Red Door Project and the Evolve Experience

KKRN Radio and the Shasta Equal Justice Coalition Interviews CC4J

Chico City Police and Military Equipment

The Red Door Project Presentation at UC-Davis

CC4J members Diane S, Ann P. Robin K., Julian Z., and Anthony P. attended the 2-hour “Evolve” theater performances from Portland based Red Door project. www.reddoorproject.org at UC Davis. 

Members of CC4J promoted attendance at a four-hour “Evolve” workshop designed by The Red Door Project for law enforcement, public officials, and community leaders.  CC4J encouraged the Chico Police and the Police Citizens Advisory Board of Chico, as well as the CSU Chico campus- Police & Diversity Office to attend. With such short notice, we were pleased to have Interim Police Chief Aldridge and Lt. Omar Pena able to attend. CC4J hopes to meet with them soon to get their feedback on this workshop.  Please check out our next newsletter for a report on this meeting. 

The Evolve Experience (both the theatrical performances and the workshops) is a unique learning opportunity that examines the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve.  The presentations interweave monologues written by African American men and women about their experiences being racially profiled with monologues based on interviews with members of the criminal justice system. The goal is to decrease polarization and increase the viewer’s capacity to hold complex, nuanced viewpoints.

At the Red Door Project presentation in Davis, CC4J made great connections with UC Davis’s “Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion” and their Police Accountability Board:  UC Davis Police Accountability Board. UC Davis has made this academic year’s focus “Transformative Justice and Police Reform.” Many speakers are being hosted by UC Davis including Zach Norris, the author of their “book in common,” Defund Fear:  Safety without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment.

CC4J members Ann P., Julian Z. and Robin K. were interviewed by Sharon Brisolara on KKRN. Sharon is a founding member of Shasta Equal Justice Coalition and she is the host of KKRN’s show “Bending the Arc."  This program highlights people and organizations involved in working for fair and equal justice in Shasta County and nearby communities. “Bending the Arc" airs on the second Tuesdays of the month from 8 to 9am on KKRN 88.5 fm.

This recent interview with CC4J members can be downloaded after 12/13/22. Sharon Bristolara is a wealth of information and very interested in future collaboration with CC4J.

In response to community demands to take war gear off the streets, California passed new legislation in 2021. This bill, CA AB481, gives community members insight into and the power to decide how militarized our local law enforcement should be. We are looking for supporters who can help reach out to other Chico residents, review policies, and/or join us in meeting with members of Chico City Council.

This is an opportunity to press for de-militarization. Militarized policing has been constructed over a long period of time, and has become embedded in the thinking, budgets, and institutional prerogatives of both law enforcement and citizens. This policy is built on narratives of fear and racism, as well as a history and culture that embraces war. It's been disproportionately used on people of color and other marginalized groups. California local law enforcement agencies have received, for decades now, more military equipment than any other state, without clear protocols for its use.

Chico Police Department (CPD) is mandated to provide an annual military equipment report, for public, as well as Chico City Council review....to include : inventory; the purpose of and how used; complaints, internal audits, or violations of the Military Equipment Use Policy; and total annual costs and funding sources for the equipment. CPD must hold at least one well-publicized and conveniently located community engagement meeting, for the public's feedback on the report. 

CPD's military gear includes a tank-like armored vehicle, drones, submachine guns, and much more. As required by CA AB481, our City Council approved the CPD Military Equipment Use Policy 709 in May 2022. However, we believe that Policy #709 is not as clear and complete as the Council should require it to be. The following are only three of many Policy #709 examples of a significant lack of clarity and completeness:

1. PROHIBITED USES for the listed military equipment;

2. CPD PROTOCALS FOR COMMUNICATION with those suffering a MENTAL
ILLNESS/CRISIS and with NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS
3. INDEPENDENT MECHANISMS TO ENSURE OVERSIGHT AND COMPLIANCE.
 

CA AB481 states 'legally enforceable safeguards, including transparency, oversight, and accountability measures, must be in place to protect the public's welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties before military equipment is funded, acquired, or used.' "

It is time to have conversations with Chico City Council members about what the annual military equipment report should include, so that our Police Department prepares a useful report.

Let's make our voices heard! Join our Concerned Community for Justice (CC4J) working group to make sure that our City Council and Police Department fully comply with our "first in the nation" new law. We will ask challenging questions, brainstorm, research, connect with the media, the community at large, and beyond. Communities across the California are coming to terms with these issues, so we are not alone.

Please sign up to help with this important work, and encourage others whom you think would support this work. We will keep you posted for our first meeting soon after the first of the new year. CC4J Volunteer

Ann Polivka