Alameda County holds firm against Urban Shield, stands behind demilitarized solution

In a 3-2 decision, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to move forward with the 60 recommendations that call for demilitarized emergency response trainings and community focused disaster response programs. This decision was made despite the Sheriff's Office attempts to back track on the recommendations and revive Urban Shield since the Board initially adopted the recommendations on February 26th.

"We applaud the Board of Supervisors for keeping their promises and commitments to our communities. Their vote today builds a culture of preparedness for Alameda County and sets us up to become a more inclusive, resilient, and safe region," says Amber Akemi Piatt, Health Instead of Punishment Program Director at Human Impact Partners.

The Stop Urban Shield Coalition is looking forward to supporting County decision makers on implementing the recommendation and developing new, more expansive emergency preparedness programs that can serve as a model nationally.

Numerous community members as well as Supervisors refuted the Sheriff's claims that the recommendations would eliminate training. "No one on this Board is saying that they don't want training," said Chan.

"This Board's decision is truly a victory for communities, especially those most vulnerable in the face of disasters," says Arvin Garcia of Filipino Advocates for Justice, who is also a dispatcher for the county's immigrant legal support hotline. "We also recognize that there is much work to be done, and the Board's decision allows for those most impacted by disasters to be included in the process of building a more robust training."