Agenda - 09-01-20; 8-a - Minutes

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I Annette Moore said Martin Luther King, Jr. emphasized non-violent efforts towards racial 2 equity, but said a failure to address racism is violence in and of itself. She said the plight of the 3 black American has worsened in recent years, and riots are the voice of the unheard. She said 4 social justice and progress are the absolute guarantee of riot prevention, and society must 5 consider how it has failed, and how it can move forward. She said people need to consider 6 their blind spots and be introspective. She said change will not be easy or pain free, but we 7 must be serious about undoing racism. 8 Annette Moore said the resolution is a plan to move forward, and she read the 9 resolution: 10 11 A RESOLUTION DENOUNCING THE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD AND ADDRESSING 12 THE HEALTH DIRECTOR'S DECLARATION OF STRUCTURAL RACISM AS A "PUBLIC 13 HEALTH CRISIS" IN ORANGE OUNTY 14 15 Whereas, in July 2014, a Black man, Eric Garner, alleged to have committed a petty crime, had 16 a police officer place his arm across his neck, was wrestled to the ground and, with a number of 17 police officer restraining him, cried out eleven times, "I can't breathe" while lying face down on 18 the sidewalk before losing consciousness without assistance for seven minutes; and 19 20 Whereas, in May 2020, a Black man, George Floyd, alleged to have a counterfeit $20 bill in his 21 possession was dragged from his car by a police officer, handcuffed, and put face down on the 22 street with the officer's knee in his neck as he called out, "I can't breathe", and as his neck and 23 back sustained pressure over a period of more than eight minutes, the last two minutes and 53 24 seconds of which he was unresponsive, oxygen was cut off to his brain as he slowly 25 asphyxiated; and 26 27 Whereas, the Mapping Police Violence Project found that although Black people were only 13% 28 of the population in the United States, they represented 24% of the people killed by law 29 enforcement and were three times more likely to be killed by police than white people (and 30 Hispanic people were 3.8 times more likely to be killed); and 31 32 Whereas, the Mapping Police Violence Project also found that 99% of the killings by police 33 officers did not result in the officer being charged with a crime because in many cases police 34 officers have "qualified immunity"; and 35 36 Whereas, Black people have been killed across this country in cases that have come to public 37 attention they have been shot and killed for doing the ordinary things of life that have resulted in 38 their harassment, detention, restraint and even death where the perpetrators where not held 39 accountable, including the deaths of 12 year old Tamir Rice, killed by a police while playing at a 40 playground near his home; teenage Trayvon Martin, shot and killed while walking home with a 41 bag of Skittles; school cafeteria worker Philando Castile, killed during a police stop while a 42 passenger in the car with his girlfriend and 4-year old daughter; Sandra Bland, jailed for an 43 alleged unsafe lane change and then later found hanging in her jail cell; EMT Breonna Taylor, 44 shot 8 times after police wrongly barged into her apartment; Atatiana Jefferson, killed while 45 babysitting her nephew at her mother's house; accountant Botham Jean, killed while sitting in 46 his living room watching television and eating ice cream; Freddie Gray, died while unrestrained 47 and helpless in the back of a police van; and Ahmaud Arbery, shot and killed while jogging 48 down a neighborhood street; and 49 50 Whereas, a 2018 Study found that police killings of unarmed Black Americans has had an 51 adverse effect on the mental health of Black Americans in the general population as shown by