Council Member Brent Blackaby made a motion to split up the pieces of the proposal and remove the expansion of contracts with Flock for fixed video cameras, drones, and more advanced software.

PART 1: Surveillance Policies and RFP Process

• Approve policies for Fixed Video cameras and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) with amendment.
• Refining use of drones at protests/crowds, but can be revised before we have the equipment.
• Policy for Community Video Streams referred to Public Safety Policy Committee, although still headed towards implementation.
• Start RFP process involving PAB and BPD for ALPR and other equipment, such as fixed cameras and drones.

VOTE RESULTS:

• 8 Yes: Mayor Adena Ishii, Rashi Kesarwani, Terry Taplin, Igor Tregub, Shoshana O’Keefe, Brent Blackaby, Cecilia Lunaparra, Mark Humbert
• 1 No: Ben Bartlett, who said his constituents want none of it.

PART 2: Existing Flock Contract

• Approve 12 month extension of Flock contract for ALPR cost of $200,000

VOTE RESULTS:

• 5 Yes: Kesarwani, Taplin, O’Keefe, Humbert & Blackaby
• 4 No: Mayor, Bartlett, Tregub, Lunaparra

PART 3: Expansion of Flock Contracts

• Technically, there wasn’t a vote AGAINST the additional flock contracts – there was no motion to approve those additional contracts.

Police Accountability Board did their work. After the March 24th meeting, which ended without a vote, the Police Accountability Board continued to identify problems with the proposed contracts, including with the no-bid procurement process.

Many groups organized against the proposal and coordinated their efforts. There’s more on this below.

There was a rush of articles in the last few days before the vote:

• Opinion piece by Kesarwani, Taplin, O’Keefe, Humbert in the Berkeley Scanner.
• Opinion piece by Josh Cayetano and Leah Wilson, Chair/Vice Chair of PAB in BerkeleySide.
• CalDaily published article and leaked Confidential memo from City Attorney Farimah Brown to the Council – main points about security of data and potential legal costs. Picked up by BerkeleySide.

Some of the organizations who worked on this grassroots campaign include:

• Indivisible Berkeley
• East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, La Peña Cultural Center, and other immigration support groups
• Wellstone, EBCFA, and various progressive groups
• ACLU, Secure Justice, other legal groups
• Friends of Adeline, Sylvia Mendez Support, other neighborhood groups
• CopWatch

Our collective and collaborative actions included:

• Canvassing with flyers at gatherings
• Door knocking with flyers and yard signs in swing districts
• Phone banking
• Public statements
• Email appeals
• Public comment at Council Meetings. 156 public comments at the meeting with many more attending in-person, online
• An ActionNetwork Letter campaign for specific district appeals, organized by EBCFA and Indivisible Berkeley
• A BerkeleySide Banner add that directed toward Indivisble Berkeley’s ActionNetwork page – 374 emails sent! 
• A Rally and press conference before the May 7th meeting, organized by East Bay Sanctuary Covenant and other groups, including IB. It was attended by over a hundred people and

IB’s work increased visibility for Indivisible Berkeley:

• Banner Ad and ActionNetwork letters
• Developing informational website and flyer
• Speaking at the public rally

Focus on local government and local action is important for resisting fascism.

• “No Kings” includes impeding Flock’s efforts to pull communities into nation-wide surveillance
• Local government is becoming more important as the Federal government loses trust and the ability to help people (weakened FEMA, CDC, EPA, etc.) 
• Let’s encourage other Indivisible chapters to connect with local affairs.
• This is where resistance to autocracy gets rooted!