HomeMy WebLinkAboutInvesting in Community Health_ not PoliceDear Mayor Harmon and San Luis Obispo City Council,
My name is Drew Morrison and I am a resident of San Luis Obispo. I was glad to see Mayor Harmon walking in solidarity with thousands of others community members in the peaceful protest
that occurred last Thursday. Your activism is noticed and appreciated. To council member Carlyn Christianson, your dismissal of a similar email sent by one of my colleagues as "insane"
is also noticed, but not appreciated, and will surely be brought up during the future election period.
I also appreciate the response I received from Mayor Harmon last week regarding the concerning demonstration of excessive force used by the San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly police department,
one which used illegal chemical weapons against students and other members of this community. I hope this served as glaring representation of the issues our "criminal" justice system
currently possesses, as this incident in nowhere near isolated and continues to happen across the nation. I believe a solution to both this problem and the embarrassing racial inequality
that San Luis Obispo suffers from comes in the form of moving the excessive funding our police force receives into other, more impactful, approaches to protecting and serving.
In 2019, the City of San Luis Obispo allocated 36.3 million dollars to our police system, an inordinate 27.5% of our total budget. This is compared to just 7.3% of the budget, $9.7 million,
allocated towards community development, with only $1.4 million towards housing development. Next year, the city estimates that there will be a $8.6 million deficit as a result of the
pandemic. The city may recoup these funds by decreasing the police budget.
I demand that the City Council begin meaningfully defunding the San Luis Obispo Police Department and re-allocate those funds to programs proven to more effectively promote a safe and
equitable community. We need funding for community-based mental health services, substance abuse treatment services, affordable housing programs, not police. I demand a budget that
reflects the actual needs of San Luis Obispo residents.
History has shown that police “reform” is not enough. No more money, and more importantly, no more lives must be lost to police. We must take a hard look at the way the current system
in place fails to serve-and in fact actively harms-our community, and come together to reimagine the role of police in our city.
I am urging you to completely revise the budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, and to invest in the people, not the police.
Thank you for your time and service,
Drew Morrison
Drew Morrison (he/him/his)
Green Campus Team Member
Intended B.S Environmental Management
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
dmorri14@calpoly.edu | (661) 904-6202