deals you make, the backroom trades you orchestrate, the Gestapo-style raids you lie to clergy and community about planning. We see the fires you start just so you can put them out and play the hero. We see the way you condescend, belittle, scold, lecture, and ignore. We see the casual cruelty, the petty personal vendettas, and the character assassinations. Just today, we saw your police physically assault the independent monitor, Aramique Glass. We saw them pepper spray the OIM data analyst, Greg Golembic, and the PCOB board member, Devin Snyder. That feels targeted. That's on video. We see it all. We also see all the people who have spent hours upon hours waiting for their three minutes at the microphone just to tell you how much they want a fully funded, fully independent Office of the Independent Monitor and a PCLB that isn't constantly distracted by your meddling, time-wasting ordinance amendments. Your elected status, contrary to how some of you act, makes you more accountable, not less. Accountability isn't an abstract concept. It's the bar you hold yourself to and the standard of conduct you expect to be set for you by the people who elect you, or else you've got to go. Consider these last few weeks when someone had to lose their life at the hands of a City of Madison employee under your watch, under your control, as a tragic lesson in accountability. Boy, things sure moved fast then. Amendments and administrative harassments that have been eating away at the productivity and the very limited resources of the OIM and PCOB for close to a year suddenly got dropped. What changed? Why did you suddenly decide to abandon the cause? Did something about how the OIM and PCOB operate suddenly improve in the eyes of the amendment sponsors? Was it because Corey Ruiz had his brains literally blown out in broad daylight on a Madison street in front of God and everyone? Or was it because the hot lights of the media caught some of you looking completely unprepared to defend your past actions? The timing is pretty suspicious. What changed? I know what changed. The political strategy of meddling with the only uncompromised independent investigative body in all of the city of Madison government suddenly had more downside for you than up. You have about 30 seconds. Between stated values and observed actions finally became too hard to ignore. I've been at this podium so many times, my demands should not be a mystery. Fund the OIM with at least 1% of the police annual budget or $1.3 million, whichever's higher, make it law, demand the creation of an MPD data dashboard so we can see what they are doing to whom with our money and leave the damn PCOB alone to do the work that people needed to do. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Sadiqa Deshazer of District 17, to be followed by Peter Haney, to be followed by Nicholas Davies. Do we have Sadiqa? Go ahead.

Good evening, we're the Common Council. My name is Steven Shazer. I've been present in community care capacity at the Florida Community Vision. We've managed to ensure people were safe during the night. He did this without police support. Today, the city cleared that camp. Despite the administration's claims to the media, there was no adequate notice. Streets of business vehicles breached the barricade in short order. Sidewalk flowers driven over a curb when a person had just been beaten. They drove unbelievably slow to occupy a tent. One son held a resident with mobility concerns, desperately trying to gather his belongings. Another held an individual having a severe anxiety attack while trying to get to rest. He had to scream at the driver to stop because there were too many beings inside those tents. Streets almost caught bodies today. Joining the question for me, excuse me, I apologize. It's been a long day, as you know. This is failure of leadership. The mayor publicly took credit for future transitions that have been made by community members while behind the scenes, she's threatening organizations. Not simply providing resources for human dignity, We do not pretend to want peaceful transition and having a theory of the people. It is deeply shameful to watch this thing misinform the public and media pretending to do good work while deploying files inches away from our defense. We need true care. We need true oversight to intercept harm. We can do better in the community than abusing ourselves and neighbors. We've talked a lot about oversight tonight. Thank you. Next registrant.

Is Peter Haney of District 12 to be followed by Nicholas Davies to be followed by Paige Hemphill? Do we have Peter?

I see someone that's a P, but I think they spoke earlier, if I remember correctly.

Okay. Peter at SJC?

I'm about to switch over to my phone. Everyone at SJC has finished.

Okay. Thank you, Alder. So then Nicholas Davies of District 15, to be followed by Paige Hemphill, to be followed by Allie Bates. Do we have Nicholas?

I don't see Nicholas.

All right. Paige Hemphill of District 14, to be followed by Allie Bates, to be followed by Brianna Eleni.

I don't see Paige.

All right. Allie Bates of District 6 to be followed by Brianna Eleni to be followed by Molly Porter.

I don't see Allie either.

Okay. Brianna Eleni of District 15 to be followed by Molly Porter to be followed by Tara Wood-Taylor. Do we have Brianna? Yep, I'm here.

Go ahead. Thank you. My name is Reverend Brianna Elanay. I am a resident of Madison. I work at the Wisconsin Council of Churches but speak here in my personal capacity. I am one of the 50 plus clergy in our city who've been in our streets, in our neighborhoods, in our congregations to provide community care and support following the murder of Corey Ruiz. We learn as clergy that we are not good at monitoring our own health. We need accountability buddies. We are accountable to colleagues and people in our churches and denominations. We are held accountable to promises we make to care for people in some of their most vulnerable moments. In my arena, we are healthiest when there are multiple checks and balances. We are not simply accountable to ourselves or our own professional guilt. We are deeply committed to community care and therefore we engage a wide network of church and community members to hold us accountable. I see the office of the Independent Police Monitor and the Police Civilian Oversight Board as these sorts of accountability buddies for our city and our law enforcement. In order to do this work, the Office of the Independent Police Monitor needs to be independent and fully funded. And I'm asking the council to cooperate with these bodies to help make our city safer. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next registrant is Molly Porter of District 1, to be followed by Tara Wood-Taylor, to be followed by Nicholas Biglin. Do we have Molly?

Yes, I'm here. Go ahead. My name is Molly Porter. I'm addressing you today regarding file 94186 and urge you to support the full and complete funding of OIPM. The murder of Corey Ruiz on July 22nd was a horrific tragedy. And while many have been taken by surprise, the fact that a black man was gunned down in our streets by a police officer was not the least bit surprising to me. I've been a resident and full-time Uber driver here in Madison for the last two and a half years. And in that time, I've provided over 7,000 rides to residents, students, and visitors in our city. And I've had thousands of conversations with my customers about the city and the problems we all face here. One of those conversations was about a black woman who had been pushed to the ground by police officers after having been stopped because she had a beer in her hand on a public sidewalk. I personally witnessed five police cars speeding up to the Derby Apartments, a building inhabited predominantly by black residents. Lights and sirens blaring and multiple officers rushing into the building with their hands on their weapons as if they were rushing into a dangerous situation because a white leasing agent accused a black man of having alcohol on his breath when he left his apartment to meet his daughter at the school bus. While on the same day, I drive West Washington and Langdon streets and witnessed multiple white underage college students openly playing beer pong in their front yards without a single officer stopping to issue warnings or citations for public intoxication or underage drinking. Racism is not just a part of our city, it is the foundation that our city was built on, the same foundation that our country was built on. The excessive punishment of black people over minor infractions, the same infractions white people commit daily without consequence. Using fear and trauma as a control tactic rather than solving the economic problems that were systemically created for the purpose of targeting the black community. I am not surprised that a police officer in our city took it upon himself to be Corey Ruiz's judge, jury, and executioner that day. As someone who's seen the city from every neighborhood and every street corner, it's more evident that Madison's law enforcement has always had the power to decide who is a criminal, not based on their actions or criminal activity, but based on their skin color alone. Members of the City Council, the power our police officers carry is not written into their job description. The power is determined by you. That power lies in your decision as to whether you will hold them accountable to enforce the laws with equity and fairness, as well as holding them accountable when they break the law themselves. Support the full funding of OIPM, limit the power of our law enforcement to upholding the law with fairness and equity, and hold them fully accountable for their own unlawful actions that are causing harm within our community. I yield my time. Thank you. Alder Lieberman.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'd like to move for a 10-minute recess.

Alder, I see that there's seconds for that, maybe. I have a question also. Okay, so firstly, there's a motion for a recess. I would maybe suggest that we take the two people whose names I called at least.

Yeah, I'm fine with that.

Thank you, Alderjohn. Question? How many more registrants are there? Alder, I was trying to count, and I couldn't quite get there in between everything, but there's quite a few still.

Is there a ballpark, or if not, that's fine.

Yeah, I can try and count. Sorry to interrupt, Mayor. There's about 50. Thank you, Alder. Thank you. Alder Matthews?

Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to point out, I think we've gotten maybe four or five emails in the last couple minutes that there are more armed police officers advancing down Willie Street right now as we are in this meeting.

Yes, Alder, there's multiple dumpsters on fire on Willie Street.

I just want to give everybody a head up if I lose time. I'm trying to get everyone out of the SJC because it's a fire.

Thank you, Vice President Glenn. Be safe. All right, so no objection to the next two registrants, and then we'll move for a recess. Okay, so then Tara Wood-Taylor of District 12 to be followed by Nicholas Bigland. Do we have Tara? Tara? You should be able to unmute yourself, Tara.

I'm sorry. There is a F-35 going over my apartment. I'm in a flight path. That's the only place I can afford to live. Thank you for taking me before your recess. It has now actually been two weeks because it is now after midnight. I have grown up in Madison and from here. In fact, I lived in California for 14 years and I moved back here because I love this city so much. when my brother brought me to a Ford Madison match and just blocks from that match. I have been every day. helping pick up trash, serve food, take care of people who our society has criminalized. The world is now watching us. This is no longer about the nation. And you're really going to let that happen after everything that happened after Scott Walker? I was not living here during that, but I am a proud IATSE local union member. And I don't care where somebody stands today. Everybody saw what they saw because of phone cameras on people's phones. If we had actually had video evidence, which I'm sure we have, because we have them all over Madison. We have flock cameras still. We have cameras that you are not showing us. We know what happened. We saw the truth. You need to acknowledge it. Yes, there is brutality happening right now because people are taking back their corner. You are taking away the people's right to mourn. You are taking apart humanity. A site that has become a cemetery, but we made it alive with life. You took life away and we brought life back. And now you're taking it away again from the people. How can you do that? How can you sleep at night? You've got no sleep. I am going to work because I care, because I give an F about my community. I can't afford to live down on Willie Street, but you're damn right, I'm gonna go down there, I'm gonna help people. And yes, I am a queer white woman, and I'm disabled, and I am near a divergent, and I still make it a point to stand up for my BIPOC people. We are there for each other. Why are you not there for us? Why are you backing people in uniform? You are not taking care of the schools. You are not taking care of the community. We elected you to do a job, so why are you not doing your job? You are not doing your job. And we elected you to do so. This is not the Madison that I grew up in. This is not the Madison I know. Our hearts are broken. You have about 30 seconds. And now you have broken a whole city, but we're only going to rise stronger because the tide does rise stronger. And as a proud Shabazz graduate, where I learned about service learning and I saw where Emmett Till was murdered, well, you murdered him here. You murdered Corey. And we're going to make sure that everybody always knows and we do not forget justice for Corey.

Thank you. That's your time. Alright, next tradition is Nicholas Biglin of District 2. Do we have Nicholas?

There's a nickel. It's never mind. No, we don't.

OK, thank you. And then other Lieberman a 10 minute recess.

Yes, thank you.

Is there a second? Moved and seconded for 10 minutes. Is there any objection? Seeing no objection, we'll do 10 minutes. It's 9 after midnight, so at 19 after, we'll be back.

About a minute from coming back.

If I can get the others to return and turn the cameras back on, please. And ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Thank you. Alder Matthews. Alder Mayor.

Here.

Alder Mayor is present. Alder O'Brien. Present. Alder O'Brien is present. Alder Hovich. Present. Alder Hovich is present. Alder Pritchett. Here. Alder Pritchett is present. Alder Tischler. Yeah, I'm still awake. Alder Tischler is present. Alder Revere. Alder Vitter.

Here.

Alder Vitter is present. Alder Jean.

Present.

Alder John is present. Alder Duncan. Scratch that. Alder Evers. Alder Field. Here. Alder Field is present. Alder Figueroa-Cole. Here. Figueroa-Cole is present. Alder Glenn. Alder Ugair. Here. You guys present all hearing to McKinney present. All the range of McKinney's present all in color here. Well, I can tell is present all the Lieberman here.

I also just want to note that Alder Evers is here. He's just can't get on like outstanding.

All of his present all Madison here. Madison present or maintain it money. Sorry, Martinez Rutherford. I'm here. Martinez Rutherford is present or Matthews here. Matthews present all over here. And Alder Glenn is in doing other things right now. So Madam Mayor, we do have a quorum.

Thank you. If there's no objection, I'd like to just one last time run through the names. that weren't present to make sure that none of them have showed up. And then President Madison, I'm gonna pass the chair over to you. By my count, we are at Sarah Lutzow as the first person that we haven't called. So let me just run through my list of names just to make sure that none of them are here. Todd Callister, Gabriella Jenick, Tristan Mills, Maisel Ginsberg, Kiela Franklin, Kevin Williams, Justin Lewis, Megan McGlone, Julie McDougall, Deborah Newlander, None of those people are here in attendance, Mayor. Thank you. Next page, Tiara Stratter, Mia Masek, Tamar Zick, Amanda Jane Hoffman, Dwayne Washington, Melissa King, David Blaska, Jamie Hawkins, Uh, Diane Sahls, maybe? I have very bad handwriting. Erin Skarvida, Jason Furman, Harry Richardson?

None of those people are in attendance.

Okay, last page. Jen Vujicic, Hazel Belling, Carol Jenkins, Sydney Lawson, Iris Fisher, Ian Kozachek, Rebecca Jamieson, Heather Anderson, Anique Dupati, Alyssa Streif, Marcie Fritz-Newberry, Darlitha Williams, Peter Haney, Nicholas Dawes, Paige Hemphill, Allie Bates, and Nicholas Biglin. I see an Allie B. Let's try then Allie from District 6 and then we'll go to Sarah Lutzow and then Erin Fuller and President Madison, I'll pass through the chair now. Allie, go ahead. Okay, can you hear me? Yes.

Okay. I am frankly baffled in this moment you are all sitting there listlessly not reacting to the news that there are riot police marching down Willie Street to further brutalize people. Like, do something. Call off your dogs. Every bit of violence and bloodshed in this moment can be laid at all of your feet. This city killed Cory. This city was already slowly killing Cory before he was murdered through poverty and the criminalization of homelessness and lack of access to resources. You created further instability by actively working against the vigil grieving him, and then even more instability by sweeping it this morning. Everything happening right now is on your hands. You created this. The police are clearly out of control, so we absolutely need more oversight of them because they absolutely should not be trusted to control themselves.

Point of order. I'm sorry, out of hearing to McKinney. Thank you very much. Is the attorney present? Because I want to ask the question, is there ANY ROBERTS RULES THAT WILL ALLOW US TO SUSPEND BECAUSE THERE IS CRAZINESS IN THE STREETS AND I AM SITTING AT MY HOUSE AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE VICE PRESIDENT WHO IS ALSO IN THE STREETS AND I WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE IS ANYTHING IN ROBERTS RULES THAT ALLOW US TO SUSPEND THIS MEETING AND PICK IT UP TOMORROW AND TO to really see what's happening in the streets around Willie Street. So that's my question. I don't know if there's anything in order that I can put forward. Madam Mayor, I see you there.

Alder Harrington-McKinney, any alder has the option to make a motion to adjourn and end the meeting. You could also make a motion I think the proper motion would be to recess the meeting until a future time. The issue with that is notice. We have to have, I believe it's 24-hour notice posted of a council meeting. So I defer to the attorney or the chief of staff on how soon you could reconvene. But that is, the motion to recess is a motion that would be in order, but I see Attorney Haas is on.

Just to confirm, Mayor, we would need 24 hours notice.

Okay, so count me absent because I am going down to support Carmela. Okay, I'm logging off now.

Only Glenn just joined. That's fine. Alder.

Is she there?

Yeah. You're muted.

All right. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. Alder Glenn is in the meeting. Alder Hage McKinney. Are you safe?

I think she's driving.

Yes, I'm in the car. Yes.

Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. And did you have a question, Alder Lieberman?

I was just going to ask if Alder Harrington-McKinney was still trying to put forward a motion to adjourn until a future date.

It was my understanding that it's a 24-hour notice of the reconvened meeting. Is that what that is?

Yeah, so correct me if I'm wrong, Attorney Haas, but if we did put forward a motion of adjournment, it would be we could reconvene starting 24 hours from now or at a more reasonable time, more than 24 hours from now. I just want to make sure I have that.

Let's allow Attorney Haas to reply, please. Yeah, sorry.

Thank you. Father, we need 24 hours from the time a notice is posted.

Thank you. Does that answer your question, Alder Lieberman?

That does. I'm sorry. Thank you.

Alder Zhang, followed by Alder Matthews.

I don't think we're in discussion of a motion right now, but I would say that I think we have a responsibility to continue listening to the people who have already volunteered their time to speak tonight, and I also would like to call for de-escalation, especially tonight, given the circumstances of the past 24 hours and of the past two weeks. Yeah, this is me calling to listen to people and to de-escalate publicly.

Thanks, Audre Jean, Audre Matthews.

I also just wanted to say as long as folks are here to keep giving comment, I think we need to listen to them. And I also don't necessarily see how riot police are going to put out the dumpster fires that are currently.

And so, Madam President, I was responding to the statement that the caller just made in terms of, I know to understand the listening, but it's really hard and very difficult to continue the listening when there is chaos in the streets. And so reporting of some, if we can get a way of reporting what's happening on the streets, we can put that request in. That's what I need right now.

Gotcha. So if someone who's listening, I'm confident, just wants to ensure we get an update, hopefully by the time we get through a couple more speakers. I was going to make sure we get, because we did have someone in the middle of speaking when we started asking questions. Alder Mayor, are you turning your mic on in order to sort of give an update?

Yeah, I'm just watching some live feeds if anyone's interested. There were a number of dumpster fires, and police came in, it looked like State Patrol and MPD, to escort firefighters in. I believe they put all the fires out now, and it's kind of a face-off just to kind of update what's going on there.

Thanks, Auderman. If you wouldn't mind, as you get updates, just raise your hand and, you know, periodic updates that are verified updates. Thank you. So I want to go back to, I believe the speaker who was in the middle of speaking, I'm not sure if their time was cut off or if they finished, but it was, I believe, Allie B. Yep, they should have permission to unmute. Okay. And just, I'm sorry, before you start, Allie, I'll need somebody to help me keep time. I'm not sure how the mayor tracks the time, but if someone can give that 30-second warning.

I can do that.

Thank you. All right, Allie, if you want to finish your comments.

I just would like to reiterate that there is escalating police presence because every single situation in which the police are brought in escalates it. Police are violent and they have been violent against us for the last two weeks, but also for years and kind of the entire time they've existed. Why in the world does a government employee even have a gun to kill someone with? We need to... divest ourselves from all of these entities and all of this ability to create violence, because that is the only thing these police officers do. Do something. Thank you.

Thank you, Ali. Sarah Lutzow, followed by Aaron Fuller, followed by Michael Patrick Sharp. Is Sarah Lutzow available? There is no Sarah in attendance. And I do see you VP Glenn. Is there Aaron Fuller available? While we wait for Aaron, Vice President Glenn? I'm here.

Yeah. Sorry, Aaron, just one second. I can give you all update. It just took me five blocks to be able to cross to get to the street. I don't know who called in state patrol or task force, but they're lined up on the street and it doesn't look good over there. Just wanted to update.

Thank you. Erin Fuller, do you want to go ahead and start, please? Yes.

Thank you. My name is Erin Fuller. I'm a resident of Madison. Been here my whole life, born and raised. I am here tonight angry. tired and concerned. Just a few hours ago, I stood on Willie Street where I witnessed Madison police use pepper spray against members of our community. Until a little while ago, I could still taste it. I witnessed a level of force and aggression that we should never expect from officers sworn to protect our city, including attacking the independent police monitor herself earlier today. I watched police prevent people from lawfully crossing and marked crosswalks. telling people that they could not cross, that the streets were closed while traffic was still going, and then targeting people for jaywalking violently. Today was a failure of leadership, and if this is what can happen in front of hundreds of witnesses and countless cameras, imagine how important independent oversight is in moments when the public isn't watching. Leadership should welcome accountability, not fear it, not avoid it. Public trust is earned through transparency, not secrecy, through independent review and investigation. Oversight only works when it's truly adequately funded and free from outside influence. Whenever any public institution has the power to investigate itself, public trust erodes, and that's why we have checks and balances. We don't expect judges to decide their own appeals We don't ask auditors to audit themselves. Likewise, we should not expect the police department to be the sole judge of his own actions. Corey Ruiz was killed in Madison by a police officer on July 22nd, and we all witnessed it. And now the Office of the Independent Police Monitor has the responsibility to independently examine what happened But the Office of the Independent Police Monitor must be more than just a title. It must have the authority, the staffing, and the resources to do the work this community expects of it. An office responsible for overseeing a department with a budget of more than $90 million cannot effectively fulfill its mission while only a fraction of 1% of that budget. And tonight I ask this council to do three things. First, appoint... Areca Glass is the permanent independent police monitor.

30 seconds.

I know she has been interim. She's demonstrated integrity, professionalism, and independence and encouraged this office was created to embody. Second, to ensure that complete transparency and full cooperation with the OIPM by requiring all evidence, reports, records, and other materials requested during independent investigations are provided promptly and without necessary barriers. And third, fully fund the OIPM with the full $1.3 million it needs so it can have access to investigators, independent legal counsel, technology, data systems, and the staff.

Thank you. Thank you, Erin. Next, Michael Patrick Sharp, followed by Kate Velguth, followed by Hannah Saxman. Is Michael available? I don't see Michael. What about Kate Velguth? I don't see Kate either.

Just write these down.

And then what about Hannah Saxman? Don't see a Hannah Saxman. All right, so we have Vi or V Williams followed by Lynelle Parker followed by Cabal Gaffman or Gaffman. Is Vi Williams on? I don't see Vi Williams. And Lynelle Parker? Don't see Lynelle. And Cabell or Cabal? I don't see Cabell. Cabell. All right. Keetra Burnett followed by Lawrence Meade. Is Keetra available? I do not see Keetra. Lawrence Meade? Either Lawrence. Lawrence Meade? Oh, I'm sorry. No, not available.

I don't see Lawrence Meade. Okay.

A.M. Goodhart?

I'm not seeing that person either.

Alexander Sharp?

No, but I'm seeing a Patrick Sharp. I'm not sure.

Can we unmute Patrick Sharp to see if that's actually Alexander Sharp? Or is it Michael Patrick Sharp?