Concord adopts citizen incivility policy after staff‑led review; residents urge care in police communications

The Concord City Council unanimously adopted a citizen incivility policy Thursday intended to set standards for public interaction with city employees and to give staff a mechanism to respond to repeated disrespect or abusive conduct.

City Manager Payne told council the policy grew out of a 2024 employee survey and months of staff work‑group meetings and legal review. Payne said the group met repeatedly and solicited feedback from departments; as he described the outcome, “there is no place, in my opinion, for disrespect or demeaning behavior towards staff from the public.” The policy takes effect Feb. 12, 2026, and staff said training and signage will follow.

During public comment several residents raised related governance and communication concerns. Orlando Jacobs urged council to review how the city releases information after the recent death of Yajaira (Gadara) Hernandez Cortez, saying the police department issued a statement referencing alcohol before toxicology results were available: “the police chief and the police department released a statement in regards to alcohol prior to an actual toxicology report coming out.” Jacobs asked the council to direct the city manager to reconsider release practices so families and the public do not receive premature or potentially misleading information.

Another commenter, Keisha Sandidge, asked the council to broaden a recent, office‑specific exception that allows certain city employees to run for the Cabarrus County School Board. Sandidge asked that the same willingness be applied to permit employees to seek other partisan offices, with a single exception for Concord municipal positions where direct conflicts would exist. She urged equitable and consistent policy application and noted she had sought a staff response to an earlier email and had not yet received one.

Council did not take immediate additional action on communication protocols or personnel‑eligibility rules during the meeting; both requests were recorded in the public comment portion of the record. The adopted incivility policy does, according to staff, create a framework for response, training and signage designed to protect employees and clarify expectations for public conduct.

What’s next: Staff will implement the policy’s training and signage elements, and council or staff could return with proposals if they choose to change information‑release procedures or personnel‑eligibility rules following the public comments.