SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 20, 2022
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/25/22
In this edition:
*Body Cameras
*The Mill
*Did You Know?
*Body Cameras
The Board has recently discussed purchasing new body cameras for the Sheriff’s Office. I’ll give you a bit of background and my thoughts.
Unfortunately, the company that sold and serviced our body cameras (Company X) was purchased by a bigger company (Company Y). Company Y simply decided they were no longer going to support or service body cameras. So it was not just Johnson County that was affected; all their customers were. Company Y did not care what agreements we had with Company X. Company Y bought Company X because of a completely different product line. In other words, we are out of luck, with no recourse.
So our Sheriff’s Office and IT Department investigated possible responses. They decided the best solution was to switch to a new system. This would mean replacing all our body cameras. (For what it is worth, the cameras were still working, but nearing the end of their useful lives.)
The cost of the cameras and a couple small associated pieces of technology is about $420,000. A big chunk of money, to be certain. But I feel it is money we need to spend.
Some have suggested that the Sheriff’s Office needed to somehow do a better job of planning so that the cameras did not all need to be replaced at once. As I explained, this problem was created by a tech acquisition. I simply cannot see how they could have possibly prepared for this eventuality.
As we know, there are some folks in Johnson County who are firmly in the “abolish the police” camp. And some of those folks do not want to see any money spent on the Sheriff’s Office, period. This includes body cameras. On the other hand, many racial justice advocates fought long and hard to get the Sheriff’s Office to adopt body cameras. These racial justice advocates do not want to see their efforts undone.
We have had a few speakers at our meetings note that studies show that jurisdictions with body cameras do not experience lower crime rates. While that is interesting, I do not recall anyone ever suggesting that body cameras would lower the crime rate. The whole idea behind body cameras is getting closer to the truth.
Our whole judicial system is predicated on the idea that truth will usually prevail. Most innocent people will be found innocent; most guilty people will be found guilty. In order for this to happen, defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, and juries need access to as much accurate information as possible. Body cameras can be a source of a great deal of information.
Imagine a scenario where 4 young men are stomping and kicking another young man. A police report might state exactly that. Upon reviewing the video, however, it might become clear that only three of the men were stomping and kicking. The 4th man actually made a couple of attempts to pull the others off. This might not be evident to an officer who comes across such a wild scene. It is really difficult in that moment to pick up on something that nuanced while trying to break things up.
So imagine there is no camera in this scenario. The cop’s report names the 4 men. It is not that the cop is willfully misrepresenting the situation; it was a melee. She reported what she truly believed to be the facts as best as she could. All the men get charged with the same crimes. This is serious; people could be looking at prison.
Now imagine you have body camera footage. Upon further review, it is clear that one of the men never kicked or stomped, and in fact, made a couple attempts to stop the others. That footage could be the thing that keeps an innocent man out of prison!
Another suggestion was to buy half of the cameras now and half next year. Frankly, I just don’t see how this would work. Half the officers wear cameras while half do not? Is that up to each officer? Do you want the officers who dislike cameras to be able to opt out? The County Attorney’s Office does not see half the officers having cameras as workable from a prosecutorial perspective.
Look, I know the budget is tight. Trust me, thus far I have voted against far more spending than any other Supervisor. But some expenditures are more important than others. An expenditure that does so much to protect the civil rights of our citizens is not something I want to mess with.
The Board voted to include body cameras in the FY23 budget. I am extremely happy we did so. I think it is a critical local investment in protecting the Civil Rights of our citizens.
*The Mill
A sad day has arrived in Iowa City, as the iconic local venue The Mill is scheduled for demolition.
A bit of history: Keith Dempster opened The Mill Restaurant in 1962 as a coffee house/restaurant/folk music venue. It became the center of an Americana music community in Iowa City that achieved national and international fame. The Mill also became known for its pizza and sandwiches. In June 2003, Keith closed The Mill. In July 2003 The Mill reopened, and operated until closing in May of 2020. Since then, 2-3 separate groups have endeavored to save it, but no one has come up with the necessary cash.
Like a lot of other people, I have several special memories from The Mill. When I was in college, I had a lot of friends on the Hawkeye Wrestling team. Interestingly, one of the coaches and I became buddies, and used to meet up at The Mill. He got worn down by the single-minded intensity of what they were doing. So we’d meet at The Mill once a week to talk about the news, politics, music, sports other than wrestling – anything to give him a break. I have fond memories of those days.
As I got older, I attended a million political strategy meetings at The Mill. We never won every victory, but in some ways, those meetings may have set the stage for the mostly-progressive State Legislative delegation, City Council, ICCSD Board, and County Supervisors we now have elected.
The Mill was, of course, also home to those Election Night victory parties. Some were truly celebrations – I am reminded of Mazahir Salih’s election to the IC Council as a recent one. Others were sad affairs, where some of my friends received the bad news that the public had chosen someone else.
Lots of candidates held events there – Presidential candidates, yes, but also locals like me! Back before COVID when candidates actually held events, I always held a fundraiser at The Mill. And I vividly remember holding my son BJ, aged 7 at the time, in June of 2004 as I learned that I had squeezed by in the Democratic Party Primary and would likely get the job of County Supervisor.
The Mill was also home to literally hundreds of fundraisers. Whether it be for a local kid with cancer, a local nonprofit, or for world hunger relief, the stage at The Mill was always being used to further some type of cause. And that really fit the vibe of the place – people trying to help other people. The Mill donated the space, and local musicians donated their time. It was plug and play, and it made a big difference in the community.
It was also one of the only places you could see beginning comics, poets, authors, and musicians. We all start somewhere, and The Mill offered many people their first opportunity to take the stage. Open Mic nights were a staple for the full 50+ years of The Mill’s existence.
And I haven’t even started on the music! Oh, the music! There were some pretty big names that had played The Mill over the years, but the only one I saw “before they were cool” was the Drive By Truckers. But The Mill was *THE* spot for catching local stars like Greg Brown, Pieta Brown, Dave Moore, Bo Ramsey, Catfish Keith, Dave Zollo, Shade of Blue, the Awful Purdies, Big Wooden Radio, Kelly Pardekooper, Bob and Kristie Black, Rich Webster, Kevin Burt, and on and on and on. There was just so much good local music!
The Mill is the home to a lot of memories, and it is really sad to see it go away. Not just because of the history, but because we now have lost the opportunity to make more memories.
Iowa City desperately needs a small venue with a stage and a sound system. The Mill was arranged perfectly, where an event could go on in the back without disturbing the food and drink service up front. The fact that reserving the back room was easy (and free, if you ordered some pizza and drinks) made it so accessible. The building itself was funky and interesting, not the sterile stuff that now dominates the landscape. Add in the downtown location, and it was just perfect. The Mill will be missed, yes. Just as importantly, other places are not stepping up to fill the void.
Like many of you, I read the article about Marc Moen’s plan for a new performance venue in the same spot. I hope other entrepreneurs have other ideas somewhere in the downtown area.
RIP, Mill. It was a good run!
*DID YOU KNOW? Supervisors Lisa Green Douglass, Royceann Porter, and myself had a fundraiser scheduled for The Mill in March of 2020, which we had to cancel due to COVID-19.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 1:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home