Santa Rosa Mayor Signs Pledge, Vows to Engage Community on Police Reform

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As protests of police brutality have roiled the nation in the wake of the George Floyd killing, many mayors and city councils are vowing to push forward with reforms on police use of force.

In Santa Rosa, Mayor Tom Schwedhelm, himself the former chief of police, signed a pledge this week to pursue dialogue with the community, and work toward enacting reforms in the way police officers do their job.

In signing the My Brothers Keeper Alliance Mayor’s Pledge, Schwedhelm committed to reviewing the police department’s use of force policies, engage with diverse segments of the community, report back to the community, and enact any necessary reforms in the Santa Rosa Police Department’s use of force guidelines.

The major also said he’s received more than a thousand emails in recent days, a great number asking him to enact reforms called for in the so called “8 Can’t Wait Project.”

This call for reform now gathering steam across the nation calls for 8 immediate changes to how police departments engage citizens, including banning chokeholds, requiring de-escalation, requiring officers to intervene with fellow officers should rules be violated, comprehensive reporting, and warnings before the use of force among others.

We asked Mayor Schewedhelm why he signed the Mayors Pledge, and about his committment to reform within the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Although the mayor is not wearing a mask at our request, the crew was, and all were practicing proper social distancing.