HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/16/2019 Item Public Comment, O'Bryant � ����
From: Camille P.O'Bryant � I � I � �
Sub'ect: RE:Chief Cantrell Needs Our Su rt-Cit Council M e e t i n T u e s d a J u l 1 4
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Date: Jul 14 2019 at 3:15 PM � '
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To: Susan Dressler ��n, `,; � t; �;�� � ����'
Hi Susan,
1
I appreciate your email and really wish I could be in attendance to express my support on
behalf of Chief Cantrell. In case I cannot attend in person, here is what I would say...
thanks in advance for sharing my comments with those in attendance.
My name i��� ��� t�� �����������;;� am a professQ��of Kinesiology ��,�� �����������u imthe
coFlege of �i��a��; �r�d ��tf���atics at Cal Poly. I also currentV����v���c����wt� of Cal
Poly's Black Faculty and Staff Rssociation. On a personal note, I have many family
members who are currently in law enforcement (e.g.. Los Angeles Police Department) or
retired (e.g. Tampa, FL PD and Boston PD). Growing up in the city of Boston during
some of the most racially charged moments in that city's history (especially during court-
ordered desegregation of the Boston Public Schools) and moving in and around the city
and county of San Luis Obispo as an African American woman, I have experienced quite
a lot of hostility directed toward me and my peers because of the color of our skin —
sometimes presumed guilty and having to prove ourselves innocent; having police follow
my siblings and I in public spaces with the specter of suspicion hanging over our heads. I
have lived and worked in the San Luis Obispo area since 1999 and had some unpleasant
encounters with other community members whose ignorance and racist viewpoints made
me feel unwelcome. Fast forward about 15 years and Chief Cantrell joins our community
and assumes one of the most important roles as a public servant —chief of police for the
City of San Luis Obispo. Her integrity, commitment to professionalism and understanding
of the myriad of ways in which police officers/law enforcement folks and community
members find themselves on opposites sides of issues and experiences. Within a very
short time, she has managed to bring together a very complex and diverse community
together in ways that have really helped the San Luis Obispo community. Initiatives like
PACT and PEACE have provided many of us in this community to find our voice, better
understand each other and stand in community to support each other are models for
many other police departments around this state and around the country. Even the way
she handled th� unfortunate incident of leavfng fier firearm in the bathroom at EI Pollo
Loco is a testar�ent to her integrity, care, auth�ntieity and professionalism. She doesn't
hide behind her badge. She stands up for what wearing that badge means. I can
provide many examples of how she and other members of the San Luis Obispo Police
Department have responded to my calls for help when I have had to help some of our
students who have dealt with homelessness, difficult relationships or encounters with
their landlords or questions about whether or not they should report being a victim of
sexual violence. I stand by and with Chief Cantrell. She is an excellent public servant
who takes her professional duties and responsibilities very seriously and empowers many
members of this community to feel safer and more valued than they ever have.
Thank you.
Camille O'Bryant
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