Agenda
The Richmond City Council will consider new policies on Tuesday requiring faster public updates after police shootings, approve roughly $12 million in construction and legal contracts, and advance a $1.5 million initiative to address systemic inequities facing the city's Black residents.
New policies for police shooting transparency, mental health services
City officials will ask the City Council to adopt new policies on how they communicate with the public after police shootings and to approve plans for a comprehensive review of mental health services.
Under the proposed changes, the Richmond Police Department would be required to issue initial press releases within 24 hours of officer-involved shootings and provide updates at least every 30 days, even when investigations show no new developments, according to a staff report.
Council approves new policy for officer-involved shooting communications, adjusts meeting schedule
The Richmond City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 23, considered two major decisions: one regarding how the city communicates with the public following officer-involved shootings, and another concerning the schedule and timing of its regular meetings. The most heated discussion of the night centered on a proposal to create rules
Soren Hemmila
The changes, outlined in proposed revisions to two department policies, aim to improve transparency and ensure affected families and community members receive timely information about critical incidents.
"When a serious incident occurs — such as an officer-involved shooting or an in-custody death—the public expects clear, timely, and accurate information," City Manager Shasa Curl wrote in the report.
Initial press releases would identify all agencies conducting investigations, explain the sequence of those probes, and direct people to the Community Police Review Commission. The releases would also explain how to access body-worn camera footage under California's Assembly Bill 748 and how those directly affected can obtain support services.
Richmond Police address shooting at press conference
At a press conference Monday, Richmond Police Chief Bisa French said 27-year-old Angel Magallan Montaño was fatally shot by officers last week after he advanced rapidly toward them while holding knives in both hands. French read from a prepared statement describing the officer-involved shooting on August 4 that killed Montaño
Linda Hemmila
Body-worn camera footage from shootings would be released in accordance with state law, with only edits or redactions necessary to protect privacy and safety.
The Richmond Police Officers Association has raised concerns about the policy changes, and the city expects to hold impact discussions with the union.
Separately, city staff will hire consultants to assess mental health services available to Richmond residents. The six-month study will inventory existing services, identify gaps in coverage, and recommend strategies to improve access to care, particularly for underserved populations and people in crisis.
Police ask council for $350K radios, defend full encryption
The Richmond Police Department is requesting City Council approval to purchase up to 45 additional encrypted Motorola radios for an amount not to exceed $350,000, including a 7.5 percent contingency. The radios will be used to outfit additional patrol vehicles, motorcycles, and equipment for new police officers. The purchase comes as the department defends its decision to fully encrypt radio communications, a move that has drawn scrutiny over public access to real-time police information.
Richmond council delays police radio purchase amid public access debate
The Richmond City Council on Tuesday night deferred final approval of a $350,000 purchase of encrypted police radios after councilmembers and residents pressed for a fuller public briefing about the department’s recent move to encrypt dispatch channels. The agenda item would have authorized the purchase of 35 mobile
Soren Hemmila
Richmond police encrypt radios, ending scanner access
For years, the Grandview Independent monitored Richmond in real time through police scanners. Reports of shootings, police chases, and helicopters circling offered details on street closures and police activity. The scanners are now offline, removing that immediate source of information for journalists and residents. The Richmond Police Department is joining
Soren Hemmila
On the consent calendar: $12 million in contracts, community programs
Black resiliency project
The city is moving forward with its Black Resiliency Project and Fund, a $1.5 million initiative approved in June to address systemic inequities facing Richmond's Black residents.
City staff are developing a request for proposals to hire a consultant who will produce a "State of Black Richmond" report compiling data on conditions affecting the city's Black community. An 11-member Community Advisory Committee will be appointed through an open application process to help guide the project, with details expected to be posted on the city's website later this month.
On the agenda: Richmond council proposes $1.5 million Black Resiliency Fund
The Richmond City Council will address a wide range of community issues at its June 17 meeting, from the Harbour 8 Park Expansion Project to historic preservation, and an initiative aimed at addressing racial disparities. Three Richmond City Council members are proposing a $1.5 million initiative to address racial
Soren Hemmila
Mayor Eduardo Martinez and Councilmember Doria Robinson comprise an ad hoc committee formed in October to oversee the initiative. The committee held its first meeting November 6 and aims to finalize implementation guidelines by April 30, 2026. The fund will support grant programs for community organizations once the State of Black Richmond report is completed.
The Richmond City Council will also consider more than a dozen routine items on its consent calendar, including approximately $12 million in contracts for construction, legal services, and public infrastructure.
The largest expenditure involves $9 million in contracts with six general contractors, ATI Restoration, Bay Hawk, Marinship Development Interest, SDM Construction, Surf to Snow Environmental Resource Management and Yerba Buena Engineering and Construction for three years of building and fixing whatever breaks down in this town.
The council will also authorize up to $500,000 per firm for five companies to provide on-call civil and land development plan check services through 2028, totaling $2.5 million.
The lawyers at Orbach Huff & Henderson are getting $400,000 to handle the tort cases and police lawsuits. Meanwhile, Infilla's picking up another $125,000 to build some software so people can figure out the zoning code.
At Public Works, they're converting utility bill data for $30,000 and grabbing $180,000 in Measure J money from the county to fix up sidewalks.
The Booker T. Anderson Community Center is finally done after the fire restoration, and they're letting the school district use it for free for an afterschool program.
It's all routine until it isn't, and Tuesday night they'll vote it through in one motion if nobody objects.
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