HomeMy WebLinkAboutRequest to City Council
Christian, Kevin
From:Lauren Marie Zaragoza <lmzarago@calpoly.edu>
Sent:Tuesday, June 2, 2020 2:49 PM
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Request to City Council
Dear City Council,
My name is Lauren Zaragoza and I am a resident of San Luis Obispo and an environmental management and
protection major at Cal Poly and I grew up not too far from here in the city of Ventura.
I am constantly proud of where I am from and see the extended central coast and San Luis Obispo as a part of
that. I can not keep these sentiments with the ongoing global crisis the actions the San Luis Obispo police
force has taken against peaceful protestors.
As you know George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and so many unnamed others
have been killed because of our country's systematically racist criminal justice system. In light of these events,
we ask that in today's review of the 2020-21 budget, you reallocate some of the funds currently directed
toward the police department to other programs and alternative forms of policing, such as community
policing, community development, or even a specific diversity, equity, and inclusion line item. We believe this
is a small request to begin to address the massive inequities ans systems of oppression that have been
perpetuated by governmental inaction. Though this will not fix the problem, it will move our city in a positive
direction and demonstrate a tangible commitment to addressing systematic racism.
City council, I urge you to do the right thing and stand up against police brutality, address and redistribute the
25% of the city's budget that goes to the police, and instead invest in our community. I urge you to consider
and adopt policies from Campaign Zero -
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
and from the Black Lives Matter Official platform
https://blacklivesmatter.com/defundthepolice/
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#DefundThePolice - Black Lives Matter
Enough is enough. Our pain, our cries, and our need to
be seen and heard resonate throughout this entire
country. We demand acknowledgment and
accountability for the devaluation and dehumanization of
Black life at the hands of the police. We call for radical,
sustainable solutions that affirm the prosperity of Black
lives.
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blacklivesmatter.com
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Campaign Zero
Funds donated to Campaign Zero support the analysis of
policing practices across the country, research to identify
effective solutions to end police violence, technical
assistance to organizers leading police accountability
campaigns and the development of model legislation
and advocacy to end police violence nationwide.
www.joincampaignzero.org
In solidarity,
Lauren Zaragoza
Environmental Management and Protection
Biology Minor
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
lmzarago@calpoly.edu
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