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Orozco, Norma <br /> From: Adam Overton <aoverton@cluejustice.org> <br /> Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2023 2:23 PM <br /> To: eComment <br /> Cc: Amezcua, Valerie; Bacerra, Phil; Phan, Thai; Penaloza, David; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, <br /> Johnathan; Vazquez, Benjamin <br /> Subject: Agenda Item 14: Opposition to Lexipol Contract <br /> August 29th, 2023 <br /> To: <br /> Mayor Amezcua and City Councilmembers <br /> 20 Civic Center Plaza <br /> Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br /> ecomment@santa-ana.orp <br /> Via Email <br /> RE: Item 14: Approve Master Service Agreement with Lexipol, LLC to Provide Policy Manual <br /> Maintenance and Support to the Police Department <br /> Dear Mayor Amezcua and City Councilmembers, <br /> Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) urges you to vote NO on Item 14, the <br /> proposal to Approve the Master Service Agreement with Lexipol, LLC to Provide Policy Manual <br /> Maintenance and Support to the Police Department (Department). Instead we urge you to explore <br /> alternatives that involve community driven policies with public feedback. The City should explore <br /> options such as allocating additional resources to the City Attorney's office for in-house police <br /> policy maintenance, and collaborate with the newly established City's Police Oversight <br /> Commission (Commission) to oversee and monitor the Department Policies. <br /> Last year, the Council unanimously delayed the approval of the proposed contract with Lexipol due <br /> to community concerns. City staff committed to come back with alternatives to the company's <br /> services, ones involving public feedback. However, as of now, no further updates or public feedback <br /> have been provided to determine alternatives. The City must remain committed to addressing <br /> community concerns and ensuring transparency by having the public provide their input in the <br /> process. <br /> Lexipol is a police lobbying group that subverts state law and best policing practices by selling <br /> boilerplate policies to police departments. In 2020, after the California Legislature passed AB 392: <br /> the necessary standard for police use of deadly force, Lexipol released an unlawful use of force policy <br /> that several local law enforcement agencies, including the City's Department, purchased and <br /> adopted. Organizations such as Chispa and ACLU SoCal successfully contested this policy, and worked <br /> alongside the City to bring it in compliance with the law. The City Attorney's office sent a letter to <br /> Lexipol that their policy was "legally deficient" and "does not precisely comport with the legislative <br /> changes set forth in AB 392." This incident is just one of several instances illustrating Lexipol's <br /> 1 <br />