top
Santa Cruz IMC
Santa Cruz IMC
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Thu Feb 5 2015 (Updated 02/09/15)
Activists Say Santa Cruz Police Lied to Secure $250,000 Armored Vehicle Purchase
Santa Cruz County Agencies Already Possess a Minimum of Three Armored Vehicles
On January 27, about 100 citizens attended the Santa Cruz City Council meeting to demand the Council rescind its rushed approval of the Police Department's purchase of a fully armored vehicle, a BearCat. Activists claim Santa Cruz Police relied on questionable information about their need for an armored vehicle when they pushed the Council to approve this purchase, claiming it would take 3-4 hours for the nearest armored vehicle to arrive here from Santa Clara if needed. In fact, both the Sheriff's Department and the Scotts Valley Police Department have armored vehicles that can be quickly deployed.

The Santa Cruz City Council approved the BearCat Purchase on December 9. Journalist John Malkin, who has been working with SCRAM! and others to uncover more information about the SCPD's BearCat purchase through Public Records Act Requests, said that information detailing other agencies' armored vehicle inventories would have been, "very useful to have shared with the city council at the point when they were asked to vote for purchasing a new 250 thousand dollar vehicle."

"Our idea is that it would have given them a better perception of what kind of equipment is available locally, what kind of sharing is possible, and that the vehicle for another reason is not needed for our city," Malkin said.

Community members continue to protest the BearCat purchase. On Tuesday, February 10, activists plan to speak out at the city council meeting and hold a rally at City Hall at 4:30pm. On Wednesday, February 11, a forum on the militarization of the Santa Cruz Police Department will be held at the Louden Nelson Center at 6pm.

imc_photo.gif video Read More with Photos and Video | See Also: Dear City Council, Santa Cruz Does NOT Want a BEARCAT | Wider World is Watching the BEARCAT in Santa Cruz

Previous Coverage: Santa Cruz Residents Continue to Call for Police to "Give Back the BearCat" || Protesters Shut Down City Council Meeting after Purchase of Armored Vehicle Approved
2024-06-11 If Passed, Measure J Will Ban "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations" Front Page | North Bay / Marin | Government & Elections | Animal Liberation2024-06-11 Activists Stand in Solidarity with Horses Who Lost Their Lives at Race Track Front Page | East Bay | Animal Liberation2024-06-11 Two Years After Shireen Abu Akleh Was Killed, There Still Is No Justice Front Page | Anti-War | Media Activism & Independent Media | San Francisco | International | Palestine2024-06-11 Crisis Team Provides Students with Non-Police Response to Mental Health Crises Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Education & Student Activism | California | Santa Cruz Indymedia2024-06-11 Only a Couple of Thousand Adult Leatherback Turtles Remain in the Pacific Ocean Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | San Francisco | Peninsula | North Bay / Marin | North Coast | California | Animal Liberation | Santa Cruz Indymedia2024-05-25 Demonstrators Denounce Tech Giant's Contracts with Israeli Military Front Page | Anti-War | Peninsula | U.S. | International | Palestine2024-05-13 Actions Call on Biden to Declare a Climate Emergency and End Fossil Fuels Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | Education & Student Activism | San Francisco | Peninsula | California | U.S. | Palestine2024-05-08 Resistance to Deceptive Forest Service Measure Is Growing Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Central Valley | California | U.S.2024-05-08 Regulators Fail to Protect Schoolchildren from Repeated Exposure to Dangerous Pesticides Environment & Forest Defense | Racial Justice | Health, Housing & Public Services | Labor & Workers | Education & Student Activism | Santa Cruz Indymedia2024-04-24 Across the Globe, Students Set Up Encampments in Solidarity with Palestinians Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Anti-War | Education & Student Activism | Central Valley | San Francisco | South Bay | East Bay | Peninsula | North Bay / Marin | North Coast | California | U.S. | International | Palestine | Santa Cruz Indymedia2024-04-09 Deal Described as One of the Most Significant Urban Land Back Victories in US History Environment & Forest Defense | Racial Justice | East Bay
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$140.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network