Onlookers at Monday’s Downtown Durham Rotary Club
meeting were surprised by Michael Goodmon’s rant. Goodmon, vice president of real estate at Capitol Broadcasting Company, told Rotary members Durham needs systemic change, but at the same time we have to triage the emergency of today.
People were surprised because it was a first for the Rotary
Club crowd. Goodmon choosing between police funding and defunding the police is a false choice.
Goodmon told members of the Rotary Club to consider the
rise in violent crime.
As of September 25, 594 shootings are recorded in Durham,
with 205 people being shot. On Monday, September 17, a man was shot while
driving in Durham.
A woman in attendance asked a pressing question – what happens
if one Political Action Committee controls the entire city? Goodmon told the
crowd it will only happen if we allow it.
The sentiment among the people in the room mirrored the assertion
of The Friends of Durham. The bi-partisan, Durham focused PAC has launched an
aggressive campaign to defeat candidates interested in defunding Durham’s
police department.
The Friends of Durham endorses Elaine O’Neal for Mayor
after Javier Caballero called for defunding the police.
“I wholeheartedly believe in defunding the police,” reporter Thomasi McDonald highlighted in comments made by Caballero during the June 15
city council meeting. “I know what I want in the future of Durham, and I want
less police.”
The City Council approved a $2.8 million budget to create
the Community Safety Department. The funding came from the city’s General Fund
and required the transfer of vacant positions from other departments, including
five unfilled jobs from the police department.
The pilot program will use civilians to respond to 911
calls instead of police officers. The
department will include 15 full-time staff, two 911 operators, two social
workers and two field responders.
“In its inaugural year, the department will have three
primary functions: piloting alternative response models for 911 calls for
service, collaborating with community members to identify and text new
approaches to public safety and managing and evaluating existing contracts and external
partnerships intended to advance public safety,” a statement in the city
manager’s budget states.
The pilot program is struggling to get off the ground due
to an uptick in shootings and complaints involving 911 response time. The city is
searching for a new police chief after C.J. Davis left Durham to become the
police chief in Memphis, Tennessee. Developing a comprehensive police reform
strategy is complicated when there isn’t a police chief to oversee the process.
In addition to O’Neal, a former superior court judge and
dean of the North Carolina Central University law school, The Friends of Durham
endorses city council incumbents DeDreanna Freeman and Mark-Anthony Middleton based
on their support for what is believed to be a more balanced approach to police
reform. The PAC endorses Leonardo Williams, a two-time Durham Teacher of the
Year and owner of Zweli’s, America’s first Zimbabwean restaurant, over A.J. Williams, director of incubation and ideation labs at Southern Vision Alliance, a member of Durham Beyond Police and vocal supporter of police
abolition.
“I’m a member of the city council. There is no disagreement
involving finding alternative solutions,” Middleton said during a recent
campaign rally. “We want to look at everything. They only want to look at one
thing.”
Goodmon’s rant represents the assessment of many Durham
voters. Durham is in a state of emergency. Considering new approaches to public
safety is a good thing, but you can’t get there when the wheels are falling off
the wagon.
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