Montgomery County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke issued a statement following an August 27 community meeting at South Lake Elementary School focused on violence and public safety concerns in the Lost Knife Road corridor.
According to MyMCMedia, tensions rose during the meeting as some residents became frustrated with the format and wanted officials to move from scheduled presentations to audience engagement. Much of the discussion ultimately centered on two issues: the fatal police shooting of Elliott Powers and increased immigration enforcement activity in Montgomery County.
Luedtke said the meeting was intended to provide resources, answer questions and hear concerns from residents about what she described as “serious and tragic violence” in the area this year. She acknowledged frustration from attendees who believed community members should have been given more opportunities to speak and said future meetings would be structured to allow for more open dialogue.
The councilmember also addressed the police-involved shooting death of Powers, calling it a tragedy and saying the County needs to increase its commitment to crisis intervention services, personnel and other community resources.
Luedtke additionally discussed federal immigration enforcement in the area and said County officials have worked with community leaders to improve security and deter criminal activity at the Lakeforest Transit Center and in the Cider Mill community.
“This meeting failed to meet the standards of decency and civility all such community events should,” Luedtke said. “We will work to do better.”
Luedtke said officials are gathering responses to questions and concerns raised during the meeting and will follow up with attendees who provided contact information.
“The communities around Lost Knife Road deserve safety and the proper resources to stop the tragic and severe violence that has impacted too many,” Luedtke said. “We’re working to provide responses to what we heard at last week’s community meeting and hope all of us can work together toward concrete solutions and filling the gaps.”
