Name: Oakland mayor casts tie-breaking vote to reject deeper police cuts
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Oakland mayor casts tie-breaking vote to reject deeper police cuts

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By | Bay Area News GroupOAKLAND — After concluding the police department’s budget took a deep enough cut last month, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf cast the tie-breaking vote late Tuesday to prevent it from being slashed further.“Oakland must create a new system of public safety and justice based on real numbers that do not mislead the public,” Schaaf said as she stepped in to reject a proposal by council members Dan Kalb and Sheng Thao to cut $2.75 million from the police budget.Kalb and Thao wanted that money to be spent instead on the city’s violence prevention program, cleanups of homeless encampments and placing civilians in charge of special events and abandoned auto cases instead of police.Council President Rebecca Kaplan and council member Nikki Fortunato Bas supported the funding reallocation but Vice Mayor Larry Reid and council members Noel Gallo, Lynette Gibson McElhaney and Loren Taylor opposed it.The mayor’s action also appeared to seal the fate of a separate proposal to slash the police budget even more. That proposal, introduced by Bas and Kaplan, would have reallocated $10.4 million from the police budget beyond the $14.6 million cut last month.Their proposal included a goal of reducing police funding by 50% over the next two years. It was widely supported by thousands of Oakland residents, who called for immediate police changes and defunding of the police department, Bas said.More than 100 public speakers Tuesday endorsed the Bas and Kaplan proposal during the nine-hour council meeting, but none of their colleagues did.Before she cast her vote, Schaaf referred to the money already cut from the police budget on June 23.“As you’ve heard from our finance director and our chief of police, any further cuts, real cuts to the police department will require a significant reduction to our widely recognized inadequate 911 response, elimination of current police services and as well as&nbsp;further strain on what is well-documented as an understaffed police force, having the lowest officer police per crime staffing of any department in America,” Schaaf said.“I know we all support reimagining public safety and advancing racial justice — council has already committed to doing just that — but I believe that Oakland must create a new system of public safety and justice based on real numbers that do not mislead the public about the impact of the cuts or whether or not they actually can be accomplished,” she continued.Schaaf praised the council for passing a budget on June 23 “that addressed seemingly competing community demands to both defund the police and to, at the very least, preserve police services and 911 response.” She said the budget reflected the council’s commitment “to do so much more with thoughtful analysis and community involvement.”Bas and Kaplan said in their report that their proposal to cut much more was a&nbsp; direct response to demands from “an overwhelming number of community members to divert police spending to community needs.”Bas and Kaplan called for a freeze of vacant police positions, a moratorium on arrests of pedestrians and bicycle violators, a reduction in police overtime for special events and demonstrations and consolidation of some operations.The funds would have been reallocated to bolster violence prevention for youth, expand fire prevention and place community safety ambassadors in neighborhoods.A July 15-19 survey of 2,000 Oakland residents by the Anti Police-Terror Project and #DefundthePolice Coalition found strong support for deep cuts to the police department and shifting the money toward housing, mental health support and other social services.“Oakland has the opportunity to set an example for the nation with a historic decision to stop law enforcement overspending and invest in services that truly make us safe.” James Burch, policy director for the Anti Police-Terror Project, said in a statement before the council meeting.“Oakland residents are clear on what keeps us safe: housing as a human right, mental health and trauma support, family-sustaining jobs and worker protections, clean streets and fresh air, and restorative justice to resolve conflict through compassion and healing, not a badge and a gun. In other words, WE keep US safe,” said Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, in a statement.The council did agree to discuss at its July 28 meeting a plan by Bas and Taylor to form a task force to create a reconstruction of public safety in Oakland with the goal of reducing the police budget by 50% — or $150 million — over the next two years.In addition, the council approved a six-month moratorium on police stops of pedestrian and bicyclist violations.We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.Get Morning Report and other email newslettersFollow UsMost PopularClose

By | Bay Area News GroupOAKLAND — After concluding the police department’s budget took a deep enough cut last month, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf cast the tie-breaking vote late Tuesday to prevent it from being slashed further.“Oakland must create a new system of public safety and justice based on real numbers that do not mislead the public,” Schaaf said as she stepped in to reject a proposal by council members Dan Kalb and Sheng Thao to cut $2.75 million from the police budget.Kalb and Thao wanted that money to be spent instead on the city’s violence prevention program, cleanups of homeless...

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Jon Kawamoto is a reporter covering the Lamorinda area, Danville and San Ramon. He was the Hills weeklies editor, in charge of the Alameda Journal, Berkeley Voice, El Cerrito Journal, The Montclarion and The Piedmonter. He previously worked as an editor with the Los Angeles Times, the Contra Costa Times and the Oakland Tribune. Kawamoto is a central California native and a graduate of Fresno State University.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/author/jon-kawamoto/

Jon Kawamoto

Latest Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area news from reporters & columnists at The Mercury News.

Oakland mayor casts tie-breaking vote to reject deeper police cuts

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