Seth Johnson
The City of Gainesville will hold two special meetings this week along with its regular General Policy Committee, touching on items from the police department’s K-9 team to utility rates and a cultural arts center.
The first special meeting will happen on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall auditorium. According to the agenda, Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker will lead a discussion on the K-9 team at the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) with no slated motion.
The community zeroed in on the K-9 team after a July 10 apprehension resulted in Terrell Bradley losing an eye. GPD launched an investigation—as it does following any K-9 injury—and also hired an outside firm to analyze the event.
On Sept. 8, Chief Lonnie Scott released the complete GPD report along with the outside firm’s investigation and all the body camera footage.
“In every response-to-resistance technique utilized, injury is possible. But it is never the intent of our officers to injure anyone we encounter. Regrettably, Mr. Bradley was significantly injured,” Scott said in a video that walks through the apprehension.
However, Scott said the K-9 team followed the department’s protocol in accordance with industry standards. The dog that attacked Bradley will return to service.
A former GPD officer with the K-9 team has also sued the department for racial discrimination.
The next commission meeting will be Thursday for the regular 1 p.m. General Policy Committee.
City staff will present a feasibility study for a cultural arts center and the progress made on increasing sidewalks.
The city has prioritized 72 areas for sidewalks and will have funded $4 million for the project by 2026 if current allocations stay the same.
The agenda for the general policy meeting may change throughout the week.
Later that evening, the city will hold the second special meeting at 6 p.m. The commission will take a final vote on the annual millage rate, budgets for the general government and a schedule of proposed Gainesville Regional Utilities rate changes.
The commissioners voted on the first reading of these items on Sept. 8.
A “cultural arts center”. The city can’t even afford the basic infrastructure needs. Why spend money you don’t have for this nice to have when we can afford it item? That money comes on the backs of GRU customers who pay way too much for their utilities.