Yelling, accusations and demands for resignation: Frustration boils over during City Council meeting

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Tensions approached boiling points multiple times during Thursday's Pocatello City Council meeting.

By the time the meeting was adjourned, Councilman Roger Bray had been censured, Councilwoman Claudia Ortega had already left council chambers and several members of the audience were trying to calm others down.

A discussion before the vote for censuring Bray lasted nearly 40 minutes and included Ortega demanding Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei's immediate resignation. The same discussion included several heated exchanges between Mayor Brian Blad and Ortega and Chris Stevens, as well as one brief exchange between Ortega and Pocatello Police Sgt. Akilah Lacey, who was in the audience.

Blad interacted with council members several times during the lengthy discussion but held his statement until just before opening the resolution to a vote. In that statement, he called the entire need for the discussion and the comments made "deplorable."

"Before we vote I just need to say a few words," Blad said. "Maybe I shouldn't say anything because it's difficult. I can't think of a worse thing to be discussing in city leadership right now than racial diversity."

Read the rest of the story here: https://www.eastidahonews.com/2022/08...

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