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Salas, Diana <br />From: Anthony Johnson <anthony723johnson@yahoo.com> <br />Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 10:02 AM <br />To: eComment <br />Cc: Pulido, Miguel; Sarmiento, Vicente; Penaloza, David; Solorio, Jose; Bacerra, Phil; <br />Villegas, Juan; Mendoza, Nelida <br />Subject: June 16 Meeting <br />Good morning, <br />As you know, this is an immensely important time in our history, and we have the opportunity to significantly <br />improve the lives of all people who are a part of this community, those who visit our city, and for future <br />generations to come. It has finally been brought to the forefront that we need a radical change in how we protect <br />and serve the people of this community, especially the Black, Latinx, and poor people. The Santa Ana police are <br />not only one of the most violent organizations in the state, but in THE COUNTRY, and the fact that over 40% <br />of our city budget goes to them is frankly disrespectful. <br />Continuing to expand funding for the police has obviously not been the answer to minimizing crime, which has <br />been consistently shown over and over and over. What our city needs is a reallocation of the police funding <br />towards community services and healthcare. We need further investment in youth programs, increased mental <br />health services, neighborhood infrastructures, childcare, and community outreach for those who need these <br />services most. We need more funds for rehabilitation and the re-entry process for formerly incarcerated <br />individuals, and to help increase employment and education rates. <br />We need to build a community that does not need this level of policing, which terrorizes Black, Latinx, and <br />poor people. We need to build a community where we know our elected officials listen to the voices of the <br />people who elected them, and will make decisions that will serve the people best. We need to build a <br />community that truly serves and protects each other. <br />I hope you take this into sincere consideration today, and as you make decisions from this day forward. I look <br />forward to hearing from you. <br />Thank you, <br />AJ <br />