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City Council <br />Meeting Minutes September 17, 2019 <br />Samantha Elise Benavides, spoke in favor of cite and release and LEAD. She <br />stated that as a student she believes they are here to better their futures. Local <br />new update popped up on her phone last night that said San Marcos Police did <br />not cite and release any black people in 2018. The police have the power to <br />spare people guilty of minor offenses, high bails, and nights in jail. They were <br />all eligible for cite and release. As a former student of a black educator that <br />was denied cite and release after body cam shows that he requested it. Marcus <br />Nelson, former superintendent of Laredo ISD was forced to resign from his <br />position. This man made it a joy to attend school, he was present at events, <br />and had a contagious smile. This should not have happened to him. The <br />implication of a more comprehensive cite and release policy would shrink the <br />gap between black and brown people in jail compared to white people. These <br />statistics are unjust. Council, please take action by the end of October. <br />Roland Saucedo, thanked the Mayor, Council and City Staff for their support <br />and attendance at the Diez y Seis Festival that was held this past weekend. He <br />stated that the event had great reviews and was a huge success. He commented <br />on cite and release and stated that he is in full support. This was something <br />that he and a group worked together on in the 1990's. He stated that as an <br />employee for the District Attorney he recognized that the vast majority of <br />marijuana possession charges were by 18 -22 -year-olds and all under 2 ounces. <br />This seems insignificant but the stack is huge for marijuana cases and files are <br />backlogged because of a simple crime of marijuana possession. He stated that <br />you don't hear in the news of anyone going on a rampage because they were <br />on marijuana and you don't hear of traffic fatalities due to marijuana. <br />Kelly Stone, spoke about a story she read when she was young written by Ray <br />Bradbury. According to this story in the future they have time travel machines <br />and you can pick from various time eras. This particular time travel was a <br />theme park and a young man was there for the first time. He boarded the time <br />machine to go and see the dinosaurs, he was so enamored with what he saw, he <br />looked down and realized he stepped off the path. When he returned home the <br />energy was different and everything had changed. When he stepped off the <br />path he realized he killed a butterfly and this in turn affected an election in a <br />future time. She asked Council to remedy the mistakes made in the past by <br />removing the noose Mr. Thompson put on the river, so please free the river. <br />The future is counting on it. <br />Kathy Morris, stated that she was there to represent the Family Justice Center. <br />Council has a letter in front of them for the purpose of creating a partnership <br />City of San Marcos Page 5 <br />