On September 9, activists chained themselves to the entrances of the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton to protest Urban Shield, the SWAT training and weapons expo hosted annually by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department. Hundreds of community members from cities across California, including Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, marched and rallied. The Stop Urban Shield Coalition is amplifying the growing opposition to the militarization, policing, and violence in Black, Brown, and poor communities, and seeking to end Urban Shield. 
 Twenty-three activists were arrested, cited, and released.

In the wake of the mobilization against Urban Shield, a newly published report authored by the Stop Urban Shield coalition illustrates the negative social and economic impacts of Urban Shield. Instead of funding programs dominated by law enforcement, the report proposes community-based alternatives for emergency response and preparedness.

Activists Lock Down Entrances to 'Urban Shield' on its 10th Anniversary, 23 Arrested | Urban Shield: Abandoning Hope, Not Building Hope

Related Feature: The Struggle Against the Police Militarization of Urban Shield & Bulletproof Warrior