Since entering office I’ve worked with my colleagues at city hall and the community around community policing. We’ve brought in experts, funded reports, and co-hosted one of two public forums to hear what the community wants to see when it comes to community policing. A second forum is taking place next Monday, December 16 between 6-8pm at PCC Southeast. Here are my thoughts on what unfolded with Koben Henriksen:
I’m disappointed that we’re myopically pointing fingers at one particular issue rather than taking a deep dive to meaningfully talk about all the systems that failed Mr. Henriksen this past week. This isn’t a question of which system is solely responsible. So yes, I agree that our mental health system could use improvement. But there are other systems that also need improving. Although we cannot draw conclusions about what occurred with Mr. Henriksen until there has been a full investigation, the OIR Group, who conducts annual outside reviews of officer involved shootings, has raised concerns that we have used deadly force too soon. These patterns of behavior have been identified by OIR year after year, and yet people in mental health crisis continue to die of deadly force.
So this is my hope: It’s my hope that we use this opportunity to work on ALL the systems that continue to fail our most vulnerable. Our communities deserve better.