Last week Bike East Bay issued a statement in support of cutting police budgets and redirecting funds to community services.
As elected officials grapple with declining revenues and a June 30 deadline to approve city budgets, many city councils, as well as the BART Board, have discussed defund the police asks from black-led organizations in the East Bay. While BART is likely to take this issue up in more detail later in the fall, the Contra Costa County and Alameda County Board of Supervisors, as well as individual cities like Richmond, Oakland, and Berkeley will be asked to make decisions by June 30 on how to address over-policing of black and brown communities.
Bike East Bay supports the voices of black led organizations making these asks, and is engaged to better understand how a reduced role of police in traffic enforcement can reduce oppressive police behavior, help heal communities of color, and save cities money. Your voice of support helps.
Please tell your councilmember to “reduce the police budget.”
Write to your county supervisor:
Oakland:
-
Oakland City Council Meeting, Tuesday June 23, 12:00 noon and June 30
- Make a comment at the Tuesday city council meeting. Instructions & resources from the Anti Police-Terror Project and Defund OPD – Invest in Community.
- Oakland Unified School District, June 24. Learn more at the Black Organizing Project Twitter page.
Richmond:
- Richmond City Council Meeting, Tuesday June 23, 6:00pm
Berkeley
- Berkeley City Council Meeting, Tuesday June 30, 6:30pm and a key followup meeting July 14 to dive into this issue