The Police Chief shall be ex-officio sergeant-at-arms of the Council at City Council meetings and may delegate that authority as deemed appropriate. The Police Chief is authorized to remove persons from a meeting of the City Council as set forth in this section. This authority is in addition to the Police Chief's power to exercise his or her authority to arrest persons for violations of this section or for violation of the Penal Code.
(A) Decorum.
(1) A person who attends a City Council meeting or who addresses the Council under public comment for a specific agenda item or under the Public Comment section of the agenda may not engage in speech or conduct which is likely to provoke others to violent or riotous behavior, which disturbs the peace of the meeting by loud and unreasonable noise, which is irrelevant or repetitive, or which disrupts, disturbs, impedes or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of any City Council meeting.
(2) All remarks shall be directed to the Council as a body, and not to any particular Council member or member of staff.
(3) A person, other than members of the Council and the person having the floor shall not be permitted to enter into the discussion unless requested by the Mayor to speak.
(4) No member of the public shall direct questions to Council members individually or to members of staff except through the Mayor.
(5) Members of the Council shall wait until a person completes his or her public comments before asking questions or commenting. The Mayor shall then ask Council members if they have comments or questions.
(6) While the City Council is in session, all persons must preserve order and decorum and not engage in disrupting behavior.
(B) Disrupting behavior. The Mayor or other Presiding Officer is authorized to warn, order removal, and cause the removal of an individual for disrupting a Council. The term "disrupting" as used in this rule means (i) a failure to comply with reasonable and lawful regulations adopted by the Council including these rules; and (ii) engaging in behavior that constitutes the use of force or a true threat of force.
(C) Warning required to cease disrupting behavior. The Mayor or Presiding Officer shall warn a person who is breaching the rules of order and decorum to cease such conduct. If after receiving such a warning, the person persists in breaching the rules of decorum, the Mayor or Presiding Officer may order the person to leave the City Council meeting. If such person does not leave, the Mayor or Presiding Officer may request the Police Chief or Police Chief's designee (sergeant-at-arms) to remove the person from the Council meeting. In the event there is no one from law enforcement present, the Mayor or Presiding Officer may direct the City Manager to contact law enforcement.
(D) No warning for use of force or true threat of force. The Mayor or Presiding Officer is not required to give a warning to a person who is breaching the rules of order and decorum when the individual engages in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force. The term "true threat of force" means a threat that sufficient indicia of intent and seriousness that a reasonable observer would perceive it to be an actual threat to use force by the person making the threat.
(Ord. 1002 C.S., passed 8-2-23