Protesters in Iowa City visit city council members' homes to demand change. | Pixabay
Protesters in Iowa City visit city council members' homes to demand change. | Pixabay
Protesters in Iowa City have been making their way around to city council members' homes, demanding change and asking whether the council would honor their requests.
On Saturday, June 13, they made their way to council member John Thomas' house. Thomas met them on the lawn where protest organizers with megaphones asked if he would commit to having their demands met.
The Iowa Freedom Riders have a list of 13 demands which include dropping charges against protesters, disclosing the full Iowa City Police Department (ICPD) budget and restructuring the ICPD toward community policing.
Thomas eventually said he would commit to the group's demands.
Wyl Smith, an activist with the Iowa Freedom Riders, told The Daily Iowan that he doesn't want to see the energy and action the group is pushing for stall while city policymakers deliberate.
“We know it’s going to take a while to do things like radical police reform, but it does not take long to say, ‘We’re doing that,’” Smith said. “It does not take long to vote on that and say, ‘We want that done.’”
City staff recently drew up a report that addressed the group's 13 demands and the power the city has to respond to them. One thing the council can do immediately is request that the charges against protesters be dropped.
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