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Public commenters raise concerns about police procedures and arrests, and allege First Amendment infringement at prior meeting
Summary
Two residents urged improved police-community relations and criticized an arrest at a previous meeting; one speaker said a speech-restriction memo is unconstitutional and mentioned criminal complaints and potential civil lawsuits.
Two members of the public addressed the Dickinson City Commission during public comment on May 6, raising concerns about police procedures, communication with residents and the handling of a prior public-meeting incident.
A speaker identified as Badoyne urged better police-community relations, warning against officers making immediate judgments based on labels and asking that officers emphasize communication to build public trust. "If an officer is having a bad day, comes up to somebody and then charges them...that built up a hostility between the officer and the person," he said, and urged attention to how policing actions affect families and perceptions of the department.
Ryan Masano addressed the commission about an incident at last month’s meeting in which he said police removed him. Masano called a recently adopted "speech memo" unconstitutional and said he had been arrested and later released without charges; he said criminal complaints have been filed against three officers and said a $10,000,000 civil-rights lawsuit was planned unless the speech memo is rescinded. "If that speech memo is lifted, I will not file that lawsuit," he said, urging commissioners to reconsider the policy.
Neither comment prompted immediate action by the commission at the meeting. Commissioners acknowledged the comments and moved to adjourn.
