Community Solutions, Not More Weapons: Toolkit
Community Solutions, Not More Weapons: Toolkit
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You may have seen that Mayor Brown and Council President Pridgen are proposing to purchase tasers and bolawraps for the BPD, as well as finance a data center, the details of that center are unclear. According to this article the price tag is $3.9 million which the mayor is hoping will be covered by federal grants that have not been received yet.
No one in the community was asking for any of these “reforms,” in fact we’ve been clear from day 1 we want LESS money going to the police department and redirected to true community solutions!
Technology is not going to fix our policing problem. The community has been demanding real changes, and these are not it. It’s clear that Mayor Byron W. Brown is listening to only one stakeholder, the BPD.
HEAR US MAYOR:
We want LEAD, not bolawraps and tasers.
We want trained mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises, not the police.
We want Mayor Brown to sign Cariol’s Law!
We want real accountability with independent civilian oversight proposed by the Police Advisory Board.
We want the police budget cut by 25% in 2021 and invested into community needs.
We want police out of our schools.
And we want a say in the union contract that our city bargains with the police.
We’ve been saying this in meetings, in the streets, in the newspapers, in the Council comments…. but Mayor Brown is still not listening!
ACTION: TOOLKIT
WHY IT MATTERS
WHY IT MATTERS
So many aspects of policing are influenced by the police contract – yet residents have virtually no input over what is in it! During COVID one of the only ways elected officials hear from their representatives are by phone, email and social media, so this is how city legislatures hear from YOU what matters to YOU.
Call or Email Your Council Member Today And Tell Them To Vote No On These Contracts.
Call or Email Your Council Member Today And Tell Them To Vote No On These Contracts.
Tasers and bolawraps are false solutions. Technology cannot reform a police system rife with abuse, and what we need is true investment in our communities, NOT MORE MONEY FOR POLICE WEAPONS.
Please call your Council member and Mayor Brown today and tell them to vote NO on contracts for bolawraps and tasers!
Please email, call and social media tag your councilmember AND tell your friends to call too! This might be the only opportunity we have to stop these massively misguided “reforms” from happening.
Identify your council district:
Select your council Member:
| District | Representative | Phone Number | Twitter Handle | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Masten District |
Ulysees Wingo
|
(716) 851-5145 |
uwingo@city-buffalo.com |
@uwingosr |
|
Ellicott District
|
Darius Pridgen
|
(716) 851-4980
|
dpridgen@city-buffalo.com |
@DariusPridgena |
|
Fillmore District
|
Mitch Nowakowski
|
(716) 851-4138
|
mnowakowski@city-buffalo.com |
@MitchNowakowski |
|
University District
|
Rasheed Wyatt
|
(716) 851-5165
|
rwyatt@city-buffalo.com |
@RasheedWyatt |
|
Niagara District
|
David Rivera |
(716) 851-5125
|
darivera@city-buffalo.com |
N/A |
|
South District
|
Christopher Scanlon
|
(716) 851-5169
|
cscanlon@city-buffalo.com |
@CMChrisScanlo |
|
Delaware District
|
Joel Feroleto
|
(716) 851-5155
|
jferoleto@city-buffalo.com |
@JoelFeroleto |
|
Lovejoy District
|
Bryan Bollaman
|
(716) 851-5151
|
bbollman@city-buffalo.com |
@Bollman4Lovejoy
|
|
North District |
Joseph Golombek |
(716) 851-5116 |
jgolombek@city-buffalo.com |
@golombek4reform |
|
All Districts |
Council Staff |
(716) 851-5105 |
N/A |
@BFLO_CC |
|
Mayor’s Office |
Byron Brown |
(716) 851-4866*
(Executive assistant) |
mayor@city-buffalo.com |
@MayorByronBrown |
Sample Script
Hi Councilmember ______, I’m calling to urge you to vote no on Tuesday to bolawraps, tasers, and the SAS data center contracts for the Buffalo Police Department. We need trained mental health professionals to respond to mental health emergencies independent of the police. Non-lethal weapons still kill and injure many people, and we need more funding for our communities being hit with COVID-19, not new funding for police. Finally we need more transparency on police data, and the proposed contract with SAS is a secret, non-competitive bid for a non-public database that will not bring the transparency we need. I need you to reject these fake attempts at reform and stand up for real change at the BPD. Reallocate these federal funds to a LEAD program and to non-police mental health responders, as is being done in Denver, Los Angeles, and other cities around the country.
