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In response to Councilmember Testa's inquiry, City Manager Fialho clarified PPD reports to the City Manager. When the Council wants to discuss policy or procedures or implement new programs by way of budget, it does so through its budget authority. He noted City Council can agendize items for discussion through the City Council process PUBLIC COMMENT Aryan Ohri expressed concern that minimal policies were reviewed. He called for increased training, more transparency, increase accountability, the abolishment of qualified immunity, and less tolerance for misconduct. Jocelyn Combs provided personal stories about her past PPD experiences and expressed her desire for more mental health support options from the department along with funding for a community awareness campaign. Aayush Singh expressed a need for de-escalation training with precise directives and real change as opposed to mere discussion. Sarada Rajamanickam expressed her dissatisfaction with the D.A.R.E. program's tactics. John Bauer expressed his outrage over PPD officers handcuffing an autistic individual and was discouraged the meeting was not going far enough towards philosophical reform. Nadia Rehman commented on the ineffectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program and SROs and advocated for more mental health resources. Monith Ilavarasan expressed his support for an alternative mental health program. He asked the City Council to hire a mental health and social worker before filling the two vacant police officer positions. He would like the City Council and Chief Swing to expand the scope of this process. Carolyne Geng expressed her concern regarding the lack of regular outreach and communication from the police towards minority communities. Sahana Sundar expressed her agreement with multiple studies reflecting the D.A.R.E. program's ineffectiveness and believes the PPD is wasting its money by continuing the program. Grace Chen questioned how the PPD can let officers address the same situations better than more highly-trained mental health professionals and called for more mental health specialists at schools. Jack Balch expressed his support for the recommended changes and encouraged City Council to fund the mental health program. Nick Brdar expressed his fears of stigmas surrounding mental illness which may potentially keep more people from speaking up in favor of an Alternate Mental Health Response Program as being discussed. He would like this service to be available 24/7 and not during select timeframes. Zoe Yao expressed her support for positive change within the PPD. She emphasized the racial diversity of people aiming for reform and called for more PPD diversity training. Glen Haendel complimented Pleasanton for being a safe place to live and cited examples of PPD officers helping to keep it that way. City Council Minutes Page 7 of 12 August 20, 2020