Last week we filled City Hall and nearly 100 public speakers debunked the myth that supercop William Bratton would be a welcome addition to Oakland, causing Public Safety Committee members to worry that Bratton may be too “toxic” to be a suitable consultant to OPD. As a result, the Council tasked Chief Jordan, the City Administrator and the consultancy firm with justifying Bratton’s inclusion on the $250,000 contract and with presenting other subcontractors that could be substituted in his place.

Last week we filled City Hall and nearly 100 public speakers debunked the myth that supercop William Bratton would be a welcome addition to Oakland, causing Public Safety Committee members to worry that Bratton may be too “toxic” to be a suitable consultant to OPD. As a result, the Council tasked Chief Jordan, the City Administrator and the consultancy firm with justifying Bratton’s inclusion on the $250,000 contract and with presenting other subcontractors that could be substituted in his place.

We need YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE to join us tonight and object to William Bratton’s inclusion on the “Wasserman contract” with Strategic Policy, LLC! There is no justification to bring Bratton and his zero-tolerance policing expertise to Oakland.

WHY SHOULD WE REJECT BRATTON? SO WE HAVE ANY GROUND?

The supplemental information provided by the City Administrator provides no indication of why William Bratton is a essential subcontractor to the Strategic Policy Partnership contract, nor the $150,000 price tag attached to his work. The Supplemental Report provided by the City Administrator states, “The Chief of Police has firmly and unequivocally stated that racial profiling is wholly unacceptable and clearly prohibited by Department training, policies, and law. The Department is committed to police practices that build community relationships and trust.” We beg the question why, then, Bratton, who is a lightning rod for community pushback, is an appropriate choice for Oakland. Bratton is notorious for his implementation of suppression-style policing—stop and frisk, curfews, gang injunctions, aggressive ticketing and harassment—all of which target young people, people of color and poor people. Bratton is NOT an appropriate choice for Oakland.

Further, the logic of including Bratton in this contract defies common sense. He is slated to work on 3 of 19 activities outlined in the contract, one of which is consulting on a crime reduction strategy. If Chief Jordan and the Council say that they reject racial profiling, stop and frisk and similar zero-tolerance policing practices, why would they spend 60% of the contract’s resources on a subcontractor doing 15% of the work to advise them to use policies they have already rejected? It makes no sense.

As we well know, evenings like this are demonstrations of people power in the face of opposition from our elected officials, the OPD, the Chamber of Commerce and a number of other moneyed interests (like the consulting firm). Regardless of whether the City Council decides to represent the people at the end of the night, we must continue to mobilize together and keep building our momentum towards the world we want to live. We want to live in communities where our resources do not get funneled towards more harm, towards policing contracts and figures like Bratton. Join us tonight to send that message and to build our movements towards real solutions!

Last week we spoke clearly and tonight we will again. William Bratton and his zero tolerance approaches have no place in our city. Join us tonight in full force to the City Council meeting tonight to send that message to the full Council.

TUESDAY JANUARY 22, 5:30 pm (roll through anytime you can! 7pm is not too late to arrive.)

Oakland City Hall

Sign up here and fill out a speaker card if you want to voice your opinion at the meeting (agenda item 21). We’ll provide talking points to support you, if you need.

OUR DEMANDS: Remove Supercop William Bratton from the Wasserman contract or reject the contract altogether. Bratton is too toxic for Oakland!