General (4)
Public Comment
From:Justin Chou <
Sent:Saturday, September 12, 2020 3:05 PM
Subject:Reallocate Police Spending. End the nonsense.
To the Anaheim City Council:
My name is Justin Chou and I am a resident of Anaheim Hills. I am writing in deep concern for the health of the greater
Anaheim community. It has become more than clear that a radical shift in our concept of policing and community health
must take place at the local level. Police violence in Anaheim has disproportionately affected Black and Brown residents
and that must come to an end.
The United States does not have a national healthcare system. Instead, we have the largest military budget, and some of
the most well-funded and militarized police departments in the world. Anaheim is no different: the 2019-2020 budget
allocated $153.8 million to law enforcement and only $1 million to community development.
Anaheim is the 9th most violent police department in the U.S. From 2003-2016, Anaheim Police Department killed 33
people during the process of arrest, and nearly 40% of them were unarmed. Since 2014, the rate of arrest-related
deaths caused by Anaheim PD exceeds that of LAPD, NYPD, and San Fran PD and is 74% higher than the average for
police in California.
I demand that the city council not approve “Resolution 19” that would spend $700,000 dollars of taxpayer money on
surveillance technology of anti-police brutality protests and that any future projects related to surveillance be halted. I
also demand that the council not approve "Resolution 5" that will use $100,000 to improve 10 police vehicles. Instead,
invest that money in creating programs that benefit and enrich the community especially during a global pandemic.
I am calling on our elected officials to stop criminalizing our community members. We as a concerned community refuse
to remain silent on the use of technology to further terrorize our community.
Thank you,
Justin Chou
Anaheim, CA 92808
Justin Chou
1