CORRESPONDENCE - 85A - Laserfiche WebLink

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Orozco, Norma From:Julie Herrick <jaherrick@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, June 18, 2020 9:20 PM To:Pulido, Miguel; Mendoza, Nelida; Villegas, Juan; Bacerra, Phil; Solorio, Jose; Sarmiento, Vicente; Penaloza, David; eComment Subject:Item 85A - Creating an Effective Civilian Oversight of the Police Department Dear Santa Ana City Council, I'm writing for two reasons, both to submit in writing my comments regarding Item 85A, and also to comment on the way the meeting was run. This evening, during the initial public comment time of Item 85A I pressed *9 to speak and heard the confirmation, but the clerk announced all the callers were all done while I was still in the queue, and I later learned that several other callers shared that experience. After that, the council allowed comments to resume, and I was able to speak for 1 min. When Mayor Pulido decided to arbitrarily cut the 30+ callers down to 20, and cut each comment to 1 minute, he made it abundantly clear that public comment was an inconvenience to him. Waiting on the phone five hours on Tuesday and several more hours today was also an inconvenience to me, but I did it, and I finally got my 1 minute. I still do not understand why we were asked for our address. I'm happy to confirm that I'm a Santa Ana resident, or even state my neighborhood, street or ward, but I do not feel safe sharing my full address live on a publicly live-streamed and archived call, and I don't believe that revealing that information should be a precondition of making a public comment. I wouldn't even mind sharing my address on a paper card at an in- person meeting because I expect that card will stay somewhat private, but stating it on a Livestream is a whole different ballgame. I think that's a totally unreasonable demand on the part of Mayor Pulido. And now to reiterate my public comment: My name Julie Herrick and I've been a Santa Ana resident for 12 years Police are granted enormous power in our community, and that power must be matched with equal accountability. I'm calling in support of an effective Civilian Review Board with the authority to exercise proper oversight and accountability of the Police Department and its officers. In order to have meaningful oversight, it needs to have subpoena power; investigatory authority; disciplinary authority; and the ability to hire and fire officers, including the Chief of Police. Even then, the creation of such an oversight body is the bare minimum the city can do and needs to be part of other efforts to approach public safety by divesting from enforcement and investing in positive community programs that address residents’ needs. Best regards, Julie Herrick Santa Ana, CA 1