The Cypress City Council, in perhaps its final Monday meeting, refused to allow a vote on a resolution reaffirming the constitutional protections of the First and Fourth Amendments and condemning any use of “excessive force” in the city.
The Council, beginning at its next regular meeting, will meet on Tuesdays instead of Mondays.
The controversial ICE-related issue prompted a string of residents to testify both for and against any proposed measure.
In what might be described as the shortest honeymoon in local political history, newly appointed Council member Rachel Strong Carnahan failed to receive a second to her motion to reaffirm constitutional provisions for all residents in the view of what some have termed “excessive” violence used by ICE agents around the country.
“I’m bringing forward this resolution to clearly articulate our city’s position regarding constitutional rights, public safety, and the role of outside enforcement actions within our jurisdiction. In no way, said Carnahan, should her resolution be an entreaty about the city becoming a sanctuary city.
“We are not a sanctuary city, but we live in a sanctuary state, and the policies of daily practice of our force, with respect to this is mandated at the state level, not the municipal level. In other words, this has already been decided and is not up for debate,” she said.
“I’d like for this resolution to first of all reaffirm our commitment to the First and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution,” said Strong, “something all of us up here have sworn to protect and defend against enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Strong-Carnahan tried to suggest that any resolution would only serve to reinforce the protections offered by the constitution.
“These rights apply to everyone in our public spaces at all times, citizen, non-citizen, resident, non-resident constituent, non-constituent human, human being with a pulse in the city of Cypress,” she said.
“I think we should include a general and unequivocal condemnation of violence, regardless of the source. This is not a statement about intent or legality, but a clear declaration that harm to residents, demonstrators, bystanders or personnel is unacceptable and contrary to our community’s values,” said Strong Carnahan.
“Third, I’d like this resolution to ensure that the city is prepared to protect its legal interests should an external enforcement action conducted within our boundaries result in injury or loss of life; it is a huge liability for our city. A critical component of my resolution that I’m requesting would be to clarify the distinction between external task forces and our local law enforcement and police department,” the Council member said.
The potential resolution brought some passionate citizens to the meeting, some for, others against the prospective action.
Cheryl Katz, a Cypress citizen and a professor of law, said she once taught careers in law at Cypress High School.
“I care deeply about this city and its people. This committee, this meeting, should not be political. Yet the council has made it so. Federal immigration law is not a partisan issue. It’s a matter of national sovereignty and public safety. Presidents Clinton and Obama both enforced immigration laws, and President Obama removed more than 3 million individuals during his administration.”
“Enforcing federal law is not fascism,” she said. “Cypress is not a sanctuary city and cannot afford policies that expose us to legal and financial consequences. ICE agents protect our communities, our houses of worship and our national security. This is not about compassion versus cruelty. It’s about lawfulness versus lawlessness,” Katz suggested.
Robert Winter, a 27-year resident of the city, saw it differently. Winter reminded the Council that he appeared before them last July and warned the ICE deportation effort would get worse so he was there to protest “Cypress’s lack of action in establishing clear policy positions regarding the federal government’s violent, increasingly unlawful and at times deadly raids.”
“I warned that with the increased funding given to Homeland Security, it would get worse. It has gotten worse. A lot has happened since July. Several people have been shocked, several killed. Many more have died while in custody. Peaceful protesters have been chemically assaulted and maimed in the last few weeks in Minnesota, we witnessed the murder of two US citizens at the hands of federal agents,” he told the Council.
During the oral communications portion of the meeting dedicated to the issue, the Council heard from citizens for nearly an hour, including many former officials, most of whom were against any response to the civil rights resolution.
“From my perspective, I heard some words like excessive force. I think we’ve all seen the news,” said Council member Bonnie Peat. “I think the issue I have is we don’t know the circumstances, so I am uncomfortable about putting in then in there about Cypress will or won’t do this. We do not know the circumstances. We do not know the person that they’re targeting and going after,” she said.
“I don’t want to say what’s excessive force or not. That’s not my decision,” she said.
“We don’t know whether they didn’t have a gun or did have a gun. We do not have that, and that is not for us to know, okay, but there are circumstances that, just like our police department, the Federal ICE agents have as well. I feel sorry for them. Quite honestly, they’ve been given a task, and they’re getting beaten up every day,” said Peat, arguing against any statement at all.
She put Police Chief Mark Lauderback on the hot seat, asking him to weigh in on the issue. He said the department will protect the rights of everyone in the city.
“Rest assured, the men and women who work here in the city with the Cypress Police Department will protect the rights of everyone,” the police chief said. “It does not matter what their status is; here in the United States, we are here to protect everyone’s rights, regardless, and that is what the community needs to know,” Lauderback said.
Other than the period after the 9/11 attacks, Chief Lauderback said police are getting more support “than at any other time in my career. I know the support the community has for us (Police Department),” said Lauderback.
Council member David Burke said even though “I think the issue has become even more prominent since the original motion was made (presumably the death of Alex Pretti)…my view has been not to bring forward and to abstain from these kinds of resolutions and state bills or federal law enforcement issues in the past. Not because I don’t think they have a significant impact on Cypress, because they do, but I guess I got a little jaded.”
While serving on a neighborhood council in West Los Angeles, Burke said he learned that “once you go down the road, kind of passing resolutions in a certain vein, it just kind of spirals and takes focus away from the locally focused issues. “My neighborhood council in West LA was spending more time on resolutions about foreign countries than about what was going on in our community.”
“I’m not saying that is what would happen or that you can’t focus on an issue or two with an occasional resolution. I’m just saying my perspective has been to abstain as just a principle I follow,” said Burke. “I think it would be good to put factual information out there, especially when people wonder what’s going on. But I haven’t traditionally been supportive of kind of broader resolutions like this,” he said.
Mayor Pro-tem Dr. Kyle Chang, who originally seconded Strong Carnahan’s motion to agendize the issue two weeks ago, said given Burke’s statements, he would be interested only in issuing a one-page factual statement rather than a formal resolution.
“I think what you’re proposing, David, is more of a matter-of-fact statement about what the police’s policies, when it comes to what’s happening (deportation efforts) without mentioning excess violence, or violence, or anything along those lines,” said Chang.
As he saw it, Chang said the city has two options: a statement/resolution or an immigration website, with resources and other information that matter-of-factly outlines civic protections.
“I make a counter motion to issue a one-page statement,” said Chang.
There was no second from the Council for either Chang’s substitute motion or Strong Carnahan’s original motion so on this issue on this night, the Cypress City Council was silent.
Despite the inability to move a resolution to a vote, Strong Carnahan said she was “grateful” to see the spirited civic engagement spurred by the issue.
“I also want to thank the people who have emailed me personally and to the council, both for and against what we have been discussing. I’m thrilled to see such civic interest at a time when we desperately need it. I think as a community, that’s important, even if I don’t agree with some of the opinions that are being voiced, I think it’s critically important to see engagement such as this in our city, and I’m grateful for it,” she said.