Rochester’s Police Policy Oversight Commission and the Diversity Council are hosting a community listening session Wednesday.
The goal of the online event is to gain community feedback on three Rochester Police Department use-of-force policies.
On June 9, Rochester Mayor Kim Norton gave the commission 30 days to review and recommend potential policy changes regarding use of force, handcuffing, and the department’s standards of conduct.
“I want to stress the value of community input and engagement on this vitally important topic,” Norton said in a statement Tuesday announcing the listening session. “I appreciate the willingness of members of the (Police Policy Oversight Commission) to help Rochester fulfill the 'My Brother's Keeper Alliance pledge' to review, engage, report and reform our use-of-force policies in the months ahead.”
The planned 90-minute listening session begins at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and will be conducted using Facebook Live. Community members can join through the Diversity Council Facebook page. Anyone without access to Facebook can join by phone by calling 507-218-7334.
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The session will be facilitated by the Diversity Council and moderated by Angi Porter, who is an associate with the University of Minnesota’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
Interested community members who are unable to attend can submit comments to the commission’s interim chairwoman, Terre McJoynt, using an online email form on the RPD’s contact information web page .
The session will be recorded and available on the Diversity Council’s Facebook page.
The commission is slated to discuss the three policies during its next meeting at 3:30 p.m. July 7. The meeting will be held virtually, with public access through the city’s meeting website at www.rochestermn.gov/agendas .
