The Madison City Council Tuesday night approved a change in a controversial ordinance that allows police to interrogate people loitering with an apparent intent to engage in drug activity.
Though the ordinance was already in the books, the council reapproved the measure, with a vote of 11 to seven, and eliminated the sunset clause that would have allowed the ordinance to periodically come up for review.
The majority of public hearing participants did not favor the bill.
\We need this [ordinance] to die,"" UW-Madison senior Austin King said. ""It's used to target people of color and it's wrong.""
Another speaker, Madison resident Derek Wright, said the ordinance gives police a loophole for interrogating people without just cause.
""[The ordinance exists] explicitly to target people who we can't prove are doing anything wrong,"" he said.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he was disappointed in the council's action.
""I have long been troubled by the loitering ordinance. This is at least the third time I have voted against it,"" Verveer said. ""Everyone [who voted against it] felt it was of questionable constitutionality and, frankly, racist.""
However, some speakers said they felt the ordinance protected their communities from fear because it tries to keep troublemakers off the street. Madison resident Tim Olsen said that when people gather in heavy drug neighborhoods, it ""intimidates the majority of people who would also like to share that space.""
Madison Police Chief Richard Williams was evasive when alders questioned him after the public hearing, refusing to give alders any specific examples of behaviors that loiterers might engage in to attract police attention.
He said the reason so many people of color are cited under the ordinance is that the majority of drug users in Madison are people of color.
""I haven't seen a white drug dealer; there may be one but I haven't seen them,"" he said. ""There should be no shock to the knowledge that the people who were ticketed because of behavior were African American.""
In other business, the council voted to temporarily postpone action on an ordinance that would require landlords to give rejected applicants a written reason for their denial of tenancy.
Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, moved to refer the issue to the March 5 City Council meeting because she did not think there were enough alders present that would vote to pass it.
King said the ordinance could improve the relationship between students and landlords.
""We need to know what we're doing wrong. It helps tenants become better tenants and keeps landlords accountable so they are really denying tenants for a real reason,"" King said.
