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

BearCat Battle Moves Forward in Santa Cruz, City Council May Revisit Issue in March

by Alex Darocy (alex [at] alexdarocy.com)
February 10 marked the fourth consecutive Santa Cruz City Council meeting where residents have protested the police purchase of a $250,000 BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck) funded by two Department of Homeland Security grants. As with the previous protests, community members again rallied in the City Hall courtyard and entered Tuesday's council meeting as a group to speak out against the purchase of the armored attack-style vehicle during the open communications period at 5pm.
santa-cruz-bearcat-1.jpg
A large group of community members hoped to speak to the BearCat issue, but Mayor Don Lane did not add any time to the oral communications period, as he had done at the previous two city council meetings when attendance was high. As a result, some people were not allowed to speak.

However, Council Member Micah Posner, along with Lane, announced that they would be bringing the BearCat issue back to the council's agenda in March.

"What is anticipated to come up to the agenda in March," Mayor Lane said, "is both the vehicle use policy and the discussion of the system for procurement going forward on larger items like this and the grant program, how we accept grants."

Lane said there would be time for the public to discuss the BearCat issue at the meeting in March.

Community members continue to call for the BearCat order to be rescinded.

The announcement from Lane and Posner addresses some of the subjects of interest cited by community members organizing with SCRAM! (Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization!), but the group's three demands remain as follows:

1) to bring the BearCat back onto the SC City Council agenda for a full public hearing and to rescind the approval

2) to establish a long term policy for grant applications and acceptance in the City that ensures timeliness, transparency, full public disclosure and input

3) to help develop and implement policies that prevent military equipment from flowing into law enforcement agencies throughout Santa Cruz County


For more information about SCRAM!, see:

Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Cruz-Resistance-Against-Militarization-SCRAM/1020407254641174

For more background on the Santa Cruz BearCat issue, see:

Hundreds Protest Approval of Police Attack Vehicle Purchase at SC City Council Meeting
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/01/18/18767133.php

Activists Say Santa Cruz Police Lied to Secure Armored Vehicle Purchase
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/01/28/18767704.php


Alex Darocy
http://alexdarocy.blogspot.com/
§Santa Cruz City Hall
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-2.jpg
§Sherry Conable of SCRAM! speaks
by Alex Darocy
sherry-conable-santa-cruz.jpg
§Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs table outside of Council Chambers
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-4.jpg
§
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-5.jpg
§Council Chambers
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-6.jpg
§Speaking to the City Council
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-8.jpg
§Ron Pomerantz of SCRAM! speaks to the council
by Alex Darocy
ron-pomerantz-santa-cruz.jpg
§
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-11.jpg
§After the conclusion of the oral communications period
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-12.jpg
§Community member wearing a "BearCat" around their neck
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-13.jpg
§Bearhugs Not BearCats
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-14.jpg
§Give It Back
by Alex Darocy
santa-cruz-bearcat-15.jpg
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
Razer Ray
Fri, Feb 27, 2015 2:27PM
John Cohen-Colby
Sun, Feb 22, 2015 2:04AM
Steve Pleich
Thu, Feb 19, 2015 11:06PM
(a)
Thu, Feb 19, 2015 10:30AM
Leigh Meyers
Thu, Feb 19, 2015 8:39AM
John Cohen-Colby
Thu, Feb 19, 2015 6:27AM
Leigh Meyers
Wed, Feb 18, 2015 8:35AM
G
Wed, Feb 18, 2015 8:13AM
Leigh Meyers
Wed, Feb 18, 2015 8:08AM
Razer Ray
Tue, Feb 17, 2015 3:08PM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 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