Remarks by JD Mazuera Arias
58 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 3 of 3
Council Member Masuera-Aries. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you so much for the presentation. My questions are aligned with Council Member Mayfield and Council Member Johnson when it comes to social gatherings that folks might host. And my concern is particularly with the speed of us approving rezonings for townhome neighborhoods that have, and colleagues, you all might remember we have some a debate about the length of the streets and how many emergency vehicles can come in and out and whether there are enough exits available for this. And so I think, and this can be answered offline, is this…
Good evening, JD Masueta-Arias, proudly representing the East Side, District 5.
Council Member Masuera-Iris. Yeah, thank you, Mayor. I just want to thank staff for their work on this. Deeply appreciate it. As you know, this council, one of this council's priorities is Vision Zero and reducing traffic fatalities across the city of Charlotte, and particularly with District 5, which has seen an enormous amount of traffic fatalities, and just deeply appreciate that this is being focused and invested in our community, particularly a high-injury network. So thank you all for the work. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
They're not receiving funding. Thank you so much. I only bring this up to my colleagues because the type of federal local policing this program seeks to replicate has already produced serious consequences. In Memphis, four people were killed in officer-involved encounters connected to the Memphis Safe Task Force within approximately two months. One was Tyreen Johnson, a 24-year-old father who worked in his family's construction business. Another was Jonah Nill, a 25-year-old reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis when he was killed during an encounter involving a Homeland Security…
If DOJ directs Charlotte to provide assistance that conflicts with CMPD's current policy, can Charlotte refuse without losing funding or being required to repay it?
Thank you. And we just spoke about this briefly. The solicitation says a participating city could be required to reimburse the federal government, we just spoke about this, for a future intervention following an increase in violent crime or quote unquote public disorder. That to me raises several unanswered questions, particularly who defines quote unquote public disorder. Could it include demonstrations, civil rights protests, or opposition to federal activity? Who decides when federal intervention is necessary? Who determines what personnel resources are deployed? Is there a maximum amount…
I appreciate that. Thank you. So to my colleagues, I want us, the Queen City, to have the resources needed to prevent violence and protect our residents. We can invest in youth intervention, victim services, housing, which we will be meeting tomorrow to talk about our housing trust fund policy. And accountable community policing, we can make those investments, but I believe we can make them without giving the federal government undefined authority over our residents. And Charlotte has already experienced what happens when a federal surge enters our community. Memphis and Washington provide…