HBPD & City Council: Hold Vigilantes Accountable and Condemn Hate Groups
HBPD & City Council: Hold Vigilantes Accountable and Condemn Hate Groups
The Issue
On June 1st, HBPD Police Chief Rob Handy made a statement regarding the protest activity on May 31st.
The statement fails to mention the violence incited by those who showed up to disrupt the protest and “defend our city”. The statement mentions protestors with brandished weapons, yet footage also depicts those “defenders” actively threatening unarmed, peaceful protestors with baton-style weapons, loaded gloves and skateboards. By failing to acknowledge the violence caused by these “defenders”, Chief Handy’s statement only further empowers and justifies dangerous vigilante justice linked to White Supremacy and Neo-Nazism in Huntington Beach. Photos show these “defenders” making White Power hand gestures at the event.
We are petitioning for a further statement from Huntington Beach City Officials condemning these acts of vigilantism and affirming a zero-tolerance policy for White Supremacist hate groups and acts of racism in Huntington Beach. In addition, we petition for an investigation into the police activity at the event by the Professional Standards Unit. Further, we want details of the reported instruments of vandalism that were said to be stashed throughout the downtown area released to the public, with confirmation that the chunks of concrete, pipes, sticks and cinder blocks found were not there as part of ongoing construction projects.
Recent events are amplifying White Supremacy’s deep roots in Huntington Beach on a global scale. In addition to having no place in our neighborhoods, tolerance of these hate groups will hurt our local economy. Tourism will suffer. Local businesses do not want to be associated with a racist reputation. They will have trouble recruiting talent and may ultimately relocate, taking jobs and revenue away from the city.
We ask you to ensure that Huntington Beach is a place to feel safe in. We ask you to make it a place we can be proud of, as well. We ask you to denounce vigilantism, hate groups and their violent actions, instead of enabling them. We ask you to unequivocally uphold the Huntington Beach Declaration of Policy About Human Dignity.
7,395
The Issue
On June 1st, HBPD Police Chief Rob Handy made a statement regarding the protest activity on May 31st.
The statement fails to mention the violence incited by those who showed up to disrupt the protest and “defend our city”. The statement mentions protestors with brandished weapons, yet footage also depicts those “defenders” actively threatening unarmed, peaceful protestors with baton-style weapons, loaded gloves and skateboards. By failing to acknowledge the violence caused by these “defenders”, Chief Handy’s statement only further empowers and justifies dangerous vigilante justice linked to White Supremacy and Neo-Nazism in Huntington Beach. Photos show these “defenders” making White Power hand gestures at the event.
We are petitioning for a further statement from Huntington Beach City Officials condemning these acts of vigilantism and affirming a zero-tolerance policy for White Supremacist hate groups and acts of racism in Huntington Beach. In addition, we petition for an investigation into the police activity at the event by the Professional Standards Unit. Further, we want details of the reported instruments of vandalism that were said to be stashed throughout the downtown area released to the public, with confirmation that the chunks of concrete, pipes, sticks and cinder blocks found were not there as part of ongoing construction projects.
Recent events are amplifying White Supremacy’s deep roots in Huntington Beach on a global scale. In addition to having no place in our neighborhoods, tolerance of these hate groups will hurt our local economy. Tourism will suffer. Local businesses do not want to be associated with a racist reputation. They will have trouble recruiting talent and may ultimately relocate, taking jobs and revenue away from the city.
We ask you to ensure that Huntington Beach is a place to feel safe in. We ask you to make it a place we can be proud of, as well. We ask you to denounce vigilantism, hate groups and their violent actions, instead of enabling them. We ask you to unequivocally uphold the Huntington Beach Declaration of Policy About Human Dignity.
7,395
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Petition created on June 5, 2020