2180 Milvia
Berkeley
CA
JOIN US! Wednesday, June 16 at 12pm
Rally @ 12pm, Car Caravan @ 1pm, come with your car already decorated or use our supplies to decorate during the Noise Demo!SPEAK UP! TODAY at City Council at 6pm (Item #37)
Agenda/zoom link: https://t.co/83qEceVlmZ pic.twitter.com/eO612B5PYv— Berkeley Copwatch (@Copwatch411) June 15, 2021
We are gathering every Wednesday at noon on the steps of City Hall to demand a community budget that prioritizes CARE Not Cops!
The City Manager is proposing a budget that INCREASES funding for the Berkeley Police from last year! This is despite the city’s supposed commitment to “reimagine public safety” and decrease funding to the police.
In advance of the final budget vote on June 29, we are gathering EVERY WEDNESDAY AT NOON on the steps of City Hall to make them hear us and demand a community budget that prioritizes CARE NOT COPS!
We cannot continue with business as usual. According to the City Audit, BPD stopped Black people at a significantly higher rate than their representation in the Berkeley population (34 percent compared to 8 percent). The data also shows that less than 1% of all calls for service were for violent crimes and that 55% of calls to Berkeley Police came in on their “non-emergency” line. BPD failed to even capture data on how many calls involved unhoused people or those with mental health issues.
We need to hold the City Council to their promise to reimagine public safety. We must divert our city funds to alternatives that: (1) are completely independent from the police, (2) are accountable to our most impacted community members, (3) don’t respond only during crises and then leave, and (4) are transparent to the public.
Join us and make noise on the steps of City Hall! Bring your pots, pans, noisemakers. We’ll have speakers and open mic. Tell Berkeley why this is important for everyone’s safety.
This event is wheelchair accessible.
For more info on the Care Not Cops campaign and our Five Demands for the Specialized Care Unit (SCU), go to: berkeleycopwatch.org/care-not-cops
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