Open notebook: Civilian review showdown
Notes and other live updates from city hall tonight
Background here: “No place for civilian review in a police city-state”
I’ll be going live on the Worcester Sucks Instagram to capture the community org press conference in front of, or in, city hall (looks like rain). Worcester Sucks Instagram. That’s scheduled to start at 5:30.
Update: watch the whole thing here
The meeting will be on the city’s YouTube page starting at about 6 p.m. I’ll be inside, but won’t be streaming.
Meeting starts at 6, at which point I’ll do my best to get time stamped notes up on here.
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4:10 p.m. — Second HRC member resigns. Drew Schnoebelen follows Jacqueline Yang out the door in the wake of Batista’s CRB decision.
Unfortunately, I have not observed a healthy, functioning, and effective commission, especially over the last 12 months. I personally feel that over the course of my tenure, city leadership has consistently and purposefully manufactured roadblocks and barriers that constrict the Commission in a way that simply cannot be overcome without major systemic change.
Full resignation letter is on my Bluesky.
9:22 p.m. — Back from council. After two hours of public comment, overwhelmingly in support of a civilian review board, to a packed chamber applauding almost every speaker, Councilor Khrystian King held the item under privilege, pushing it to the next meeting. One of the last speakers, former District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, said there’d be more people at the next meeting. By my count, about 100 people showed up for this one. Several dozen spoke in favor of a civilian review board. Only one speaker, a man who said he worked in some capacity at Worcester District Court some time in the past, spoke against.
Summer schedule in effect, it won’t be until August 18. For the next month, the question of how the council will vote remains an open one.
More notes up as I transcribe tonight!