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To request that the Chief Administrative Officer cause to be established a work group including certain employees of the City and a member of the City Council to develop a plan and recommendations for the implementation of a "Marcus Alert" program by October 1, 2020.
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WHEREAS, according to the City of Richmond Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney report entitled "Use of Force Investigation and Analysis, Interstate 95 Shooting - May 14, 2018" (hereinafter, the "report"), on May 14, 2018, Marcus-David Peters was shot and killed by Officer Michael Nyantakyi of the City's Department of Police; and
WHEREAS, according to the report, Marcus-David Peters, at the time of his death, was "behaving quite erratically" and was in an "altered mental state;" and
WHEREAS, according to the report, on the day of the incident and after ignoring Officer Michael Nyantakyi's commands, Marcus-David Peters exhibited "aggressive" behavior and engaged in a physical altercation with Officer Michael Nyantakyi that ended when Officer Michael Nyantakyi fired at least two shots from his firearm, ultimately killing Marcus-David Peters in the process;
WHEREAS, the Council believes that the killing of Marcus-David Peters may have been prevented if mental health professionals were present at the scene of the incident to deescalate the situation; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the City of Richmond that the Council request that the Chief Administrative Officer cause to be established a work group including certain employees of the City and a member of the Council to develop a plan and recommendations for the implementation of a "Marcus Alert" program, in honor of Marcus-David Peters, designed to coordinate the emergency response of the Department of Police with mental health professionals to deescalate situations involving individuals with suspected or confirmed mental health issues;
NOW, THEREFORE...
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