Dear Berkeley City Council members and Mayor Ishii,

This sign-on letter summarizes Berkeley resident concerns regarding recent actions of the Public Safety Policy Committee and the broader direction of public safety policy in Berkeley.

What Is Advancing Now:

The Public Safety Policy Committee has voted to advance proposals that would:

• Reduce local reporting and notification when pepper spray is used

• Reauthorize tear gas and smoke in limited circumstances

• Remove City Manager approval before requesting helicopter or canine support

⸻

Key Concerns:

1. No demonstrated necessity

• Pepper spray was used four times in 2025 and once the year before.

• No evidence has been presented showing that existing rules harmed public or officer safety.

2. Reversal of deliberate Council decisions

• In 2020, the City Council unanimously banned tear gas permanently after extensive public testimony and direct warnings from the police chief regarding officer safety.

• Those arguments were fully considered at the time.

3. Accountability reduced as force options expand

• The 2020 reforms paired limits on force with expanded reporting and transparency.

• Current proposals loosen both tools and oversight, upsetting that balance.

4. Removal of long-standing civilian checks

• City Manager approval for helicopters and canines has existed since 1982 as a civilian safeguard.

• No showing has been made that this system failed or caused harm.

5. Pattern, not isolated changes

Taken together — reduced reporting, reinstated chemical agents, and fewer approval requirements — these actions appear to weaken accountability incrementally without a data-based showing of improved safety.

⸻

Looking Ahead: Use-of-Force Policy:

Although not yet before the committee, residents are concerned that:

• The draft proposed to the Police Accountability Board would weaken post-2020 safeguards adopted to prevent foreseeable, high-risk encounters, including vehicle-related shootings and escalation failures.

• Recent rollbacks raise questions about whether the sanctity-of-life framework adopted after George Floyd will be preserved.

⸻

What Residents Are Demanding:

• Decisions grounded in evidence, not assumptions

• Preservation of life-protective guardrails adopted deliberately after 2020

• Meaningful collaboration with civilian oversight before proposals advance

• A pause before further rollbacks that could erode public trust

⸻

Respectfully submitted by concerned Berkeley residents