Despite being leaders, it is not always our voices the community needs to hear. In times of division and pain sometimes our community needs listeners more than it needs speakers.
 
I have listened and heard a great deal this past week in the aftermath of the video of a young woman being arrested outside East Towne Mall last week Tuesday. It was with the voices and hearts of everyone in the community in mind that I penned my district update last night: http://www.cityofmadison.com/council/district3/blog (June 26, 2016)
 
I have personally worked with the two main officers in the video. I know them to be good people and officers. I also have a problem with their actions and the level of force Madison Police Department's policy calls for in a situation like this one. I believe a thoughtful community such as ours can appreciate this nuance.

I call on this community, especially the east side whose officers were involved in this incident, to recognize the humanity in one another as we go forward in this process.