Sacramento seemed poised to reform its troubled police department. It didn’t happen | Opinion

Militarized vehicles deployed by police departments cause trauma in communities, particularly in communities of color.

I know this from personal experience.

Last April, my Sacramento neighborhood was on lockdown for 24 hours, and my neighbors and I were subjected to the sight of a militarized vehicle rolling up and down my street. Flash grenades were deployed.

I was horrified and terrified.

Shortly after this triggering event, I experienced PTSD symptoms, took a medical leave from work and began taking medication for anxiety.

An urban tank didn’t make me and my neighbors feel safer. It had the opposite effect. And it deepened the mistrust that people in Sacramento’s communities of color feel for our police department.

We don’t trust them to use militarized vehicle without targeting or hurting our communities. Quite frankly, that mistrust is not new. Since Sacramento Police killed an unarmed Stephon Clark in 2018, public sentiment toward our police department has plummeted, according to public surveys taken by the city in recent years.

After the historic 2020 protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, so many people were talking about defunding the police and instead investing in supportive services for communities. We also talked about alternative responses to 9-1-1 calls, which are critically needed because most often 9-1-1 is called during a mental health crisis that trained professionals can address safely and effectively.

We need to get back to that conversation because the The Sacramento City Council did a huge disservice to our community on Tuesday night when they voted to further militarize our city police.

Our elected leaders claimed to share our values and concerns about issues facing Sacramento like racism, violence, poverty, and homelessness. Almost all of them attended the vigil and tweeted about their outrage at the death of Tyre Nichols, a Sacramento native, at the hands of Memphis police last week.

Then they bought a tank.

When the mayor and council members faced the choice of reinforcing the existing system of policing, which they admit has significant limitations – highlighted by continued mistrust of police by many residents – or to reimagine a future with different outcomes and new investments, they chose to double down on the status quo by buying military equipment that inspires fear, not trust.

Last Tuesday’s vote means the police force will use a $439,894 grant funded by taxpayer dollars to purchase a Rook, an armored multi-terrain loader when the city already has access to any equipment it needs to keep police officers safe.

The police could have sought funding to make sure that anyone in Sacramento who dials 9-1-1 would get the kind of help they actually need.

They say they need these military vehicles to address terrorism, hostage crises and extreme cases of domestic violence. But by approving this purchase before setting rules for how it will be used, we are left wondering what they really intend to do with their new instrument of warfare.

I had hoped that the election of new candidates who ran on progressive platforms would allow the council to take steps to re-imagine policing and reject further militarization. Only Councilmembers Katie Valenzuela and Mai Vang voted against it. Meanwhile, Councilmember Caity Maple, who called for demilitarizing the Sacramento police force in 2021, voted in favor of purchasing the Rook along with new Councilmembers, Karina Talamantes and Lisa Kaplan, who labeled themselves progressive, but had not publicly taken a stance on this issue.

Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. One week after the death of Tyre Nichols, the city council should have rejected this purchase and explored other options to get grant money for better solutions. Reimagining public safety doesn’t look like gearing up for war.

This story was originally published February 4, 2023 at 6:00 AM.