Greetings dear friends, here’s what we’ve been up to:
On Tuesday 2/6:
The Coalition attended the weekly Board of Police Commissioners meeting at LAPD HQ. This week the Board was reviewing their annual technology audit, which included an assessment of LAPD’s ALPR, Facial Recognition Technology, and Social Media Surveillance capabilities. The audit was initially introduced to the LAPD as Special Order 11, a reform pushed through the Board of Police Commissioners following the George Floyd protests meant to facilitate the expansion of LAPD surveillance capabilities.
That evening the Coalition held our monthly Gender and Sexuality Community meeting at LA CAN. This month we discussed updates on the City Attorney’s attack on sex workers on the Figueroa Corridor.
On Wednesday 2/7:
We continued our weekly lessons with youth at Imperial Courts. This week we discussed how federal budgets are made, and students made an art piece illustrating how they would envision their communities if they had control of the resources.
On Thursday 2/8:
Thursday’s episode of Radio Insurrection featured a conversation with Shayla Myers, Senior Attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Shayla has been at the forefront of legal fights against the city’s increased efforts to criminalize the unhoused in Los Angeles. We discussed Los Angeles County’s decision to write an amicus brief on the Supreme Court hearing Grants Pass, Oregon vs. Gloria Johnson. The Grants Pass decision could allow cities across the country to more easily criminalize being unhoused. You can listen to the episode at kpfk.org/archives.
To plug in with any of the work groups listed above, or for more information about the Stop
LAPD Spying Coalition, email us at stoplapdspying@gmail.com.