For the second time in one month, a city commission meeting erupted into protest over what some feel is a lack of democratic process and the stifling of citizens’ voices.
Members of the Restorative Justice Coalition, a group of activists from around the Tampa Bay area, began attending commission meetings in mid-July following the police shooting death of an unarmed Plant City man, Jesus Cervantes. The RJC has rallied others from Plant City and the surrounding areas to ask city leaders to incorporate body and dash cameras, more cultural sensitivity training and a civilian review board in efforts to achieve more accountability and transparency within the Plant City Police Department.
During Monday’s commission meeting, some in attendance grew frustrated with the direction and priority other items, like continued investment in road projects, were given, while they have yet to see any agenda items addressing their own concerns.
The disruption first began during the commission’s discussion on what to do about potential payments of $31,500 per year for a contract with the Florida Department of Transportation to maintain landscaping along a stretch of Alexander Street.
Then the shouts came from the back of the room.
“If you put a tenth of the amount of time into people’s welfare as your corporate welfare and profit margins, this city would be a safer place,” someone shouted as Mayor Rick Lott called them out of order.
When the person wouldn’t be quiet, Lott asked Police Chief Ed Duncan to have them removed, prompting chants of “accountability now” and “dash cams now” from some in attendance. Though not all participated in the disruption, everyone around those shouting, and all who spoke asking for reforms, were removed.
“I was sitting down waiting for the meeting to end. We were escorted out anyway,” Sydney Eastman, outreach director of the RJC said. “We were removed pretty quickly, everybody in our area. It was after that that I looked around the crowd and said if we were removed, we could still talk to the council members as they walked out. We said we’ll chant out here so they’ll have to hear us anyway.”
However, some staff and commission members, including interim City Manager Kim Leinbach, Lott and commissioner Mary Mathis, opted to use a separate door and circumvent the protestors.
Since the RJC began rallying attendance at meetings, public comment speaking time has been reduced from the usual three minutes per person to two minutes and now, at Monday’s meeting, 90 seconds per person, leading to further frustration in those wishing to speak to the commission.
“At the end of the day we’re talking a lot about a process that has not been democratic,” Eastman said. “The voices of the people of Plant City are not being heard. The safety of the people of Plant City is not being prioritized. When that truth is revealed it’s our duty to say you’re not doing your jobs.”
Leinbach said time gets reduced to accommodate everyone who wishes to speak within the 30-minute timeframe allotted for public comment. Reducing time is a judgment call the commission makes at the beginning of meetings, he said.
“It’s impossible to know how much time it will take,” Leinbach said. “You do the best you can to render judgment and make sure everybody has opportunity to speak based on anticipated number of speakers. The worst thing to happen would be to say you just can’t talk. And that wouldn’t be OK.”
Members of the RJC said they have met with Lott to discuss the reforms they want to see in the PCPD and were directed to the offices of the city manager and police chief.
Duncan has previously stated that he sees no need for dash and body cameras and has no plans to include them in future budget requests. Leinbach, who currently oversees all of the city’s departments, including the police department, said he hasn’t been contacted directly following the meeting with Lott, but is open to meeting with RJC members to exchange information and move forward with discussions.
A protest also occurred during the Sept. 25 commission meeting in response to the commission approving an annual budget with more than $330,000 allotted for an armored tactical vehicle in the PCPD budget.
Members of the RJC said they will continue to attend and speak at meetings until more productive dialogue is achieved. Neither protest, they said, was planned, nor are any in the future.
Chief Duncan did not respond to a request for comment.