SLO mayor outlines city’s anti-racism plan — it includes $160,000 for equity programs

This is a time of mourning in this country. Thursday, the family and loved ones of George Floyd lay their beloved son, brother, father and friend to rest. I have asked that all flags in the city be flown at half staff to honor his life — a life ended too soon at the hands of a racist police officer.

I have been listening to all of your voices and I hear you. This statement was written in collaboration with local young black leadership, in particular with Xavier Moore, Jalen Hamler, both Cal Poly students, and Tianna Arata, a recent Cuesta graduate and future University of Sacramento student. I had the honor of walking with these leaders in a peaceful protest on Wednesday and their leadership is something to be commended and celebrated.

I want to start by acknowledging and affirming how tragic, unacceptable and heartbreaking the recent killings of black folks at the hands of the police are. I understand the murders of recent weeks are but a few in the centuries-long history of racism and violence against people of color in this country. What is happening today is a direct result of our country’s racist beginning, a wound we have never committed to healing. We must make that commitment now through action, through policy, through dialogue and collaboration.

Over recent days, thousands of people in our community have boldly and peacefully stood in solidarity to protest racial injustice that has plagued our nation and our world. I stand with you. I hear you and I want to take this opportunity to positively impact social change — a change that prioritizes black voices, equity in leadership, a world where parents don’t live in fear when their Black children leave the house, and a San Luis Obispo that does not leave anyone out.

We have heard over and over again from people of color that they do not feel welcome here. It is time to step up and be willing to do the difficult and necessary work of changing that. It is up to us to do the work to educate ourselves in order to create a community that is welcoming, equitable and kind. A budget is an expression of values and I want the city’s budget to express the value of standing with people of color.

I am glad to say that at this week’s City Council meeting we set aside $160,000 to go toward policy and efforts to better serve communities of color and create more equity in San Luis Obispo. This effort will center on people of color who will lead and advise us on steps we can take as a city on anti-racism work. With meaningful efforts, we can create a city in which tear gas, foam bullets and pepper balls will never be used when people are peacefully demonstrating. I am open, interested and ready to listen to your suggestions as to the best way to use this funding.

The incident on Monday in which tear gas was deployed by local law enforcement is greatly disturbing. I have heard from many of you that you are deeply upset as well. I was not involved in any way in the decision to deploy tear gas to disperse the protesters. Our role on City Council is one of policy, not of operations. In my role as mayor, I do not have a position of command or control over multi-jurisdictional law enforcement. I am, however, responsible for taking on the call and demanding that we do better.

I am committed to learning from this incident in order to gain clarity on what policies we need to pursue to ensure we don’t have an incident like that ever again in our city. I am calling for the police department to conduct a Critical Incident Review that includes the statements of protesters on what happened so that all of us can understand exactly what led up to this situation so we can learn, make changes and do better. I have signed on to President Obama’s pledge to de-escalate police violence.

In addition, I have asked the following questions of Police Chief Deanna Cantrell to seek clarity and assess what the critical next steps should be:

• Are police officers in the San Luis Obispo Police Department trained to de-escalate altercations by using peaceful conflict resolution strategies?

• Are they forbidden from using carotid restraints (chokeholds, strangleholds, etc.) and hog-tying methods? Furthermore, are they forbidden from transporting civilians in uncomfortable positions, such as face down in a vehicle?

• Are they required to intervene if they witness another officer using excessive force? Will officers be reprimanded if they fail to intervene?
  
  
• Are San Luis Obispo police officers forbidden from shooting at moving vehicles?
• Is there a clear and enforced use-of-force continuum that details what weapons and force are acceptable in a wide variety of civilian-police interactions?
• Are officers required to exhaust every other possible option before using force?
• Are they required to give a clear verbal warning to civilians before drawing their weapon or using excessive force?
• Are the officers required to report each time they threaten to or use force on civilians?
• Are they thoroughly vetted to ensure they do not have a history of abuse, racism, xenophobia, homophobia/transphobia or discrimination?
• Are officers trained to perform and seek necessary medical action after using physical force?
• Is there an early intervention system enforced to correct officers who use excessive force? Additionally, how many complaints do officers have to receive before they are reprimanded? Before they are terminated?
• What is the guideline for body cameras, including the need to ensure they are powered and operational at all times?
• What are the educational requirements for our officers?

At our next City Council meeting, I will present a proclamation to young leaders in honor of Juneteenth; the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. I call on the people of San Luis Obispo to join me in celebrating Juneteeth by sharing some of the tremendous wealth in this community by providing scholarship funding to Cal Poly so more first-generation students have a chance at a good education and a chance at being part of the fabric of this community.

My conversation with student leaders who are also scholar-athletes informed this particular request. They feel, as do many other Back and brown students, that there is an assumption that Black students at Cal Poly are there because of athletics. They want to increase the number of Black and brown students at Cal Poly in an attempt to make lasting change to Cal Poly culture with respect to racial justice. One way to increase the presence of students of color is to help low-income and first-generation students by providing scholarships. These scholarships would significantly decrease the cost of attendance, a barrier for many. And I call on the media to commit to unbiased reporting and to take responsibility for the crucial role that media often plays in stoking the flames of fear and distrust.

Racism is a social system with multiple dimensions. Racism causes persistent discrimination in housing, education, employment and criminal justice; racism is a significant social determinant of health, as we have seen throughout the COVID pandemic and violence against people of color. It is crucial that we name this in order to fully and meaningfully address this crisis. This is why at our next City Council meeting I will ask the city of San Luis Obispo to assert that racism is a public health emergency affecting our entire society. And I am calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to do the same.

As an activist myself, I appreciate the impact activism can have on policy, and the work it takes to be in the streets. Your activism has made a difference. I implore you as we move into tomorrow and the weeks and years to come, to continue to listen, ask questions and do the important work that is before us. Do not look away. We are a caring and compassionate community. And we are a caring and compassionate community of privilege and we are called to use that privilege to create a more fair and just world for all. We need to come together and stand in support of peaceful and radical action against systemic racism. I stand in grief and support and believe we must come together to end the discrimination and violence of Black and marginalized communities everywhere.

A world exists in which we no longer have to protest injustice because injustice no longer exists. A world where riot gear goes rusty and policing becomes obsolete. A world where Black men can run and Black women can sleep in their homes in safety. A world where George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery Taylor are still alive, walking hand in hand with Xavier Moore, Jalen Hamler, and Tianna Arata. Let us create that world together.

Heidi Harmon is in her second term as mayor of San Luis Obispo.

This Viewpoint has been updated to clarify information regarding Cal Poly scholarships for students of color.

This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 1:40 PM.