030121 HRC MinutesCITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
NEW HOPE, MINNESOTA 55428
Human Rights Commission April 5, 2021
Regular Meeting Via Zoom
CALL TO ORDER Chair Meyer called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
ROLL CALL Present: Kendra Curry
Heather Fruen
Allison Isenberg
Mindy London
Donna Meyer
Trista Rehnke
Danielle Saima
Heaven Shaw
Zachary Snabes
Jennifer Toavs
Absent: NA
City Liaison: Chief Tim Hoyt
Guests: Mayor Kathi Hemken
Asha Mohamud, Social Worker
AGENDA APPROVAL Commissioner Snabes made a motion to accept the March 1, 2021,
agenda, seconded by Commissioner Curry. All voted in favor.
MINUTES APPROVAL Commissioner Snabes made a motion to accept the February 1, 2021,
minutes, seconded by Commissioner Saima. All voted in favor.
OPEN FORUM Questions for Chief Hoyt
- Q: Asian American harassment is up, sexual harassment as well.
Has the community seen these trends?
- A: Member of the Asian Police Officer Association and will consult
with them on trends. Haven’t seen any Asian American or Pacific
Islander harassment increase locally. Sexual harassment is rarely
not a police matter as it is a civil nature vs. criminal. Has only seen 2
calls in 26 years.
- Q: What can the community expect with the upcoming Derek
Chauvin trial?
- A: Planning started last summer since the incident and riots
occurred. Various departments are working together – Sheriff,
Chiefs and Police Departments, FBI, Mobile field force (entire metro).
There will be zero issues if the protests are peaceful. If destruction
starts, then it turns into a criminal matter. The Sheriff needs to
protect government buildings and those being held in them (jail).
New Hope police officers are part of the mobile field force. We don’t’
expect a curfew to be imposed but things could change as the
situation changes.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
AND REPORTS Asha Mohumed – Social Worker Embedded in New Hope, Crystal
and Robbinsdale Police Departments
- Position works with officers from the three police departments, often
with repeat callers, those in a mental health crisis. She assists them
to get services, she will partner with existing providers, bridge the
gap of information.
- 1 person serving 3 cities? There is a team in the social work
department that she can work with and reach out to for assistance.
- How the process works: she comes in after the officers have cleared
the scene. Officers can email her directly before the report goes out.
She will do home visits but due to COVID, those are restricted. She
works to build trust and a relationship with the clients.
- How does the community engage in advance? This doesn’t really
occur because the officers will refer and reach out when needed.
She is a county social worker, embedded in the departments. The
police departments have been promoting the position via media
releases, CCX, social media, etc.
- Where do you want to see this position go? It is still in the early
stages, still developing the program. Would like to see mental health
and services normalized everyone so people can easily connect to
resources when needed.
New Commissioner Allison Isenberg
- New member to the Commission.
Police In-Service, 2/9 and 2/21
- HRC members attended both days.
- 2/9 – Chair Meyer and Commissioner London
- 2/11 – Chair Meyer and Commissioner Saima
- Met with the officers, explained what the HRC mission and goals, felt
they were well received. Contact information was provided to the
officers and they were invited to engage.
- Chief Hoyt confirmed that the officers liked the community
engagement work and appreciate the support the HRC can provide
to them.
Sunnyside Park Clean-up
- HRC sponsors Sunnyside Park and has committed to cleaning the
park three times each year.
- Scheduled for Saturday, March 27th at 11:00 am (weather permitting)
- Bring gloves, wear clothes that can get dirty. Garbage bags will be
provided. Meet at the north end of the park by the playground
equipment.
- Commissioner Toavs will invite the Boy Scouts to join.
- Chair Meyer will reach out to Susan Rader to ask about the Meadow
Lake clean up and uncovered parks.
- If we have a larger group, we will split up and cover multiple parks.
2021 Planning
- Subcommittees for the topics that had the most interest:
o Colors of the World Donation
Donna Meyer, Kendra Curry, Jen Toavs
Back up -
o Increase HRC awareness, once of month updates on
city Facebook page and website
Allison Isenberg, Zach Snabes, Heaven Shaw,
Trista Rehnke, Mindy London
Back up – Danielle Saima, Donna Meyer
o Workshop on home ownership
Danielle Saima, Kendra Curry, Jen Toavs
Back up – Trista Rehnke, Mindy London
o Community Conversations re: Race & Police Interaction
Donna Meyer, Zach Snabes, Danielle Saima,
Allison Isenberg
Back up – Jen Toavs, Kendra Curry, Heaven
Shaw
o Partner with LGBTQ group in Robbinsdale or Crystal
Trista Rehnke, Danielle Saima, Zach Snabes
Back up – Donna Meyer, Jen Toavs, Mindy
London, Heaven Shaw
NEW BUSINESS Community Survey
- Commissioner Snabes reported that Brooklyn Park distributes an
email with status updates. They hired a firm to survey the city about
police relations. Can we get similar data in New Hope?
- Mayor Hemken explained that New Hope already does an annual
survey. It is mailed out or can be done online. 20,000 are sent out,
they receive an average of 800 responses. Every 3 years a survey
is done with Morris Leatherman. The city does use the results to
change things in the city.
- Next survey will be May 2021.
Body Worn Camera Policy (Chief provided answers)
- Q: If an officer fails to record, are there ramifications?
- A: There are usually other officers present so other video will be
captured. The camera will indicate if the officer attempted to use it or
if it was a malfunction. The officers also have to test the camera
when taking it off the charging cradle to confirm it is working.
- Q: How do news outlet get body worn camera footage?
- A: Most of it is public data. The department has the ability to redact
or blur video but it is upt to the news departments on what to release.
- Q: How long is the footage kept?
- A: Footage is stored in the cloud, city pays a set fee per year.
Footage will be kept based on state guidelines, it will depend on it if
is evidence, based on the case, etc.
- Q: After the officers have been wearing the cameras for a while, can
the HRC get an update?
- A: Yes
- Q: Officers have to discretion on what to record, how do they know?
- A: They do have the discretion but should be recording anything that
may be needed. When they press record, it actually goes back 1
minute as the cameras are constantly recording and dumping the
footage until you hit record.
- Q: Who will review compliance?
- A: An outside firm will do audits. Supervisory staff will also pull
random calls to confirm compliance and review. Staff will be
retrained as needed.
- Q: Do citizens have the right to ask the officer to record?
- A: Yes, if a citizen asks to have the encounter recorded, the officer
has to comply.
- Q: Is there a public comment period?
- A: Yes. Citizens can comment by mail, email, online at the city
council meeting.
COMMUNICATION &
INFORMATION SHARING ISD 281
- District is returning to in person school soon but a large number have
opted to stay remote. Chief Hoyt met with the Superintendent and
will ensure more dialog with the SROs.
- Chair Meyer, Commissioner Shaw, Chief Hoyt, SROs and the
Community Resource Officer met recently. Commissioner Shaw
shared her experiences with them.
NEXT MEETING The next meeting is Monday, April 5, 2021 at 7:00 pm, via Zoom.
ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:27 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Commissioner Trista Rehnke
Secretary