Olympia City Council meeting becomes listening session on police behavior, racism

The Olympia City Council spent the majority of its meeting Tuesday either hearing from members of the public or sharing their own thoughts about racism, police brutality and their own white privilege.

Spurred by daily protests in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man in Minneapolis who died while being restrained by a police officer who now faces a murder charge, council members gave varied responses that included support for peaceful demonstrations and self-reflection.

More than a dozen members of the public spoke of their desires to cut police funding and for the city to commit itself to active participation in anti-racism efforts. Tuesday marked the first live public comment period during an Olympia City Council meeting since city buildings closed in March due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. One woman called and gave her comment while actively participating in a demonstration.

Zoe Torres, who said it was her first time attending a city council meeting, stopped to gather herself more than once during her remarks to the council.

“As a resident, I’m just so concerned and heartbroken for our community members, for our black and brown community members in particular,” Torres said. “I just really want Olympia to show up better.”

The city council did not address the topic of a curfew during the nearly two-hour meeting. Interim Police Chief Aaron Jelcick called for a curfew earlier Tuesday, using the phrase “extremely violent” to describe the crowd that gathered to protest Monday night. Olympia Police Officers engaged a crowd outside City Hall late Sunday night after rocks were thrown through glass panels at the front of the building.

The only mention of a curfew came when City Manager Jay Burney read from a prepared statement later posted on city-affiliated social media. “We do not want to impose a curfew,” the statement reads. “But I need our community to understand what is happening in our community under the shield of peaceful protests.”

City officials and council members also did not mention an active investigation into accusations that an Olympia police officer said “I can put my knee on her” while arresting a protester on Sunday. The Minneapolis officer charged with killing Floyd was captured on camera kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.

Among the most forceful remarks given by council members Tuesday were those delivered by Councilman Jim Cooper, who made reference to a photo of himself and his then-infant daughter wearing hoodies in solidarity with Trayvon Martin, an African-American teenager whose 2012 death at the hands of a white neighborhood watch captain in Florida sparked a national outrage.

Cooper also recalled the culture shock he experienced when he enlisted in the Army as a young man after growing up in Edmonds.

“I was one of the few white guys for the first time in my life.” Cooper said. “I was a racist SOB, because it’s how I was raised and because of the environment I was raised in where I wasn’t exposed to diversity. I continue to learn and continue to grow, and I hope that our community will, and I aspire for a day when every single Olympian feels safe in their community and our citizens are just in the way justice was truly intended.”