Olympia police need to hold town hall meetings

The Lacey police department will host a community town hall meeting on policing. Mayors of other cities have initiated town hall meetings to get community input on various community issues. Some city councils (in other cities) have come up with various ways to engage their community members to get feedback and comments on how things are going.

I have been asking for town hall meetings for the Olympia community for 10 years. I have asked of the mayor(s), city council(s) and individual members, the police chief(s), the city manager, and the previous communication person for the city; all for naught.

One ex-city council member did hold community meetings on her own time to hear from constituents on concerns. She was chastised for it by her fellow council members at the time.

The organization Cop Watch is hosting a community town hall meeting on policing issues for Olympia in the near future. It would be nice if some of the elected and/or appointed city officials would attend. After all, besides holding an official position they also happen to be members of our community.

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Olympia police need to hold town hall meetings."