© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Eugene Considers Next Steps In Response To Protests

Melorie Begay/KLCC News

 

Eugene city officials are weighing next steps after hearing demands from protesters to reduce or eliminate funding for police. Protesters have sent hundreds of emails, voiced concerns during city meetings, and some have shown up outside the homes of city officials.

 

Following Monday’s decision to pass an unamended fiscal year 2021 budget, around 200 protesters showed up outside Mayor Lucy Vinis’ home Tuesday night. They called for the reallocation of all funds going to the Eugene Police Department to be redirected to services like CAHOOTS. 

Vinis told KLCC she knew they were coming two hours before and decided to engage once protesters showed up.

 

"This was a very animated, highly energized group of protesters. I was happy to talk to them becuase I understood, or imagined, the extent of their real fury or exaperation that the council did not act on Monday night and I wanted them to have a chance to talk face to face," Vinis said.

 

Vinis and council members heard from more than 55 speakers, mostly all in support of defunding EPD, during Monday's meeting. They called for council to either amend the budget, or hold an emergency session before the June 30 deadline.

 

On passing the budget as is, Vinis said officials have legal requirements they need to follow, and they need to consult the public.

 

“There’s the obligation that we have if we are going to consider any significant change to the way our government functions," Vinis said "There’s an obligation to do due diligence to understand the public’s goals and priorities before we jump on that.” 

 

City officials are now considering creating at least one task force, or ad hoc committee, to address police policy and systemic racism.

 

An attempt to create a committee to support the Eugene Police Commission by Councilor Jennifer Yeh, who is a member of the commission, was tabled on Wednesday.

 

The Police Commissionwas created in 1998 and is a 12-member volunteer group of citizens who advise city council and the city manager on police policies. Councilors Yeh and Alan Zelenka are both appointed members.

 

Councilors wanted to wait until Councilor Greg Evans, who was absent, could weigh in. They also wanted more time to develop a plan. Some councilors suggested revisiting the conversation during a July 20 work session.

 

In a statement released from the city on Tuesday, councilors will discuss "the creation of a community task force that includes elected officials, representatives from communities of color and others with the goal of reforming city policies that continue a legacy of racism."

 

"I tend to be an impatient person," said Yeh who agreed to hold off on creating a committee until a later date. "I'm totally okay and in an okay space to be able to move this on, as long as it's not until [July 20]...unlike some of the things we've discussed today that need more time, we're almost there with this group that has been requested by the commission to help them with their work."

 

 

Vinis told KLCC. she and City Manager Sarah Medary have found a potential date to meet again before July 20.

 

Copyright KLCC 2020

 

Melorie Begay is a multimedia journalist for KLCC News. She was the Inaugural KLCC Public Radio Foundation Journalism Fellow. She has a bachelors in Multimedia Journalism from the University of New Mexico. She previously interned at KUNM public radio in Albuquerque, NM and served as a fellow for the online news publication New Mexico In Depth.
Related Content