FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 5, 2023

Press Contacts:
Brenda Camarena: bren_camarena@yahoo.com,
(808) 258-5587
Tara Evans: evans.tara@gmail.com; (415) 686-6981

Marin Grassroots Coalition Calls on San Rafael City Council to Postpone

Monday Vote on Police Accountability Measure
City & Chief’s Plan Falls Short of Ensuring Community Oversight after Brutal
Police Beating of Local Gardener

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Marin Justice League, a local grassroots coalition, is strongly urging the
San Rafael City Council and Police Chief to rework their current plan in order to ensure effective
oversight by the people.

“The City and Chief are not listening to our demands for cultural
competency and meaningful community outreach and self-determination,”
said Brenda Camarena, local resident and Marin Justice League advocate.
“They need to work harder to reach the people most impacted by the
ongoing pattern of police brutality towards people of color in San Rafael.”

Marin Justice League has proposed an alternative People’s Plan for Police Oversight
and Accountability to address the shortcomings of the city’s plan. The People’s Plan
establishes a more robust and authentic way to not only improve SRPD’s system of
accountability, but also to lay the groundwork to transform the department’s existing
systems and culture in a valid and long-lasting way.

San Rafael’s current plan – a resolution to establish a Police Advisory and Accountability
Committee – falls short in several critical areas, including:

1. It lacks a safe complaint mechanism for the public to come forward, and
therefore amplifies existing trust issues for those most impacted by the current
culture of San Rafael policing.

2. The committee proposed doesn’t include unhoused or undocumented

residents, groups often impacted by current police practices. It silences their
voices, and is therefore not adequately representative of the community served
by SRPD.
 3. It is structured as a committee, not a commission. Technically, a commission
would have actual legal standing to ensure needed changes that further police
accountability, transparency, and oversight.

The City’s plan is basically a replication of a plan proposed initially for sheriff
accountability and oversight by the Marin Board of Supervisors, before they were
pressured by Marin residents to establish a truly effective model as allowed by AB 1185.
San Rafael will likely set a precedent for other municipalities in Marin looking to establish
police oversight and accountability.

Basing municipal law enforcement oversight and accountability on the structure allowed
by AB 1185 will serve all community members, including those residents most affected
by law enforcement’s lack of transparency and oversight.

“As long as solutions are solely rooted in the existing police culture, those
same solutions will continue to perpetuate that culture,” said Debra Taube,
San Rafael resident, Marin Justice League advocate, and SURJ Marin
co-founder. “Their current plan will only repeat the conditions and practices
which significantly contributed to injustice for ‘Mateo’ and other residents
before him.”

There have been critical disagreements between Marin Justice League, many of whom
have lived experience with SRPD’s law enforcement system and its long-standing
abusive practices, and city officials concerning transparency and implementation of
robust community oversight.

If San Rafael’s City Council and SRPD are genuinely committed to listening to demands
for justice and accountability that truly meet the needs of all residents, they MUST
postpone the June 5th vote.

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About Marin Justice League: Marin Justice League was formed in 2022 in response to the
brutal beating of Canal resident Julio Jiménez López, aka “Mateo.” We are a multiracial,
multigenerational network of grassroots organizers, activists, and community members working
towards justice, equity, and accountability in Marin, the second most racially disparate county in
California.