Demand Gilroy Policing Policy Changes!

Recently, the city of Gilroy released a statement entitled "In Response to Inquiries Relating to the '#8CANTWAIT" Movement" on their website and on Facebook (read it here: tiny.cc/gpdstatement). Rather than committing to transparency, policy change, and police accountability, the statement implies that Gilroy is done, that no policy change is necessary.

This statement undermines community calls for reform. The city and the PD make it clear that they believe that if a policing problem exists in America, it does not exist within the Gilroy Police Department. A need for change in our communities' approach to public safety exists everywhere. GPD is not free of responsibility.

The statement that the City of Gilroy issued appears to claim that GPD is already in compliance with the #8CANTWAIT movement. It is not, as we describe in depth on our Facebook page. Regardless, the #8CANTWAIT movement is only the beginning of the reforms that need to be implemented in order to protect the Black and Brown members of the Gilroy community.

This issue is especially close to Gilroy's heart. In 2018, Stevie Juarez was killed at the hands of Gilroy police officers while being held under a carotid control hold. And yet, there has been no accountability for the officers involved, nor has there been any substantial policy change in the It is clear that, at least so far, GPD and the city's claims of wanting real positive change are hollow.

We demand that the City of Gilroy, Gilroy Police Department, and other Gilroy institutions implement the following policy changes now.

1. Ban the use of the carotid control hold and all other neck restraints.

2. Outright ban on shooting at moving vehicles

3. Further elaborate GPD's peaceful demonstrations policy. Ban the use of rubber bullets and chemical weapons such as tear gas.

4. Create an online and/or email submission option for complaints against officers

5. Release all data on use of force reports and citizen complaints in an easily accessible format for the general public

6. Maintain and release permanent disciplinary records for all Police Officers

7. Public identification of officers involved in civilian complaints of racism, excessive use of force, and sexual harassment and assault.

8. Establish a Civilian Review Board to provide community oversight on civilian complaints against the police department. In the meantime, increase transparency on and add an appeals process to investigations of civilian complaints against officers.

9. Required Body Cams for all on duty officers, and disciplinary action in response to officers whose Body Cams are off.

10. Establish a duty to intervene into a partner officer's excessive use of force, and disciplinary action in response to a failure to intervene

11. Police training on de-escalation, racial bias, and mental illness must be done more frequently than 5 years

12. Require de-escalation

13. Require warning before shooting/use of force. A warning should not exempt police officers from receiving disciplinary action when wrongful actions were taken

14. Reduce the use of armed officers in criminal investigations after the fact.

15. Disallow the purchase of surplus military equipment by the police department.

16. Protect and expand current investment in community-led health and safety strategies, instead of investing in the police.

17. Eliminate police presence on school campuses, and disinvolve the police department in disciplinary matters.

18. Hiring and dispatching an unarmed crisis management team in response to mental health-related, substance abuse, suicide prevention and intervention, nonhoused-related, conflict resolution, and similar situations

19. Any additional increases to GPD funding should not exceed the rate of inflation and be proportional to the growth of Gilroy's population. These increases in funding should primarily be allocated to crisis response teams.