Reimagining Our Communities:
Shift Funding from Police and Sheriff Departments to Community Services Resolution
Whereas police officers have been “primed” for combatant confrontations with criminals, have been trained to use painful deterrents such as pepper spray, tasers, batons, and have fatally shot approximately 1,000 people in the United States in 2018, and of those fatally shot, 25% were mentally ill, police officers equipped to deter criminals are, thus, not the best public servants to respond to crisis interventions, interactions with people who are mentally ill, homeless, a domestic dispute, or are in non-rational-states of mind or circumstances; and,
Whereas police often have not been held accountable because of “qualified immunity” that shields officers from lawsuits alleging recklessness and civil rights violations, and because there is no government database of those police officers who have been ousted from their police department, police officers are able to move from department to department after being dismissed for misconduct; and
Therefore be it resolved that, we, the California Democratic Party, support the principle that city councils decrease police department funding and that County Boards of Supervisors decrease Sheriff Department funding, and instead shift these funds to increased crisis intervention community services, including specialized services to intervene appropriately in whether it be domestic disputes, to address homelessness, and to serve those with mental illness or altered states of mind; and
Finally be it further resolved that we, the California Democratic Party, support the principle that Boards of Supervisors establish transparent oversight boards to monitor the reports from citizens of reckless or brutal behavior by peace officers; and establish a database of police officers who are dismissed from the police department because of misconduct, so that the public is protected from dismissed police officers being hired by other police department.
Brodie Hilp
President of the San Ramon Valley Democratic Club
Appointed Member, Democratic Party of Contra Costa County
Nadine Peyrucain
AD14 Delegate to the California Democratic Party