General (13)
Public Comment
From:Gabrielle Dengler <
Sent:Monday, February 8, 2021 8:58 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:Police Spending: $20 million
Anaheim Council Members,
You're spending too much much money on your law enforcement and not enough on your community. As
elected civil-servants, I urge you to please be better.
I just learned that since 2010, at least $20 million has been spent settling and fighting lawsuits and legal claims
by the public against the police department. This is a sizable amount of money that could be spent elsewhere.
One of the many claims against the police department that particularly struck me dealt with a minor losing a
body part at the hands of a negligent police officer while suffering from mental debilitation.
I propose reallocating cash used towards defending a problematic police force towards community-centric
things like developing a series if alternative safety programs. The main purpose of these programs would be to
provide more resources for the community to turn to when they need help.
So when a minor is suffering from a mental health issue that a parent may not be able to handle, there are other
resources to turn to. It appears in one of the claims filed against the police department, a minor was suffering
from a psychotic episode, and the local police responded with a K9 unit and rubber bullets.
(For reference, I reviewed this piece from the Voice of OC publication discussing police spending within the
city:
https://voiceofoc.org/2021/02/lost-body-part-and-wrongful-death-in-custody-are-among-recent-claims-against-
anaheim-police/ )
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