{"id":33054,"date":"2020-07-16T13:07:33","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T18:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=33054"},"modified":"2020-07-22T20:22:21","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T01:22:21","slug":"defund-police-vote-exposes-deep-divisions-in-norman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2020\/07\/16\/defund-police-vote-exposes-deep-divisions-in-norman\/","title":{"rendered":"Defund police vote exposes deep divisions in Norman"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_33063\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-33063\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/City-Council-Meeting-17-1920x1220.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/City-Council-Meeting-17-1920x1220.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/City-Council-Meeting-17-672x427.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/City-Council-Meeting-17-768x488.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/City-Council-Meeting-17-150x95.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/City-Council-Meeting-17-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/City-Council-Meeting-17-620x394.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/City-Council-Meeting-17-1699x1080.jpg 1699w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Photo Courtesy of Kyle Phillips \/ The Norman Transcript<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters hold signs during a City Council meeting, Tuesday, June 16, 2020, at Norman City Hall.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/4d991cc7-3a70-4623-8904-b09ee19bf528?dark=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p><p>When Norman City Council Member Kate Bierman looked out at the dozens of residents who came to hear the council\u2019s vote on police funding, she felt it was time to address questions about racial equity and the role of police.<\/p><p>\u201cWe can have the same level of service for Norman residents in a safer and better trained way if we look at the types of calls that are coming into the police department and ask if all of those calls really need armed law enforcement officers responding to them,\u201d Bierman said.<\/p><p>Bierman isn\u2019t criticizing police. She\u2019s saying something many officers agree with: they are increasingly asked to respond to calls they originally weren\u2019t meant to handle.<\/p><p>The council member and many activists believe it could be safer and more productive for highly trained, unarmed city employees to respond to people struggling with addiction, homelessness and mental illness who aren\u2019t an active threat.<\/p><p>They\u2019re inspired by an <a href=\"https:\/\/whitebirdclinic.org\/what-is-cahoots\/\">alternative policing program<\/a>\u00a0in Eugene, Oregon.<\/p><p>\u201cGrandma hasn\u2019t answered the door in three days. (It) doesn\u2019t necessarily require an armed law enforcement presence to go knock on the door and make sure that Grandma is OK,\u201d Bierman said.<\/p><p>That\u2019s why she voted along with a majority of the council to remove more than $865,000 from a proposed increase to the police department\u2019s budget. Some of the money will pay for a team of auditors who will be asked to review police overtime pay, but most of it will pay for a new alternative policing program that the city is currently trying to develop.<\/p>\n<h3>A contentious decision<\/h3><p>Repurposing funds to support community welfare is a central goal of the national <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/nation\/watch-live-what-is-the-defund-the-police-movement-answering-your-questions\">\u201cdefund police\u201d movement<\/a> \u2013 which gained popularity after George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police. But, Norman is the only one of Oklahoma\u2019s three largest cities where leaders were swayed to redirect funding.<\/p><p>The move has highlighted deep political and social divisions in the community. Some voters saw the decision as an attack on police and filed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.normantranscript.com\/cnhi_network\/group-files-petitions-seeking-to-recall-city-leaders\/article_fd548c4a-c2e6-11ea-9ab3-57c137de9342.html\">petitions to recall the mayor and four city council members.<\/a><\/p><p>After the vote, a local police union <a href=\"https:\/\/www.normantranscript.com\/news\/fop-sues-city-of-norman-over-ndp-budget-open-meeting-violations\/article_9c04dadc-bcae-11ea-a849-8711e62d7234.html\">filed a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0against the city.<\/p><p>Activists and politicians say they\u2019re being targeted on a more personal level. Sarah is an activist with the Norman Citizens for Racial Justice.<\/p><p>\u201cThere is a very clear pattern of targeted harassment that\u2019s being directed both at elected officials and at activists,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>StateImpact agreed to only identify Sarah by her first name. She says her group and city council members have received violent threats since the vote.<\/p><p>A former city council member the activist group worked closely with has said she believes her duplex <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahoman.com\/article\/5665666\/osbi-takes-over-norman-sexual-assault-investigation\">neighbor was raped because two Norman police officers shared her address<\/a>\u00a0and other personal information online.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_33065\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-33065\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/Occupy-Norman-Protest-9-1920x1278.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1278\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/Occupy-Norman-Protest-9-1920x1278.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/Occupy-Norman-Protest-9-672x447.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/Occupy-Norman-Protest-9-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/Occupy-Norman-Protest-9-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/Occupy-Norman-Protest-9-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/Occupy-Norman-Protest-9-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/07\/Occupy-Norman-Protest-9-1623x1080.jpg 1623w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Photo Courtesy of Kyle Phillips \/ The Norman Transcript<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters interrupt the Norman City Council chambers, Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in the hopes of hearing the discussion on defunding the Norman Police.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Activists\u2019 demands<\/h3><p>Sarah\u2019s group is demanding structural changes.\u00a0They primarily want to defund the Norman Police Department.<\/p><p>\u201cWe\u2019re also asking to demilitarize Norman (Police Department). We\u2019re asking for transparency and accountability,\u201d Sarah said.<\/p><p>Her group also wants police held accountable for the 2018 arrest and death of a black man named Marconia Kessee.<\/p><p>Kessee went to a local Norman hospital complaining about a headache. The hospital examined and discharged him and then security called police when he wouldn\u2019t leave.<\/p><p>Family members told the Norman Transcript <a href=\"https:\/\/www.normantranscript.com\/news\/medical-examiner-rules-kessee-died-of-drug-toxicity\/article_3361d34e-555f-11e8-8e45-3fd804bb25ca.html\">Kessee struggled with homelessness<\/a>\u00a0and mental illness.<\/p><p>At first, police intended to take Kessee to the Salvation Army, but when he had trouble walking and speaking, police officers assumed he was \u201cputting on a show\u201d to get back into the hospital.<\/p><p>They <a href=\"https:\/\/www.normantranscript.com\/body-cam-video-of-marconia-kessee\/video_b0f75a46-0081-11e8-8c9d-7b56d69d53a2.html\">eventually dragged him across the parking lot,<\/a>\u00a0arrested him and took him to the Cleveland County jail. Around two hours later, Kessee died of a drug overdose.<\/p><p>Norman Citizens for Racial Justice say his arrest and death were avoidable tragedies that might not have happened if unarmed public servants had responded that night.<\/p><p>The group also wants <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2020\/06\/10\/activists-call-for-norman-public-schools-to-get-rid-of-resource-officers\/\">school resource officers removed<\/a>\u00a0from Norman Public Schools. They claim police have shown a history of racial bias against minority students, particularly black students.<\/p>\n<h3>\u201cShow me the proof\u201d<\/h3><p>Sgt. Robert Wasoski disagrees. \u201cShow me the proof that there\u2019s racism in the police department.\u201d<\/p><p>Wasoski is the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 122 in Norman.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/ocrdata.ed.gov\/Page?t=s&eid=246324&syk=8&pid=2538&fbclid=IwAR1yuGSbT3rBLyHirv4jxvV2Jerg9AFLrlRVglsQq07LmQ4OteFD8xjW-zs\">2015 survey data from the U.S. Department of Education <\/a>does suggest there were disproportionately higher numbers of minority students referred to police in Norman. The data was collected before the city placed police officers inside schools.<\/p><p>\u201cThey treat Norman like it\u2019s Chicago, like it\u2019s New York, like it\u2019s LA and the problems that exist in departments like that, don\u2019t exist here,\u201d Wasoski said.<\/p><p>He doesn\u2019t like the city council\u2019s decision to take money away from the police budget but he does agree with the council\u2019s interest in having someone else handle some emergency calls.<\/p><p>\u201cThere are certainly types of calls that we respond to on a daily basis that don\u2019t need an enforcement action &#8230; we would gladly hand over that type of responsibility,\u201d he said.<\/p><p>Wasoski hopes whoever takes over is well trained. He warns that it can be difficult to separate calls that wouldn\u2019t require police.<\/p><p>The police department announced it would have to eliminate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.normanok.gov\/news\/approved-budget-eliminate-nine-police-officer-positions\">nine unfilled police officer positions<\/a>\u00a0because of the more than $865,000 reduction. Wasoski says losing the money will cause more problems than it will solve and put residents at more risk in the future.<\/p><p>Sarah and other activists are disheartened by recent social media rhetoric but they are going to keep pushing for the police department to change.<\/p><p>She recognizes that many police don\u2019t oppose an alternative policing program. They mostly take issue with activist\u2019s other demands and their desire to take money away from the department.<\/p><p>\u201cI think if they can understand those programs have to be funded to exist, the conversation can move forward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Norman is the only one of Oklahoma\u2019s three largest cities where leaders were swayed to redirect funding after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":33067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[1278,1261,1280,1281,1279,1284,1283,1282],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33054"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33101,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33054\/revisions\/33101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}