Tag Archives: police

Resolution urging that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors conduct open study sessions on critical Contra Costa County Sheriff Department functions related to the internal investigations process from an equity lens, including potential oversight mechanisms

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DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the September 15, 2022 regular meeting.

WHEREAS in 2020 the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors declared racism was a public health crisis and “a social system with multiple dimensions: individual racism that is internalized or interpersonal and systemic racism that is institutional or structural”; and

WHEREAS in 2020 the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors declared that Black/African Americans, Latinx, and other communities of color are disproportionally impacted by health disparities; and

WHEREAS mental care and health care are equity issues which disproportionately impact communities of color in Contra Costa County with respect to access to intervention services, proper diagnosis and care; and

WHEREAS it required the proactive efforts of advocates to ensure that the County established mobile crisis and alternative behavioral health crisis intervention models such as the A3 model (Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime); and

 WHEREAS the work of advocates like Duane Chapman, former chair of the County Mental Health Commission, advocated for mental health crisis response reform for many years; and

WHEREAS the Contra Costa Sheriff Department sent staff to be trained on the Mental Health Evaluation Team (MHET) model in 2012, but did not implement a MHET team until 2021, years after many Contra Costa cities implemented the program when leadership was required; and

WHEREAS there are longstanding concerns about Coroner’s findings in inquests, and actions of deputies by the families of those who lost their lives from use of force as a result of mental health crisis response by Contra Costa County Sheriff deputies that exposed the County to legal liability; and

 WHEREAS Sheriff Livingston supported the actions of Deputy Hall, who was charged and convicted, and wrote a public letter to his deputies supporting the actions of Deputy Andrew Hall, who was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of assault with a firearm in the fatal shooting of motorist Laudemer Arboleda, 33, during a slow-speed car chase in November 2018; and

 WHEREAS Deputy Andrew Hall was permitted to return to duty while the previous case was pending and fatally shot Tyrell Wilson, 33, in Danville on March 11, 2021; and

 WHEREAS there are concerns about the accuracy and thoroughness of recent Sheriff’s investigations, including a recent case where criminal charges have been filed in the case of a former Contra Costa County Sheriff volunteer with the Contra Costa County Posse who is accused of building and selling ghost guns obtained from the Sheriff’s gun range; and

 WHEREAS these actions expose the County to legal and financial liability; and

WHEREAS these actions are a concern to public trust which merit investigation and procedural changes; and

WHEREAS the citizens of the County have requested oversight and checks and balances for investigations by the Contra Costa County Sheriff Department to help build positive relationships, trust and transparency between the community and law enforcement.  

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County ask the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to conduct open study sessions regarding critical Sheriff Department functions related to the internal investigations process from an equity lens, including establishing a civilian oversight body; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that by January 15th, 2023, the County Administrator’s Office convenes a working group to create oversight recommendations to the full Board of Supervisors which would include two to three community advocates, at least two individuals with lived experience or familial experience with the behavioral health system, at least two community representatives , the Sheriff and/or his designee,  two representatives of the Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, and at least two representatives from BIPOC communities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the findings of this process be presented to the Board of Supervisors on a regular basis for public comment and review along with a measurement dashboard, including examining mental health encounters and treatment referrals from a race equity framework in a public process for discourse. 

Original resolution submitted June 30, 2022, by Michelle Milam and Maria Alegria, elected delegate, District 1

Approved by the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, September 15, 2022

Resolution in Support of Divesting the California Democratic Party from Fossil Fuel and Law Enforcement Contributions

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DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the October 21, 2021 regular meeting.

WHEREAS, although a California Democratic Party (CDP) ad hoc committee unanimously recommended the end of fossil fuel contributions in March 2020, and the CDP Finance Committee recommended to end law enforcement contributions in July 2020, these recommendations have, over a year later, not been adopted by the CDP, nor given an opportunity to be voted on by the CDP Executive Board or CDP Delegates; and motions made by the African American and Environmental Caucus Chairs to end the acceptance of these contributions were both ruled out of order at the August 2021 CDP Executive Board meeting; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of the gravity of these issues, the CDP Platform clearly states: “Climate change is an existential threat to humanity,” calls on both Congress and the California Legislature to “[transition] away from extraction and refining of fossil fuels,” and further asserts that “[c]riminal justice reform must incorporate every aspect of the criminal justice system, including … the practices and behavior of law enforcement professionals”; and

WHEREAS, on September 25, 2021, a petition signed by 7 CDP Caucus Chairs (later signed on by an eighth) and 56 CDP Executive Board members, was duly and timely submitted calling for a Special Meeting of the Executive Board at Laney College in Oakland, CA on October 24, 2021, to finally take action on both proposals.

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County (DPCCC) supports the immediate formalization of a current cessation of the practice by the CDP to accept contributions from entities associated with the extraction and/or refining of fossil fuels and law enforcement.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, while hoping that the need for a Special Meeting to vote on formalizing the practice listed above can be avoided, the DPCCC welcomes the CDP Executive Board and Party members to Oakland, Contra Costa County’s neighboring city, later this month in the event that it cannot.

Respectfully submitted by:
Marisol Rubio, Director, San Ramon Services District, DPCCC Associate Member, District 2

Approved by:
Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, October 21, 2021

Resolution in Support of Senate Bill 2 (Bradford and Atkins), the Kenneth Ross Jr. Police Decertification Act of 2021

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DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the June 17, 2021 regular meeting.

WHEREAS, because police officers, sheriffs’ deputies, and other peace officers hold extraordinary powers to detain, search, arrest, and use force—including deadly force—the state has a correspondingly strong interest in ensuring that peace officers do not abuse their authority; and

WHEREAS, In 2017, 172 Californians were killed by the police, and our state’s police departments have some of the highest rates of killings in the nation, and of the unarmed people California police killed, three out of four were people of color. The nationwide protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd have made clear that Californians want to end police brutality and that our state must create a process to remove abusive police from the streets and protect those who are targeted by police violence; and 

WHEREAS, Senate Bill 2 would create a statewide decertification process to revoke the certification of a peace officer following the conviction of serious crimes or termination from employment due to misconduct, thereby helping to ensure these individuals are held accountable and that California’s standards for law enforcement better reflect community values; 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County supports the passage of Senate Bill 2 (Bradford and Atkins), as amended on May 20, 2021, and urges the Democratic supermajority in the California State Legislature to pass the legislation and the Democratic Governor to sign the bill into law;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County shall communicate this resolution to Contra Costa County Democrats, the California Democratic Party, members of the State Senate and State Assembly representing any part of Contra Costa County, members of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, and the Governor of the State of California. 

Submitted by: Craig Cheslog, Associate Member, District 2, May 27, 2021