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I sincerely hope my colleagues on the Culver City Council who seem to be adept at translating the zeitgeist for campaigns, tweets & assorted post that don& #39;t make Black Lives better exercise the same courage tomorrow night when we make our final decisions around public safety.
It would be an understatement for me to say that I have been disappointed with the lack of alignment of words and actions both from people who are perceived locally to be "on the other team" and by those who claim to be "on my side".
The incredibly basic demands put forth so far by solidarity consulting which including decreasing our police force by attrition, assigning traffic duties to people outside of ccpd and implementing mobile crisis response are basic.
They are also suggestions (many but not all) that I suggested and which were approved last year despite city staff& #39;s testimony against this. The proof is in the tape of the meetings. I checked. Other people checked.
The attempt to color me as a council member attempting to impose his will is laughable to myself and anyone who has known me more than 5 seconds.
I believe that we can do more. The image that sits with me the most is that of people of color be they walking, biking or driving being pulled over and immediately handcuffed TO BE QUESTIONED!!! by CCPD.
This is the norm. Not the anomaly. Politicians who talk about justice and focus their efforts on diverting people of color from jail or prison after arrest miss the point.
We want to be treated like humans NOW.
There is a great deal of change that needs to happen culturally and across the country but we can model what we want to see HERE in Culver City.
Tomorrow, I will challenge my colleagues to do not much more than is listed as an option in the staff report. And further challenge them to progress beyond the satisfaction of a good tweet to the knowledge that we& #39;ve potentially made lives better.
That we have affirmatively said that public safety is not just for White people, or affluent people or for property owners but for everyone who resides in our city.
That the historic inequities that have been perpetuated through the institution of policing must end.
That our own personal experience is not an objective barometer for the entire world.
