Alex Darocy Photography

On Tuesday night, the Santa Cruz City Council will revisit issues surrounding the council's decision in December to approve the police purchase of a $250,000 Lenco BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck) with Department of Homeland Security grant funds. The BearCat is on the council's March 24 agenda and will be addressed at 7pm. The agenda report for the meeting states that the vehicle's use policy will be discussed, as well as a proposal to clarify the process of submitting grant applications to the city council. Overflow seating for the meeting will be available at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. At City Hall on March 10, Joy Hinz holds an issue of the Scotts Valley Times with SVPD's armored vehicle on its cover, and the headline "Bargain for SWAT team 'Tank'." Since December, community members have rallied to protest the BearCat purchase at City Hall before every city council meeting, and the group SCRAM! (Sa...

Activists organizing to oppose the police purchase of a $250,000 Lenco BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck) postponed a rally scheduled to occur during today's Santa Cruz City Council meeting. Members of SCRAM! (Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization) changed plans when they found out the Santa Cruz Police Department officers who were killed in 2013 might be honored at the same time as their rally. Harry Meserve of SCRAM! speaks to council members. The BearCat rally was postponed when it was realized that a resolution declaring February 26 as "Baker-Butler Memorial Day" was on the council's agenda to honor SCPD's Elizabeth Butler and Loran Baker, who were shot to death while on duty in 2013. Activists thought community members might want to gather in the City Hall courtyard to honor the fallen officers after the adoption of the resolution, as they have done in the past during similar council actions. Protests against...

February 10 marked the fourth consecutive Santa Cruz City Council meeting where residents have protested the police purchase of a $250,000 BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck) funded by two Department of Homeland Security grants. As with the previous protests, community members again rallied in the City Hall courtyard and entered Tuesday's council meeting as a group to speak out against the purchase of the armored attack-style vehicle during the open communications period at 5pm. City council chambers. A large group of community members hoped to speak to the BearCat issue, but Mayor Don Lane did not add any time to the oral communications period, as he had done at the previous two city council meetings when attendance was high. As a result, some people were not allowed to speak. However, Council Member Micah Posner, along with Lane, announced that they would be bringing the BearCat issue back to the council's agenda in March. "W...

On January 27, community members held a press conference at Santa Cruz City Hall to reveal information which has added to their belief that police essentially lied in December when seeking the city council's approval to purchase a BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck) they claim will be used county-wide as an "emergency" vehicle. The purchase of the BearCat, which will be paid for with $250,000 in Homeland Security Department grants, has been widely protested in Santa Cruz by those opposed to the militarization of police. The Santa Cruz Police Department has claimed the nearest vehicle that is equipped similarly to the BearCat they want is located in Santa Clara County and would take 3-4 hours to arrive during an emergency, however activists with the organization SCRAM! (Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization!) announced they have found that at least two local law enforcement agencies currently possess armored vehicles. The County of S...