Tanks, No Thanks Give Back the BearCat Armored Military Vehicle

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/12/15/18765642.php

I received the following e-mail this morning.

HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) opposes the BEARCAT. Though uninvited by SCRAM, we have also been regularly opposing this blatant militarization of Santa Cruz, which also shamelessly demonstrates the political power of the SCPD as an independent and dominant force in town.

HUFF is concerned that angered activists extend their opposition to more long-standing, pervasive and intrusive institutional SCPD police abuses. These are dramatically spotlighted by the national outrage against police murders in city after city. The SCPD's race and class profiling particularly impacts homeless and poor people, who have to deal with these armed guards of the existing order day after day and night after night. Meanwhile police are given escalating powers under the Stay-Away law, due to go into force in early February, unless stayed by an Injunction. See ""Homeless Persons Legal Assistance Project Files Suit Challenging "Stay Away" Ordinance at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/01/23/18767420.php .

See https://www.indybay.org/uploads/2015/01/24/12-17_policies_flyer_updated.pdf .


PRESS RELEASE BY SCRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26th, 2015

CONTACT:
SCRAM! (Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization!)
Abbi Samuels - 831-842-4343
Sherry Conable - 831-459-7259

PRESS CONFERENCE TO REVEAL IMPORTANT EVIDENCE THAT CALLS INTO QUESTION SOME OF THE KEY REPRESENTATIONS THAT THE SANTA CRUZ POLICE DEPARTMENT MADE TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO JUSTIFY THE BEARCAT PURCHASE.

Tuesday, January 27th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
Santa Cruz City Hall courtyard, 809 Center Street, Santa Cruz, California

SCRAM! (Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization!) will hold a Press Conference and Rally about the Santa Cruz City Council’s recent approval of Santa Cruz Police Department’s request to purchase a Lenco BearCat, a military-style Armored Personnel Carrier. The Press Conference and Rally will be held in the Santa Cruz City Hall Courtyard on January 27th, 2015 at 4:30 pm.

SCRAM! will be revealing important evidence that they have uncovered through research and interviews. This new evidence materially undermines some of the key representations that SCPD made to the City Council to justify theBearCat purchase.

Immediately following the Press Conference and Rally, SCRAM! members and others will address the City Council during the public comment period.

SCRAM! is a newly formed group of citizen-activists, representing diverse interest groups in Santa Cruz County, who are concerned about the increasing militarization of Santa Cruz law enforcement agencies. Currently, they are working to convince the Santa Cruz City Council to rescind the approval of the BearCat purchase, and to develop a long term policy/ordinance governing the process for future grant requests that is fully transparent and invites public participation.

The goals of SCRAM! have been cosponsored by the following Santa Cruz groups (a growing list!):
CodePink, People United for Peace, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Santa Cruz Quaker Meeting, Resource Center for Nonviolence, Food not Bombs, Veterans for Peace, SC County Community Coalition to Overcome Racism, Jewish Voice for Peace, the People's Democratic Club, Sin Barras, Peace and Freedom Party, Homeless Persons Legal Assistance Project, Women in Black SC, MediaWatch/Youth Radio Project, Palestine-Israel Action Committee, the ISLAH Reparation Project.........