Click HERE to view the Demand Letter to the LA Police Commission Annul Oct 15th Vote Legitimizing Predpol.
Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
October 22, 2019
Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners
100 West First Street, Suite 134
Los Angeles, California 90012
Commissioner President Eileen Decker
Commissioner Vice President Commissioner Shane Murphy Goldsmith
Commissioner Sandra Figueroa-Villa
Commissioner Steven Soboroff
Commissioner Dale Bonner
Dear Commissioners:
On behalf of the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition we view your actions on October 15, 2019 at the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioner meeting as a continuation of the failure of this oversight body to represent the best interest of communities across Los Angeles. The commission:
- Willfully ignored the demand of hundreds of community members and over 450 academics including faculty and students from the University of California Los Angeles and other Universities throughout the nation, who are calling for an end to Predpol and challenging the “ethics and merits” of Professor Jeff Brantingham’s research, a co-creator of Predpol, calling it “troubling legacies of anthropology and social sciences;”
- Willfully ignored the clear conflict of interest by a sitting Commissioner – Sandra Figueroa-Villa who in August 2014 received a $7,500 bribe in the guise of “donation” from Predpol and who failed to disclose this for the last 5 years;
- Failed to reject and reprimand LAPD for spreading misinformation, claiming 7.4 % drop in crime could be attributed to the use of to Predpol based on a report published by Predpol Inc. Out of the seven authors of the report, five were stockholders in Predpol Inc., including two co-owners of the company;
- With great ease, silenced community members by violently removing them from the meeting during public comment.
It is cowardly and unethical to remove an entire community who diligently worked to educate the commission on predictive policing programs knowing the commission is ill-informed and ignorant of how these programs impact the community. If it were not for the work of this community to bring grave violations to light through a series of reports, a California Public Records Act (CPRA) lawsuit, and community pressure, Operation LASER—a very violent program—would still be in operation, and would have expanded to all 21 LAPD divisions by 2020. The commission lacks clear foresight and judgment when it wrongly assumes that LAPD had the intention to review these programs, given its continuing history of violating peoples’ rights. Former Commissioner Cynthia McClain-Hill, who had the courage to demand a hearing and audit, should be seen as an example of how an action of a member of a “civilian oversight board,” expected from the community as per the city charter, CAN uplift and support community presence and concerns.
This commission acts only in the interest of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Department and are complicit in the continued oppression, mass displacement, and violence inflicted on Black, Brown, and poor communities. You operate on the wrong side of history. It has always been clear to us that this commission is a failure.
The intent of this letter is to expose the commission’s corruption, demand the immediate annulment of the October 15th decision approving LAPD’s report back, and re-schedule and agendize a public hearing on the item with immediate effect on the forthcoming LA Board of Police Commission meeting.
Furthermore, we also want to create a historic record that you are a violent force seeking to intentionally silence a community. We expect to hear back from you at the earliest.
Sincerely,
Hamid Khan
Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
Cc:
Michel Moore – Chief, Los Angeles Police Department
Richard Tefank – Executive Director, Los Angeles Police Commission
Mark Smith – Inspector General, Los Angeles Police Department
Eric Garcetti – Mayor, City of Los Angeles
Ana Guerrero – Chief of Staff, Mayor of Los Angeles
Mike Feuer – City Attorney, City of Los Angeles