1 THESE MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL
UNTIL APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE July 9, 2025
CITY COUNCIL 6:00 p.m.
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
Call to Order & Roll Call
Mayor O’Brien called the special meeting of the City Council to order at 5:30 p.m. in Mike Balkman Council Chambers at Culver City Hall.
Present: Dan O’Brien, Mayor
Freddy Puza, Vice Mayor
Bubba Fish, Council Member
Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Council Member*
Albert Vera, Council Member
*Council Member McMorrin arrived at 5:35 p.m.
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Closed Session
Mayor O’Brien invited public comment.
Jeremy Bocchino, City Clerk, reported that one person had signed up to speak but was not present.
Debbie Gambino was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
MOVED BY MAYOR O’BRIEN AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VERA THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: FISH, O’BRIEN, PUZA, VERA
NOES: NONE
ABSENT: MCMORRIN
July 9, 2025
2 At 5:32 p.m. the City Council adjourned to Closed Session to consider the following Closed Session Items:
CS-1 CC - Conference with Legal Counsel – Anticipated Litigation Re: Significant Exposure to Litigation – (1 item)
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(2)
CS-2 CC - Conference with Legal Counsel – Anticipated Litigation Re: Initiation of Litigation – (1 item)
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(4)
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Regular Session
Mayor O’Brien reconvened the regular meeting of the City Council at 6:00 p.m. in the Mike Balkman Council Chambers at City Hall with five Council Members present.
Jeremy Bocchino, City Clerk, reported that Council Member McMorrin joined the meeting at 5:35 p.m.
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Pledge of Allegiance
Mayor O’Brien led the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Land Acknowledgement
Mayor O’Brien read the Land Acknowledgement.
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Closed Session Report
Heather Baker, City Attorney, reported that subsequent to the posting of the agenda, the case was filed for Item CS-2 and the existing case is Perdomo vs. Noem, Case No. 2:25-CV-05605-MEMF- SP; she noted that Culver City had joined in with the City of Los Angeles and other cities to file a motion to intervene in that case; no date had been set for the hearing on the motion; and she noted that there was a TRO for that case scheduled for July 10, 2025.
July 9, 2025
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Community Announcements by Members/Updates from Commissions, Boards and/or Committees/Information Items from Staff
Council Member Fish acknowledged that people were fearful; discussed negative results as a result of passage of the “Big Terrible Bill”; the transfer of wealth from working class people to the wealthy; increases to the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) budget; concerns with severely increasing the police state in the United States; he encouraged everyone to look out for each other; expressed appreciation for public involvement noting the importance of local engagement; and he reported volunteering at the Culver/Palms Burrito project noting that everyone was welcome to help every other Tuesday with information available at burritoproject.org.
Council Member McMorrin thanked Council Member Fish for uplifting the implications of changes at the federal level that will touch everyone in the United States; discussed attacks on the 14th amendment and birthright citizenship; equal protection under the law; litigation; the ruling by the Supreme Court that lower courts do not have the power to block a nationwide order; putting people in jeopardy; perilous uncertain times; keeping Culver City safe for all who live, work, play, and learn here; and she hoped everyone would continue doing whatever possible to support one another.
Vice Mayor Puza discussed July 4th; contradictions in the complex holiday; Alligator Alcatraz; the deep and painful history of alligator myths; dehumanization; difficult emotions; cynical optimism; and his belief in the resilience of the Culver City community and the ability to continue to grow together.
Mayor O’Brien expressed agreement with comments made; discussed the Independence Celebration on July 5; speakers who gave strong voice to the current crisis with the immigrant population; setting the tone for the event; and he announced cancellation of the community input meeting regarding the future of Syd Kronenthal Park that had been scheduled for July 10.
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Joint Public Comment – Items NOT on the Agenda
Mayor O’Brien invited public comment.
July 9, 2025
4 Jeremy Bocchino, City Clerk, read the City Council statement regarding hate speech.
The following members of the public addressed the City Council:
Jamie Wallace discussed traffic speeds on Braddock Street and the need for a stop sign on Motor and Braddock; asked that the project identified in the Parks Plan be expedited with white crosswalks painted on all four sides and that the curb be painted red further back on Braddock going west; discussed the obscured view; and the need for the dangerous situation to be fixed.
Rosie Gabl encouraged everyone to unemotionally look into who benefits from laws; discussed undocumented immigrants; the census; congressional seats; taxpayer monies; who is protected; MacArthur Park; the Los Angeles fires; the leadership of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass; cuts to federal funding; federal law above state law; she indicated being a law-abiding naturalized citizen that legally immigrated; and she noted that her full support goes to this country, not the one she came from.
Angelo Mike discussed the terror deportation program of ethnic cleansing; cruelty toward immigrants cheered by conservatives; law that makes it impossible for most people to legally immigrate; turning people into a permanent exploited underclass; exploitation as spectacle; the money-making display of cruelty; the Everglades concentration camp; and he asked people to organize, protect each other, and make it socially unacceptable to ever support mass deportations.
Dr. Luther Henderson discussed the Pledge of Allegiance; the Oath of Office to the Constitution of the United States; asked that sanctuary status be rescinded; reported being married to a professor of history; stated that the 14 th Amendment of the Constitution indicated that the slaves and their offspring would be citizens of the United States; and discussed
mischaracterization of what the federal government is doing.
Gary Zeiss discussed shared outrage over what is going on; concern with making Culver City a target; he proposed taking more low-key and behind -the-scenes actions; expressed support for providing direct rental assistance rather than an eviction moratorium noting potential lawsuits from landlord groups; he suggested that the City provide organizational resources to the citizens of Culver City to help people ; and he noted the difficulty of finding the best way to support people in need.
July 9, 2025
5 Mary Daval, Bike Culver City, asked that Culver City join the Coalition in Support of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor; discussed information available at stc4all.org; keeping the pressure on Metro to finish the project in a timely manner; providing interfaces with the Purple Line and the E Line; extension of the line to LAX; she proposed having Eli Litman address the City Council to answer questions if the matter requires being on an agenda; and she reported that the minute the line opens, it will exceed ridership of any other line.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding clarification that Culver City signed on to support alternatives 4 and 5 but did not officially join the Coalition; and consensus was received from all Council Members to agendize consideration of the matter.
Jeff Schwartz discussed items to restrict police complicity with ICE and improve oversight; noted that it was inappropriate for Council Member Vera to discuss or vote on the items due to his daughter being a CCPD officer; discussed advice from the City Attorney that the matter is not a conflict of interest; concern with elected official s making decisions very relevant to a member of their immediate family member; he questioned whether previous Council Members had ever had immediate family members on staff; commented on the unique ethical shadow cast on the City Council; and he asked that Council Member Vera only participate in Items A-3 and A-4.
Ross Piro was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Marci Baun expressed concern with limiting the number of people who participate by scheduling a special meeting to consider the important topics on the agenda; felt that more time was needed to allow people to be engaged; and she asked the City Council to reconsider.
Keith Jones expressed appreciation for the meeting; indicated being a member of the Finance Advisory Committee (FAC) noting that he was speaking on behalf of himself; acknowledged fear; discussed the fact that Culver City is spending too much money which was going to lead to cutting back funding for CCPD; effects to public safety; violent crime in Culver City in the 1980s; potential cuts necessary to the Culver City Fire Department (CCFD); and he noted that he was sorry to hear that Council Member Vera’s daughter was no longer with CCPD.
July 9, 2025
6 Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin reported attending the recent Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LACDP) meeting and noted comments made by Mark Ramos asking people to stop fighting with each other; observed agreement on big, important issues; discussed the importance of how decisions are made; efforts to get four stop signs on the corner of Motor and Braddock; issues with visibility; near misses for cars and kids on bicycles; and she asked the City Council to act on the public safety issue as soon as possible.
Leah Pressman was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Stephanie Loredo, CCUSD (Culver City Unified School District) Trustee, indicated that she was speaking on her own behalf; asked the City Council to agendize a discussion of a deeper partnership with CCUSD on the July 14, 2025 agenda as
recommended by the Culver City/CCUSD Liaison Committee; discussed understanding City support of Measure CL;
prioritization of the needs of Culver City youth; the importance of the continued fiscal stability of the City and CCUSD; retaining the destination school district distinction; adding a monetary component to the Joint Use Agreement to benefit students; anticipated freezing of federal funds; and she indicated that CCUSD urgently needed support from Culver City.
Christopher Car was called to speak but was not able to be unmuted.
Paula Gerez noted that the City Council represented over 40,000 residents and she implored the City Council to think about their actions; felt that taking on the federal government d id not benefit the local economy or local needs; discussed the fiscal emergency; the obligation to provide safety and infrastructure to local citizens; not fighting Sacramento when property rights are taken away; the need to represent the entire community, not pick and choose; and she asked the City Council to re -agendize the item so that more people could come to provide input.
Christopher Car discussed the importance of making decisions that put safety first and protect first responders.
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July 9, 2025
7 Receipt and Filing of Correspondence
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VERA, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER
MCMORRIN AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL RECEIVE AND FILE CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED BY 3:00 P.M. ON JULY 9, 2025.
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Order of the Agenda
No changes were made.
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Action Items
Item A-1
CC - Discussion and, if Desired, Provide the Chief of Police Direction on the Department’s Mutual Aid Policy and the Department’s Response to Mutual Aid Requests from Outside Law Enforcement Agencies
Jason Sims, CCPD Chief, introduced the item.
Luis Martinez, CCPD Captain, provided a summary of the material of record.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding cost of recent mutual aid engagements; clarification on aid sent from Culver City to assist Los Angeles on two separate days in June; protocol when other agencies engage in unlawful behavior; reports that another agency violated the law and other people’s civil rights and liberties; clarification that CCPD was not involved in any incidents; CCPD protocol and procedures when engaging in mutual aid; presence of a supervisor to ensure that CCPD does not get involved in situations that do not make sense for them; chaotic and evolving situations; different reasons for engaging in mutual aid; and making a list of mutual aid instances available to the public.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding discretion about deployment; minimum legal
requirements for situations CCPD might be asked to respond to; situations that fall outside of the mutual aid policy;
difficulty thinking of situations where CCPD would deny helping regional partners; emergent situations; number of police July 9, 2025
8 officers on duty at any given time; the first priority to protect Culver City; planned events; recipr ocal agreements; cost of mutual aid events; cost estimates of response to the ICE protests by the Controller for the City of Los Angeles; and a request for information on the history of mutual aid events and associated costs to provide a better understanding of how it impacts Culver City.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation to staff for their work on the item; requests made earlier in the year about privacy and mutual aid related to immigration and potential federal aid; costs incurred for the downtown Los Angeles protests; the focus of the agenda item not to question engagement in mutual aid but instead to provide transparency about when mutual aid was utilized and how much it cost Culver City; providing more time for staff to track and provide information; appreciation for providing a mechanism so that the public is aware; the Santa Monica incident in June and the medical emergency of the CHP officer; a requ est for information as to when Culver City has given and received mutual aid over the past 2 -5 years; support for making policy 406.12 explicit by adding a clause indicating that the itemized list is not exhaustive; discretion of the supervising officer; bringing back the item so that a full conversation can be had with attention to any potential support related to immigration actions including protests or anything else; clarification that mutual aid is provided to Culver City free of charge; costs to Culver City of offering support; emergency preparedness costs; agreement to provide the mechanism to share out supports being provided by Culver City and the costs; and recent high profile examples of mutual aid that were provided in 2025.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding emergency preparedness; the large protest in Culver City; coordination with regional mutual aid partners; looking outside of regional partners if additional aid is needed; clarification that CCPD officers already on duty were redirected to provided mutual aid to Los Angeles on June 8-9; overtime personnel costs for Los Angeles; ensuring that CCPD officers are safe and meeting the expectations of the community and CCPD; not getting involved in situations that they are not comfortable with; the inability to participate or assist in immigration enforcement; a recent CCPD denial of a request received from ICE to use their parking lot for preparation; mutual aid agreements with CCFD; and concern with scrutiny being placed on CCPD.
July 9, 2025
9 Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding procedures to address concerns from members of the public or advocacy groups; encouragement for people with concerns to reach out to the Watch Commander’s Office at (310) 253-6202; ensuring that outside agencies providing mutual aid to Culver City abide by Culver City laws and ordinances; maintenance of operational control over incidents; directions to responding agencies; best practices; responsibility for the lion’s share of the work related to an incident by the agency in charge with responding agencies taking a support role; acknowledgement of the short timeframe to gather a lot of information; and the secondary role taken by CCPD when they are asked to help other agencies.
Mayor O’Brien invited public input and encouraged people to have someone speak for them to allow everyone to be heard.
The following members of the public addressed the City Council:
Crystal Alexander, with one minute ceded by Melissa Sanders , discussed the importance of partnership with surrounding cities; assistance during times of discrimination, illegal behavior, and natural disaster; the fact that there are no known
California cities that do not participate in mutual aid agreements; lack of data-driven facts to support discontinuing mutual aid agreements; her participation in the Chief’s Advisory Panel (CAP); likely effects of throwing away mutual aid agreements; concern with making public safety a football and rallying cry; and responsibility of the City Council.
Jamie Wallace, with one minute ceded by Bob Wallace, echoed comments made by the previous speaker; discussed calculating costs for the mutual aid that was deployed on June 8 -9; determining whether to respond based on increased costs; being part of a community that helps one another; whether there is any evidence of illegal behavior by CCPD officers; and she felt that officers had abided by the prohibition of CCPD to engage in any enforcement actions.
Rosie Gabl discussed isolating Culver City from other cities; keeping the mutual aid agreement; Council Members that want to cripple CCPD and resident safety; the insurance crisis for California homeowners; failure of City leaders; and the ongoing assault on the middle class.
Carolyn Libuser expressed concern with the assault on CCPD; discussed civil disturbances in 2020; vulnerability of Fox July 9, 2025
10 Hills; mutual aid provided by Torrance and Redondo Beach; and cars circling the Fox Hills Mall.
Neal Tabachnick expressed support for CCPD; discussed people who died for lack of mutual aid in Texas; and the decision to have safety or not to have safety in Culver City.
Kenneth Alexander discussed lack of evidence that any sanctuary cities have collaborated with ICE; the rush of righteousness; striking a blow for social justice; creating near-certainty of many Culver City deaths; disparate impacts of natural disasters on communities of co lor; racism; and he asked that the City Council pull back from the brink on this vote.
Gary Zeiss discussed Gilligan’s Island; the performative exercise; and potential need to expand CCPD without mutual aid.
Candance Pilgrim-Simmons expressed opposition to any efforts to weaken CCPD; discussed assurances that CCPD does not collaborate with ICE; commitment to protect everyone in the community; concern with taking away tools that keep everyone safe; recklessness vs. reform; the importa nce of mutual aid; she reported calling CCPD when she needed help, not her neighbors; discussed calling CCPD as a business owner; setting up residents and businesses to be hurt; the need for leadership, not ideology; and she wanted to see support for CCPD.
Monica Richardson expressed appreciation to CCPD for their rapid response when she called and support for mutual aid; discussed the fires in January; she asserted that she loved CCPD and would not let them be defunded; expressed opposition to starting the meeting discussing national politics indicating that it was not Christian; and she wanted to s ee everyone get along with each other.
Jessica Harwood expressed appreciation for efforts to keep the community safe from ICE; wanted to ensure that CCPD did not support ICE raids in Los Angeles; asked that the City
immediately turn off the network of license plate readers and end contracts with companies like Axon and Flock; discussed City support for keeping children safe, fed , and housed by funding much-needed aid for families including rental assistance and an eviction moratorium; and she noted that local aid groups were running out of money.
Christopher Car urged the City Council not to curtail CCPD from participating and/or responding to mutual aid requests; July 9, 2025
11 discussed safety, preparedness , and compassion for innocent lives; resources for local emergencies or disasters; concern with leaving CC FD, CCPD, and Culver City vulnerable; and he asked the City Council to pick people over politics every day.
Dr. Luther Henderson expressed support for mutual aid and CCPD; discussed City policy prohibiting CCPD from assisting ICE; questioned motives with asking about cost; asserted that citizens come first and illegal aliens had no right to be in the country; stated that ICE was rounding up criminal illegal aliens; and he asked about costs for the negative impacts to public and social services.
Maggie Peters reminded everyone that although she is the Vice Chair of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) Commission, she was not speaking on their behalf; she pointed out that statements made by the previous speaker about
immigrants being a negative im pact on the community had been proven false; expressed concern that someone in the City Manager’s Office had made an error in the agenda listing; noted the agenda item was meant to be a discussion about the policy, not about getting rid of mu tual aid; discussed the intent to limit mutual aid; videos of ICE beating up on protestors and then getting LAPD to beat up on protestors when ICE was overwhelmed; not wanting CCPD to participate in such activities or be paid overtime to participate; budget cuts for other departments; and she noted that helping when ICE is involved or helping with protests would only decrease trust.
Amy Kim asked that City Council to carefully look at data before making any decisions; did not want to see limits to access to tools and collaborative partnerships without certainty that i t is being used to harm immigrant communities; reported living near a recent high school shooting on Franklin Avenue; discussed comments from Chief Sims about tools used to find the suspect; assurances to her child that the person who did the shooting is not there anymore; losses she has experienced due to mass shootings; ensuring Culver City is protected; and she felt that unless there is clear evidence that the tools and partnerships aid ICE and directly harm immigrant communities, mutual aid not be removed.
Kellie Estes felt the length of time allowed to speak was unfair and she did not care how late the meeting went with the ridiculous agenda items; likened what the City was doing to what ICE was doing and felt that CCPD were being harassed; discussed educating Council M embers in what mutual aid is and how it July 9, 2025
12 works; and she asserted that resources needed to be put into recalling people.
Jeff Schwartz noted that there was no question LAPD and the country sheriff regularly violated their own policies and, specifically, state law AB48 with their use of force at protests; discussed pervasive and consistent practices that are not the work of “bad apples”; actions in 2020, on campuses last year, and in recent weeks; Culver City community members dealing with permanent disabilities from illegal attacks by the police; documentation from every news source of firing “less lethal” bullets at unarmed people, trampling people with horses, attacking reporters, and indiscriminate use of tear gas; mutual aid policy that prohibits police from participating in illegal activity when aiding other departments; and he felt it was reasonable to prohibit CCPD from providing assistance to LAPD and the sheriff for any type of riot control or crowd suppression until those departments demonstrate the they will apply and enforce their policies and AB48.
Bryan Sanders indicated believing in public safety that is compassionate and accountable; stated that CCPD had made it clear that they do not cooperate with ICE and have shown that they can protect all residents, including immigrants , with fairness and integrity ; Council Members who campaigned on cutting police support by 50% and are using ICE incidents as a backdoor opportunity to push their agenda; he discussed dismantling mutual aid and critical safety tools ; fear-based policy-making that puts everyone at risk; comments from the Vice Mayor on the responsibility of every city to defend the people who live and work within its borders and cities joining together that become impossible to ignore; joining together as the point of mutual aid; and regional unity.
Lorri Horn expressed appreciation for comments by Council Member Vera about singling out CCPD; discussed making it hard for CCPD to protect and serve; support for the vision of Culver City to support all immigrant communities who have long contributed to the City; c oncern with letting fear and emotions drive decisions; the need to support CCPD and enable them to do their job; and she asked for support of current mutual aid agreements.
Huong Nghie m-Eilbek expressed agreement with comments made earlier pointing out the intent to have a discussion; questioned if there was training available on how CCPD could help when confronted by a non -ICE person who did not have a judicial warrant, did not show ID, and was kidnapping or hurting someone; July 9, 2025
13 asked for transparency; discussed pro-Palestinian protestors at UCLA in June 2024 who faced members of UCPD, LAPD and CCPD; and she pointed out that immigrants and students were targeted and detained by ICE over a year ago.
Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin , with one minute ceded by Jack Stehlin, discussed confusion over the agenda item that came out yesterday; an email she received from an organization before the agenda came out asking that people stop CCPD from helping ICE; she noted that there was much community conversation that may or may not be accurate; expressed concern with eliminating mutual aid with other cities; discussed lifesaving policies and partnerships; the importance of helping neighbors and partners; Culver City as a City of Kindness; agreement that ICE and the federal government are wrong; people being terrorized; MacArthur Park; and she stated that the mutual aid policy was necessary to help the most vulnerable.
Christie Gaynor expressed concern that the item was on the agenda; discussed targeting CCPD; she noted that no one asked about costs when CCFD provided mutual aid; discussed the inability of CCPD to help ICE in accordance with state, local, and City laws; other area cities with sanctuary city status; division in the country; the need to work together; and she noted the importance of maintaining alliances and provid ing tools to keep the community safe.
Debbie Gambino discussed remarks by Council Member McMorrin indicating that her priority is safety for all residents and citizens; discussed mutual aid; her experience with CCPD; and she expressed concern with something happening because mutual aid was not available.
Ross Piro expressed strong support of CCPD and keeping mutual aid agreements in place; discussed ensuring against isolation in crisis; sowing distrust between people and communities; weakening collective action; trust in CCPD to follow state law and Culver City values; opposition to the deportation of hard- working people; and he expressed trust in all public safety tools such as Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs).
Edward Wolkowitz interim Chief Executive Officer of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce, discussed an emergency Chamber of Commerce meeting; questioned why the item was an emergency; noted that it was not the first time that a City Council had trivialized an emergency in order to advance an agenda that lacked transparency; and he expressed concern with depriving July 9, 2025
14 the community an opportunity to adequately consider the item.
Marci Baun discussed statements made by the City Council that the community extends beyond its borders; affects to all cities surrounding them; the importance of mutual aid; helping each other because they care; numerous times CCPD has indicated that they do not serv e ICE; and she hoped the City would maintain the mutual aid agreements.
Sara Hartley discussed the high level of accountability of CCPD; support for mutual agreements and ALPRs; concerns about cost; she asked how long the City has had mutual aid agreements in place; and she hoped that the City Council would take safety into consideration and make the right decision.
Ron Bassilian, Protect Culver City, discussed defending the good name of CCPD and their budget; verification of whether CCPD works with ICE; lack of transparency with the meeting; denial of mutual aid for protests or riots that have to do with ICE; he questioned whether the City Council would have wanted CCPD to stand down and let Fox Hills Mall burn during the Black Lives Matter riots because of no mutual aid ; and he indicated that the City Council would be held accountable.
Suzie Cohen, with one minute ceded by William Scott, indicated being a police recruiter working to fill officer positions across LA county; thanked Culver City for making it a less attractive place to work for police officers and driving them to other locations; discussed low morale, dwindling resources, and low pay; investing into an unsolved homeless crisis; being unprepared for global events; and she wished residents of Culver City good luck.
Keith Jones discussed assurances from Vice Mayor Puza at a candidates forum that he would not support defunding CCPD; asserted that actions such as what is being proposed and removing the ALPR cameras would demoralize CCPD officers who want to ensure resident safety; indicated that Culver City was running out of money which was another way of defunding CCPD; and he asserted that he would hold the Vice Mayor responsible when he came up for reelection.
Disa Lindgren pointed out that the meeting was being held because immigrants are under assault; stated that no one had proposed eliminating mutual aid; noted that they were centering an issue that did not exist; discussed concern that CCPD had come to the aid of LAPD on June 9 at a peaceful demonstration; July 9, 2025
15 she reported that the mayor of Los Angeles had indicated that they did not need federal troops, the National Guard , or the Marines; and she felt it was unnecessary for Culver City to provide mutual aid noting that they had been a sanctuary city since 2016.
Roy Lopez , CCPD officer, provided context on mutual aid; indicated responding to the Santa Monica College campus shooting in 2013; and he asked that they think about what they are doing with regard to mutual aid.
Stephen Jones reported observation of LAPD interfering with Rapid Response efforts at peaceful protests in Los Angeles; discussed lack of information available regarding CCPD
participation; concern with tax money paying CCPD to work against the people working to keep ICE at bay; a statement by the CCPD Chief indicating that he could not think of an instance where CCPD would deny a request; illegal use of sponge rounds against protesters by LAPD; the policy to follow the lead of the primary agency; and the importance of changing policies to make sure that does not happen.
Leah Pressman echoed comments made by Stephen Jones; discussed peaceful protesting of the actions of the current administration that changed when the police turned on them without warning; depicting CCPD as a victim; Culver City as being in the 100 th percentile for police spending; clarification that the focus of the item was not to eliminate mutual aid but instead to consider the way mutual aid happens; and she did not want her tax dollars to support LAPD kicking protesters in the head or shooting them with non-lethal bullets.
Michelle Weiner acknowledged agreement in the room that ICE is doing great harm in the community; felt it appropriate to ask tough questions; discussed people who cannot tolerate questions asked of CCPD; she felt it should not be threatening to ask questions and get information to base policy changes on , if needed; and noted the emergency situation with people being threatened.
Nancy Barba was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Jack Galanty , with one minute ceded by Caroline Galanty, indicated that he supported mutual aid but was concerned that it would get them in trouble; discussed the inability of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to guarantee that the agents in July 9, 2025
16 MacArthur Park were sworn officers or federal agents; fear that CCPD would be a position of being called for mutual aid to help people who turn out not to be legally authorized to be there; putting Culver City in legal jeopardy; he asked whether agreement not to help extended beyond ICE to Homeland Security; and expressed concern that the situation w ould get worse and the City needed to plan for the safety of everyone, including CCPD officers who could be put in jeopardy.
Manuel Cruz asserted that taking away a tool from CCPD did not help the immigrant community and he indicated that he would not stand for demonizing CCPD.
Pete Rockwell , Democratic Club, indicated that he was not against the concept of mutual aid; pointed out that comments from speakers were misleading and meant to distract from the real issue; expressed support for turning off ALPRs while Donald Trump is in power; expressed concern with efforts by the current administration to get their hands on recordings from ALPRs; discussed masked thugs who are kidnapping people and sending them away; concern with the president joking about kidnappings; the local popsicle seller for twenty years who was kidnapped; and the law signed on July 4, 2025 giving more money to ICE than is given to the Pentagon.
Rosie LaBriola indicated that the wife of former Council Member Ron Perkins was a police officer; asked th e City Council to leave the CCPD mutual aid program as it is; discussed the small City that relies on mutual aid programs to address emergencies; she proposed that Council Member Fish ask the Police Chief how much Culver City has received in mutual aid; and she felt that it was not in the best interests of the citizens to have a financial planning meeting at the same time as a City Council meeting.
Paula Gerez thanked CCPD and CCFD for keeping them safe; chastised the City for agendizing the matter the way that they did which caused upset that mutual aid is going away; comments from her husband indicating that they would be forced to move if Culver City continues to go down the drain; and she indicated that they would pull out their Don’t Defund signs and look into recalling Council Members.
Regina Meister expressed confusion over the meeting; she did not see the item as an attack on CCPD which she commended for their work with the protests she attends on Saturdays; expressed appreciation to the City Council for their work; discussed the July 9, 2025
17 fact-finding agenda item; ensuring that mutual aid does not go to help ICE; agreement; and more nuance to understand agreement.
Nicholas Wells , off -duty member of the Police Officers’ Association (POA), discussed direct detrimental impact to department morale and keeping the City safe with the removal of mutual aid.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding acknowledgement of the difficult conversation being engaged in and appreciation for those who came to share their opinions; the loaded conversation; conditioning to avoid difficult topics; the important conversation about mutual aid; ensuring proper use of public resources; CCPD as consuming the most resources and having a large amount of power and influence over daily life; power and responsibility; asking the necessary questions; ensuring that policies are aligned with values; whether asking questions that are asked of every department amounts to an attack; $32 million dollars spent in two weeks responding to protests by LAPD; CCPD involvement in two of the events; legitimate questions from comm unity members; reports of LAPD officers abusing citizens; questions about the role of CCPD in mutual aid activities; letting the public hear directly from the department; review of City policies; the start of a dark chapter of history; the importance of preserving the right for people to peacefully protest; saving the ailing democracy; the productive conversation; appreciation for the openness of the CCPD Chief to provide additional information; making data publicly available so that people understand the issue; review of important inform ation; discretionary policy; opportunities to tighten the policy; gray areas between shutting the policy down and granting mutual aid in every circumstance; adding common-sense guardrails; and hope with moving forward in requesting data for recent mutual aid events and estimated costs.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation for community comments and work that went into bringing the item back; misinformation or miscommunication about the item; the federal occupation; notice that CCPD had participated in an LAPD mutual aid request around the protests in Los Angeles regarding kidnappings/deportations; clarity on support given and received as it pertains to mutual aid to people in the region and related costs; discretion; policy that relates to mutual aid and immigration; preference that there be guardrails on when and why aid is deployed; including additional clarity as it pertains to support in the large document; July 9, 2025
18 tactical mobilization; reflecting what has been communicated by CCPD leadership that is not fully reflected in the policy; bringing transparency for the mutual aid process back; openness to suggestions for CCPD to provide transparency for the public; making it clear if there is no situation where support would not be provided; and adding that a prohibition on immigration enforcement in the policy if possible.
Jason Sims, CCPD Chief, discussed addressing a potential situation where an individual could be impersonating ICE and ensuring that people involved are legitimate federal officers.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding excerpts of a letter received from the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association regarding the need and importance of maintaining a robust mutual aid program; the focus on CCPD rather than CCFD; ensuring policies are followed; concern with undermining or calling the ability of CCPD into question; the need for unity and cooperation; support for the mutual aid policy; and appreciation for the work done on short notice.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding significant negative impacts of mass deportations on the national economy; providing a pathway to citizenship; the Center for American Progress; comprehensive immigration reform; the amount of money paid to state and federal taxes by immigrant households; comments made that were taken out of context; due process; protecting civil rights and liberties in ICE raids; kidnappings; support for mutual aid that does not come at the expense of local values or community trust; co-creating a public safety that is rooted in accountability, transparency, and respect for civil rights; the inability to have transparency if questions cannot be asked ; the need for clear guardrails to ensure that mutual aid does not introduce taxes, policies, or personnel that do not reflect the will of the community; not being fearful of questions or inquiry; appreciation to CCPD for all that they do; the tense time; things to balance; tightening up the policy while allowing the CCPD Chief to have discretion; and support for a public dashboard that includes who is requesting mutual aid, for what purpose, and whether Culver City participates or not.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding sworn CCPD officers that swear an Oath to the Constitution; adherence to AB54 and City policies; safeguards in place; trust; the upcoming Independent Cities Association July 9, 2025
19 Conference; other jurisdictions that do not see the same questioning of their police departments; misinformation or misunderstanding with Item A-1 that may be related to Item A-2; incessant campaigning from a segment of the community that has supported defunding CCPD for many years; skepticism in the meaning behind agendized items; appreciation for the hard work of the department to rush the agenda items forward; community members who express concern with rushing major policy changes; special meetings; complaints about items not getting on to the agenda; frustration; information provided to the community; the fact that there have not been questions about the cost of mutual aid for CCFD; and lack of questioning of all departments.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding clarity about the direction given; gaining information about costs for mutual aid for CCFD; transparency; agreement by the CCPD Chief to add a transparency mechanism to when CCPD responds to mutual aid requests and costs associated with that; the exceptionally high level of transparency expected by the community; adding a mutual aid section to the robust quarterly report for listing requests, associated personnel that
responded, and each incident that occurred during the quarter; retroactive information; transparency around the process for mutual aid that is offered to others and provided to Culver City; the presidential visit; loose consensus around tightening up the policy with room for discretion rather than the policy being all discretion; acknowledgement that the list of
situations where mutual aid can be deployed in 406.1.2 is not exhaustive; other p olicies that clarify the role of CCPD in immigration enforcement activity; agreement to add cl arity regarding immigration enforcement in the mutual aid policy; and a request to cite the specific policy number in the addition.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding a request for lookback information regarding mutual aid to provide context for how mutual aid has been applied in the past during the Chief’s tenure; staff agreement to add information on mutual aid to quarterly reports moving forward and provide a separate report on previous mutual aid incidents; allowing information to be publicly accessible so that people can continually refer to it to answer their questions about mutual aid; agreement to post information on the website; and clarification that consensus for the requests was received from Vice Mayor Puza and Council Members Fish and McMorrin.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding a request for CCFD to provide a tally of mutual aid received and July 9, 2025
20 given in 2025; the large volume of mutual aid provided; a request to document mutual aid given on an ongoing basis; staff time; medical aid; rescues; on-duty immediate need mutual aid; a request for one month of data with backfill specificity and an overview of the other months in 2025; and consensus was received from Vice Mayor Puza and Council Members Fish and McMorrin to direct CCFD staff to provide information on mutual aid given and received for the past 3-6 months based on the discretion of staff due to the high volume of calls indicated by the CCFD Chief with more specific information provided for one month.
o0o
Item A-2
CC - Discussion and, if Desired, Provide the Chief of Police Direction on the Policies and Procedures Associated with the Department’s Flock Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Program
Jason Sims, CCPD Chief, introduced the item.
Andrew Bellante, CCPD Captain, provided a presentation on the Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding cost per person arrested; total number of arrests made; data regarding convictions; cost for the Flock contract; grounds to sever the contract if Flock is breaking the agreement with the City; response to issues of leaked data in other jurisdictions; policy concerns with other agencies and records requests; and lack of definitive proof that data has been leaked.
Hector Soliman-Valdez, Flock, stated that the two cities cited for leaks were not Flock customers; discussed Culver City ownership and jurisdiction over the data; policy requiring that ALPR data be used for law enforcement purposes; and the ability of Flock to terminate a contract for going against state and local law.
Additional discussion ensued between the Flock representative, staff, and Council Members regarding the fact that any data held by the department is subject to a subpoena or search warrant; hard deletion of data after 30 days; data collected on vehicles; lack of information captured on who is inside the vehicle; an investigation indicating lookups at the behest of the federal government as an informal favor to federal law enforcement; significant reports of data being used through other law July 9, 2025
21 enforcement agencies; sharing with federal authorities; different laws related to sharing information from state to state; the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and Electronic Frontier Foundation investigation that found 71 law enforcement agencies in the state of California had broken those laws; the importance of solid policy; allowing the public to understand all sides of the issue; and communication with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) resulting in a lack of a definitive example of agencies breaking California state law with regard to data sharing.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding total number of images in a 30 -day period in intersections with cameras throughout Culver City; listing of camera placement in the initial staff report that was not changed; agreement by CCPD to provide the public document to the City Council; appreciation for the time put into preparing the presentation; clearances vs. arrests; crime and clearance rates; significant positive impact of the cameras related to crime rates in Culver City; vehicle theft; CCPD clearance rates vs. the national average; real time notifications of wanted vehicles; ALPRs used as an investigative tool after a crime has occurred; the State of California DOJ Open Justice Data Table; reports to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) from Culver City; national reporting; research into the source of data from Culver City provided to the state DOJ; and clarification that the ALPR program has been fully functioning for one year.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding agencies not following policy with regard to answering public records requests; strategies before ALPRs; being specific after the fact; entering vehicles into the system on a hot sheet; notification of the local agency; the ubiquitous technology that other cities have; assistance in local and regional crime fighting; impacts of exiting the program; clarification that no data is shared with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement; and email alleging that Flock is sharing
information with ICE.
Responding to inquiry, Hector Soliman-Valdez stated that Flock does not have a contract with ICE and does not share customer data; he reported that each customer owns their own data and shares data through their o wn portal and policies; noted that Flock has not received any inquiries from DOJ about misconduct or sharing of data with ICE; discussed the right of Flock to terminate the contract if agencies are not using the ALPRs for legal law enforcement; no knowledge of any misuse or
July 9, 2025
22 investigation by the DOJ in California; implementation of a preventative tool to automatically block users who enter information using ICE or immigration; protocol for searches; the audit tool; regular audits based on each user at the department; ensuring compliance in the proper use of technology; reassessment; further transparency; recent implementation that any search containing words or derivatives of immigration enforcement be flagged and the search will not be allowed; and best policies and laws at the local level.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding the article from CalMatters; policies of neighboring cities; clarification that the cameras take pictures of cars, not people; guidance from the California DOJ related to ALPR policy and procedures; Cul ver City as going above and beyond what is required; annual costs; other technology and systems currently being used that collect data; safeguards in place; accountability; and termination and prosecution of an individual for misuse of a database eight years ago.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding review of data by a member of the management team; clarification that there has not been a third party external audit of the data; the Professional Standards Unit audit; sensitive per sonnel investigations; checks and balances in place; warrant requirements to provide data; clarification that no data is ever shared with ICE or any other federal law enforcement agency conducting immigration activity per policy; the ability of a law enfor cement agency conducting a specific investigation to write search warrants and get a court order for information from any organization; the need to respond to legitimate warrants; consultation with the City Attorney’s Office to determine proper response; search warrants as being narrow in scope and related to a specific investigation; legal obligation to respond; Flock access to data; clauses in the signed services agreement; and access to the data.
Hector Soliman-Valdez, Flock, indicated that Flock did not have access outside of support functions; clarified that support cannot see data; and he discussed anonymized data and updates to available vehicle types.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding tracking of every search in the database; felony suspects identified in Culver City for felonies that originated in Culver City; the regional effort to recover stolen vehicles and return them to owners; clarification that all license plates July 9, 2025
23 are captured and retained for 30 days; 30 days as the low end of the retention period; the possibility of bad actors in an organization; policies of Los Angeles county police departments; claims made in articles; helping keep immigrants safer with ALPRs; and allowing for the application of visas for
undocumented immigrants involved in an investigation.
Mayor O’Brien invited public comment.
The following members of the public addressed the City Council:
Jamie Wallace with one minute ceded by Bob Wallace , indicated that she looks at the agenda as soon as it comes out so she can send out a newsletter; questioned how ALPR data could help ICE detain Enrique, the ice cream vendor; discussed assertions by CCPD that they do not cooperate with ICE; lack of proof of any bad actors misusing information; compensating victims; concern with use by a horrible organization; she asked the City not to turn off ALPRs.
Danny Young asserted that the threat of authoritarianism was no longer theoretical; discussed federal agents abducting people off the streets; concern that internal audits of the privately- owned Flock system are not released; the tendency for law enforcement to be conservative and generally in support of immigration policies even if constrained by law; concern with management of data by an outside entity; an observation that subverting the federal surveillance state in Culver City would not be enough; the o pportunity to do something real and meaningful; and he asked the City to cancel the contract.
Rosie Gabi stated that surrounding cities were not considering getting rid of ALPRs; discussed the potential effect of removing ALPRs on resident safety; protecting crime and criminals rather than law abiding residents; and she felt it was a shame that CCPD had to defend their practices to keep the community safe.
Carolyn Libuser felt that the three Council Members
disrespecting CCPD and one disrespecting CCFD should be ashamed.
Gary Zeiss discussed statements made by Majorie Taylor Greene on cloudseeding causing floods in Texas; the sanctuary city status of Culver City; concern with being a sanctuary for illegal activity; surrounding cities with ALPRs; and the ability for cars to disappear into Culver City if ALPRs are removed.
July 9, 2025
24 Candance Pilgrim-Simmons asked that all the necessary tools that CCPD needs remain in place; discussed paying a premium to live in Culver City ; a new small business in Fox Hills Mall that recently closed because they watched a security guard be attacked; compromising safety; concern with ignoring warning signs; proven technology that helps CCPD handle situations; she indicated keeping the doors to her business locked; and asserted that they could not justify taking away the tools that keep them safe.
Christopher Car expressed concern regarding the proposal to eliminate ALPRs; discussed the recent incident at a memorial for a recent Culver City High School (CCHS) graduate; ALPRs as a valuable tool to keep people safe; the murder of a Whittier Police Officer in 2017; and concern with putting CCPD officers at risk.
Dr. Luther Henderson asserted that CCPD did not share
information with ICE; discussed Amber Alerts, stolen vehicle recovery, hit and run, and traffic offenses; he urged the City Council to keep the current program; stated that several Council Members had Trump derangement syn drome; noted the need to protect citizens rather than illegal aliens who should not be in the country; and discussed cleaning up the mess of the Biden administration.
Maggie Peters, with one minute ceded by Jack Galanty, indicated being a PRCS Commissioner not speaking on behalf of the Commission; discussed acknowledgement of CCPD’s point that the cameras could be a useful crimefighting tool; the general drop in crime in the region; total number of unique license plates gathered; risks of potential bad actors, subpoenas, and hacking; she proposed turning off rather than taking down the cameras so that if there is a huge spike in crime, the cameras can be agendized to be reinstated; she felt that until ICE is out of LA county and until the fascist threat is done, the cameras should be turned off, not just for immigrants, but also for people protesting , women seeking reproductive care, those seeking gender affirming care, and for everyone’s safety because it is unknown who they will come after next; and she thanked the City Council for their consideration.
Kelli Estes discussed the CalMatters article from 2023 asserting that 71 agencies had shared data; human trafficking and drug smuggling; assurances from Rob Bonta that the matter was under control; repeated assertions from CCPD that they do not share data with ICE; ALPRs as a cumbersome way for ICE to get any data July 9, 2025
25 or track people; better data available to ICE; statistics showing that use of ALPRs reduces crime; and she asked the City to look ahead instead of at their agenda.
Jeff Schwartz, with one minute ceded by Michael Hersh, observed anecdotes and numbers shared, but not a data-based argument from CCPD or Flock showing that ALPRs had increased public safety in Culver City; stated that if the program was not delivering, it should be discontinued; pointed out that CCPD had not addressed the issue of secondary data sharing; discussed information shared with LAPD that they then share with ICE; plans announced by Flock to introduce surveillance cameras linked to facial recognition to multiple databases of personal data; booming mass surveillance; the large amount of information available that gets more dangerous as it gets more connected; surveillance advocates; the potential cris is likely to dwarf the Red Scare and the Blacklist; leaders working in science, medicine, education, and the arts who are afraid to participate
politically for fear of retaliation ; inclusion of political contributions in the database Flock plans to access; he observed that LAPD had not requested a retraction from CalMatters; and he pointed out that Culver City did not need to surrender to the dystopia and could start by divesting from companies committed to mass surveillance and data aggregation.
Bryan Sanders discussed fear-based claims of ALPRs vs. reality; the effective program; successful outcomes and the overall drop in crime City-wide; help identifying a suspect who opened fire at a vigil at CCHS; strict safeguards; 30 -day data retention; no personal information or driver images included; no ICE data sharing; and he asked that ALPRs not be dismantled.
Lorri Horn expressed agreement with Ed Wolkowicz; was dismayed that there was an emergency item on the topic; discussed the ICE emergency; the agenda item; the majority who are appalled by ICE and want the City to support CCPD while not allowing the extreme left or extreme right to divide Culver City; expressed support for CCPD and the responsible use of ALPRs; welcomed dialogue; and she objected to using the federal ICE issue as a backdoor manipulation to dismantle CCPD that she felt was a disservice to the City and the immigrants it purported to serve.
Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin with one minute ceded from Jack Stehlin, discussed red light cameras; the desire to protect community members and immigrant neighbors; ALPRs that do not show people’s faces; concern with victims of crime, gun violence, sexual assault, theft, and robbery; and she asked the July 9, 2025
26 City Council to consider what victims would be told about cancelling a tool that could help solve crime when making their decision.
Esmerlin Guardado indicated serving as a CCPD officer and being a DACA recipient; discussed his experience; interaction between law enforcement and the immigrant community; breaking or building trust; technology and community trust; effectiveness of Flock; cameras that hel p bring justice to victims and make neighborhoods safer; people who believe Flock cameras are tied to immigration; and he indicated that CCPD had given him a chance and he did not have doubt or fear of them.
Christie Gaynor noted that the majority of comments heard were supportive of CCPD and for protecting the City; discussed representation of constituents; the vigil; gratitude for the response of CCPD; she asked about the vict ims; and expressed support for comments made by Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin.
Debbie Gambino was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Jeanne Black was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Marci Baun discussed people missing who were found within two hours in Virginia due to ALPRs; people on the City Council who asked questions that had already been asked multiple times; wasting time of constituents; and she asked the City Council to do better.
Sara Hartley was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Ron Bassilian discussed money saved with recovery of stolen cars; the inexpensive program; red light cameras; homelessness data; the landlord registry; and use of the emergency as a pretext to get rid of cameras they never wanted.
Keith Jones suggested that the Council Members should have read the policy for ALPRs that indicates over and over that it cannot be used for ICE; stated that the emergency meeting should have never been called; discussed wasting time rather than spending time helping immigrants with their issues; long meetings since progressives have been on the City Council; and he asked the City Council to do better.
July 9, 2025
27 Lawrence Goun expressed significant concern that ALPR technology was rife for abuse for data privacy issues; discussed lack of sufficient oversight for stewardship of data; immigrant intimidation tactics; highest risk of data exploitation by the federal government and Flock; dangerous technology for
surveilling law -abiding citizens; and he noted that the discussion did not mention the growing number of drivers using counterfeit license plates and fake tags since the pandemic.
Disa Lindgren was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Roy Lopez , Culver City Police Officer Association ( CCPOA), discussed the crucial tool to provide safety to businesses and residents in Culver City; concern with loss of data by turning off the cameras; and the decision of the Whittier Police Department to get ALPRs after the death of Officer Keith Boyer.
Stephen Jones discussed the ease of which he was able to find the CalMatter s article indicating that the Burbank Police Department had searched all of the ALPRs in California on May 4 on behalf of a division of ICE with similar actions by Hermosa Beach, Irwindale, and multiple searches by LAPD; data available in audit logs; statements from Flock indicating that they do not know the searches are being done; he noted that the policy was not enough; asserted that the cameras needed to be turned off immediately; questioned whether Flock was inept or lying; and he indicated that the data was available.
David Metzler expressed appreciation for efforts to limit sharing and protect the personal data of innocent people who are recorded each month; asserted that the policy efforts were doomed to fail; discussed lack of ownership of the software , access to the code or audit tools, and lack of control of the policies of other agencies Flock shares data with ; best intentions; the ability of the CCPD Chief to only control and access areas that the vendor allows access to; national security reasons that would prevent the vendor from telling CCPD or the public who data was shared with; the national emergency; the need to protect residents and visitors fr om mass surveillance by discontinuing the gathering of personal information; and he urged the City to immediately cover the lenses of the cameras and work out policy contract details later.
Leah Pressman was called to speak but did not respond.
July 9, 2025
28 Michael Rodriguez, CCPOA; discussed fear mongering; facts; resolution of a robbery on Jefferson using ALPRs; and he indicated that he did not provide any information to ICE on a recent DUI (Driving Under the Influence) arrest he made on the east end of the City with a no bail warrant from ICE.
June Hibino expressed concern with ALPRs in relation to immigrant surveillance; acknowledged statements indicating that CCPD does not play a role in immigration enforcement and does not share information with ICE; discussed transparency; agencies that receive data from ALPRs; lack of confirmation that other agencies would not provide data to ICE; the goal of 3,000 deportations per day; Culver City as a sanctuary city; she felt that immigrants should not have to live in fear that their movements are tracked and their data may be sent to ICE; and she indicated that her concern was not with CCPD but more with third party agencies.
Michelle Weiner was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Rene Olague, CCPOA, urged the City Council to consider how tools save lives and protect Culver City employees; discussed resolution of an incident on November 19, 2024 using ALPRs; responsibility to protect City employees and hold people accountable when they put others at risk; and he asked the City not to wait until someone is seriously hurt to recognize the value of the system.
Nancy Barba was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Megan Oddsen Goodwin expressed appreciation to the City Council for calling the meeting; gratitude to the City for joining the ACLU lawsuit against the Trump administration; acknowledged the effectiveness of ALPRs; noted that her concern had more to do with the federal government and immigration authorities; discussed protecting immigrant communities from ICE; concern that data could end up in the wrong hands; ensuring the other government agency that has very little regard for the rules or law does not acc ess the data; she questioned whether it was possible to turn off the cameras during the threat; asked about access to past data; and community members who are worried about the matter not coming from a position of wanting to defund o r limit police resources, but from a place of wanting to protect themselves and looking into every possibility of protection.
July 9, 2025
29 Thomas O’Neill discussed politicians declaring themselves sanctuary cities from federal law; prosecutors who refuse to prosecute crime; judges that release violent offenders without bail; the optional justice system; riots in Los Angeles as the result of institutional failure at every level; systematic dismantling of respect for authority; defunding the police resulting in more crime, more pain, more destruction, and more social disruption; he asked whether another defunding was in the best interest of the community; and he wanted to see the City re-fund CCPD.
Manuel Cruz stated that his immigrant community was
overwhelmingly law-abiding and would like nothing more than to be documented noting that they were here for a better life; reported that the community was not against surveillance as it keeps people honest; felt that the only people who did not want surveillance were the criminals; expressed opposition to using his community to eliminate ALPR s; noted that ALPRs are a tool like any that can be used for good or for evil; and he proposed limiting access to data to Culver City.
Paula Gerez expressed appreciation for the comprehensive report; asked that ALPRs be kept in place; discussed saving time by not asking questions that are in the report; those on the Council with distain for their constituents; and she clarified that California Highway Patrol was the proper term for the agency.
Judi Sherman was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Regina Meister was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Nicholas Wells introduced himself as an off -duty police representative from CCPOA; discussed the belief that ALPRs would be used by ICE for nefarious activities; state law; statements from the CCPD Chief; his usage of Flock cameras to successfully investigate sexual violence; assistance investigating crimes against children; his priority to keep the community safe, especially the children; and the importance of having all of the investigative tools available to him.
Huong Nghiem-Eilbek provided background on herself; discussed historical protections that are under attack; legal, law abiding citizens who could soon be endangered; enactment of the Alein Enemies Act of 1798; internment of Japanese Americans in World War II; racial profiling and incarceration without trial; AI July 9, 2025
30 technology integrated into surveillance systems that make the threat to appearing in public even larger; CCPD as abiding by SB54; and concern with how measures w ould hold now that $170 billion has been allotted to back up plans to deport 1 million people.
David Aguirre, CCPOA, discussed benefits from the implementation of the ALPR system in Culver City and instances where ALPR s helped solve cases.
Maria Vivanco thanked the City Council for engaging in the conversation; acknowledged high emotions; discussed general consensus to protect undocumented people; noted that the conversation was not an attack on CCPD, but an attempt to figure out how to take preventative measures as the country transitions into a more authoritarian government; she asserted that no one was safe when undocumented people were being attacked; she felt it important to ask questions and figure out how to keep each other safe; and she thanked the City for the time.
Marta Valdez was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Denise Neal felt that ALPRs should be kept as there was not money in the budget to hire more police; discussed the need for a multi-jurisdictional substation; strategizing to use ALPR s more when major sports events come; and working to support law enforcement.
Kevin Lachoff , with one minute ceded by Michelle Lachoff , expressed support for CCPD use of ALPRs; discussed the critical tool for the community; clear policy to ensure that ALPRs are not used to assist in immigration enforcement; strengthening trust between CCPD and the community; he asserted that ICE and their current ruthless immigration enforcement endeavors were not interested in ALPRs; he did not want to see the situation used as the pretext to remove the increasingly effective system used to improve overall safety in the community; and he thanked the City for balancing effective public safety practices with the rights of stakeholders in the community.
Ron Ostrin, with one minute ceded by Leslie Ostrin, stated that the emergency meeting was an insult to Culver City citizens as there was no emergency; discussed Council Members who want to defund CCPD; using a pretext to defund and demoralize CCPD; making busywork for CCPD and CCFD; no expectation of privacy for license plates; the critical nature of the system to solve July 9, 2025
31 a kidnapping; he felt the item was stupid noting that there is less privacy using a cell phone; he asked the City Council to quit wasting time; discussed difficulty speaking eloquently with such short notice and a short amount of time allowed ; Council Members with no concern about the safety of the public; he expected Vice Mayor Puza to be the “adult in the room”; and he asserted that there was no logical reason to do anything other than to keep the system.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding appreciation to the speakers for their comments and to staff for their work on the item on relatively short notice; the most important responsibility to keep the community safe; failure of the technology to pass in 2018; comments from former Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells that the technology was viewed as a gross overreach; technologies that take hold; the perception that if the neighbors are doing it, they should too; the functional City with comparable crime rates before implementation 18 months ago; data being collected at a pace and volume never before seen in human history; risks of having data in the hands of the state; investigations by CalMatters and 404 Media that have revealed that data from ALPR systems across the nation and across California including several sanctuary cities has been routinely accessed by ICE; information available online showing data; cities that claim to maintain privacy and follow state law where data still ends up in th e hands of ICE and often leads to detention and deportation; a report by the ACLU that found 71 law enforcement agencies had violated SB54 by sharing data, not just having outdated policies; the decision by Austin, Texas not to renew their contract with Flock after the same concerns were raised from their community; democratic unraveling; the bill just passed by Congress expanding ICE; money specifically set aside for building new immigration detention centers ; expansion of the federal police state to an unprecedented scale; the massive database of citizens being built by Palantir funded by the federal administration; use of data by ICE; ICE access to a database of health and car insurance claims being used to track down people; people look -up tools; data brokers; data breaches; tracking the movements of specific people without a warrant or court order; ALPRs as not being neutral tools; ALPRs as instruments of a larger project to surveil and control the population to enact an agenda; the inability to rely on leadership and good policy to protect the City; use of Flock in 5,000 cities across the country; the recent ruling of the US Supreme Court striping away the power of the federal judiciary to stop executive abuses; lack of recourse against executive July 9, 2025
32 actions; and the possibility that the president could target data that could end up in the wrong hands as it already has.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding pride in being a sanctuary city; ensuring against providing additional data to the administration; current targets vs. future targets; the issue as not being whether the program is effective or cost efficient, but whether they want any entity to have that degree of surveillance over their lives; surveilled intersections in Culver City; communities under siege; armored cars full of masked agents in MacArthur Park; plausibility of an executive order seizing data; the Supervisor’s description as a “hostile takeover”; the inability to control what ICE does or to undo the Supreme Court’s decision; choosing not to feed a nationwide surveillance system that could plausibly fall into the wrong hands; support for taking the steps necessary to sunset or end the program; and concern with waiting until it is too late.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding the importance of the special meeting in light of the ongoing federal occupation and siege going on; responsibility of local officials to be nimble and respond to ensure that the community is living up to stated principles upheld such as being a sanctuary city; access to monthly license plate captures; appreciation for policies and recent limitations of sharing; documenting sharing of data from LA county to ICE and other examples across the state; warrants and other legal mechanisms that would make data available; unjust executive orders under the guise of legality; things that have been legal that were deeply unjust; the importance of being clear on what it means to be a sanctuary city; ensuring that there is no chance that someone’s information is not being shared when they are in the community; the responsibility to act in the moment; support for turning off and discontinuing the ALPR program; belief in safety; ensuring everyone has what they need; protecting those seeking gender affirming care, reproductive care, or the undocumented; difficulty of imagining what is about to happen with the explosion of resources in the federal agency; the worsening emergency; and the importance of limiting exposure and opportunity for the data to be utilized to track people.
Responding to inquiry, Hector Soliman -Valdez with Flock indicated that they were not aware of any agencies sharing data; he discussed the CalMatters article; instances cited that were before the State Attorney General had prohibited sharing out of July 9, 2025
33 state; and sharing that occurred that was not to any federal agency.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding remarks made by a speaker regarding use of ALPRs to aid an undocumented immigrant who was the victim of an armed kidnapped robbery, and work to get a U-Visa for the victim.
Responding to inquiry, Hector Soliman -Valdez clarified that Culver City is the only entity that can decide whether to share information; he discussed the inability of Flock to share information, per the contract; notification of Culver City about any requests, with Culver City able to decide who to share with; he stated that no alerts related to vehicles regarding immigration and no data associated with the driver of the vehicle or the registered owners was provided ; discussed metadata associated with the vehicle; automatic deletion after 30 days; and privacy protection.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding success stories; data related to crime rates since implementation of the program; whether the community would be less safe without the cameras; information being put forth; acting out of fear rather than basing action on data; stolen cars used to commit crimes; recovery of stolen cars and crime prevention; ghost guns recovered; efforts of CCPD officers to protect the community; acknowledgement of community concern; responsiveness to the community; openness to discussion around policy; sharing; procedures specific to license plate readers; opposition to turning the highly efficient technology off; taking the guesswork out of stopping vehicles; crimes against children; sexual assault; the mutual aid request from Gardena; getting weapons off the street; Teslas and Waymos that capture license plates; information captured by Caltrans; the arrest of the individual within 24 hours of the shooting after the vigil at CCHS assisted by the technolo gy; providing information to help officers with traffic stops; capture of three murder suspects using ALPR technology; clarification that license plates do not indicate whether someone is undocumented; trust that people will do a good job, with oversight; micromanaging employees; benefits of ALPR s as a tool; concern with
demoralizing CCPD; earned trust; support for retaining ALPRs; and hope that the Vice Mayor would understand the importance of the tool to the safety of the community.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding the decision regarding public safety, civil liberties, July 9, 2025
34 and values as a sanctuary city; ICE raids and the federal administration; those who feel that an emergency meeting is an unnecessary inconvenience; the pressing matter for many people; Flock records regarding data shared with federal agencies; communication with the authorities; understa nding what SB54 says; permissibility of sharing information related to a crime with numerous federal agencies, but not with ICE; the fact that surveillance promises safety at the cost of freedom; history; unchecked surveillance technologies as being used unfairly to target the most vulnerable under the guise of public safety ; ensuring effective and ethical use of advancing technologies; serious privacy and surveillance questions; the need for more tools to fight the federal government; finding the right balance; concern with suspending the program; taking a more gradual approach; providing action; temporary discontinuation of any sharing of information; use of Culver City ALPR s in addressing the hit and run victim and the shooting at CCHS; the value of transparency in terms of searches; incorporating data into quarterly reports; creation of a dashboard or putting information on the website; clarification that private
information would not be shared; convoy analysis; AI
capabilities; and the condition that if data is targeted, the cameras are immediately turned off.
Further discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding concern that if Culver City does not share their data, other cities would not share theirs; reciprocal sharing that creates a larger pool; clarification that Culver City would not be the only agency not sharing data; the valuable system even without cross -jurisdictional sharing; vulnerability of all data; the request for data about mutual aid; inequity of clear targeting of a particular department; the trust-building example of helping the immigrant gain temporary legal status by CCPD; outreach to nations for the Olympics; strong public safety in Culver City compared to other parts of the county; APLRs in all partner cities in the westside COG (Council of Governments); targeting of Culver City if cameras are removed; illegal use of data; a bad actor in CCPD removed 8 years ago; concern with making the change based on fear; and potential crimes that did not happen.
Vice Mayor Puza moved to limit the use of license plate readers within Culver City only and to provide reports on a transparency portal with review on a monthly basis.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding the amount of work for staff if they have to come back July 9, 2025
35 with reports on a monthly basis; quarterly review; the importance of frequency; starting with reports every two months and potentially extending the length of time after a while; questions that were not answered; the amount of work necessary to provide answers regarding convictions; data that is not readily available; providing information to the Subcommittee; a request for information about crime that originated in Culver City; clarification that the motion is to limit the use of ALPRs to within Culver Cit y with reports on transparency every two months to start; and agreement to include information on convictions if possible.
MOVED BY VICE MAYOR PUZA AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VERA
THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECT STAFF TO LIMIT THE USE OF ALPRS TO
WITHIN CULVER CITY AND GET REPORTS ON TRANSPARENCY EVERY TWO
MONTHS TO START AND TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON WHETHER THE CRIME ORIGINATED IN CULVER CITY.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: FISH, MCMORRIN, PUZA, VERA
NOES: O’BRIEN
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Item A-3
CC - (1) Consideration of a Grant of $50,000 to a Non -Profit Organization that is Assisting Immigrants Impacted by Recent Federal Immigration Enforcement; and (2) FOUR -FIFTHS VOTE REQUIREMENT: Approval of a Related Budget Amendment
Appropriating $50,000 from the General Fund Contingency Reserve
Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager, provided a summary of the material of record.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding clarification that monies c ould be designated for Culver City residents, students, and workers.
Mayor O’Brien invited public comment.
The following members of the public addressed the City Council:
Jamie Wallace, with one minute ceded by Bob Wallace, proposed using the money for rental subsidies for people living in Culver City affected by the current situation.
July 9, 2025
36 Rosie Gabl discussed concern expressed with CCPD budget spending; giving money away to pet projects; an unvetted organization supposedly giving money for illegal immigrant support purposes; she proposed that those in support of the action provide the money themselves and host the people in their homes and backyards; discussed setting a good example before taking taxpayer money away from the hardworking middle class for their own political gains; and she asked the City Council to start sharing public updates on resour ces spent on Jubilo Village and other giveaways.
Christopher Car was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Kevin Dedicatoria expressed support for the item; recommended that the donation be given to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDf); discussed ongoing ICE raids; services provided by ImmDf in addition to legal aid; and he asked that the money be used wisely.
Maggie Peters was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Gary Zeiss felt it was weird to appropriate money and then decide what organization it would be provided to outside of the public view; discussed giving a blank check to an organization; giving people a chance to consider the organizations; and the need to allocate m oney to a specific organization before the money is appropriated.
Bryan Sanders proposed creating a dashboard to study various criteria for public input to weigh the various aspects of each organization and make a group decision rather than making a decision behind closed doors; discussed determining alignment with Culver City values; generic verbiage; charity navigator ratings; and concern with throwing away money in a budget crisis.
Debbie Gambino was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Marci Baun was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Ron Bassilian was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
July 9, 2025
37 Keith Jones discussed placing the money with St. Augustine Church due to their long history; community trust; and concern with benefitting the political aspirations of candidates.
Disa Lindgren was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Stephen Jones discussed the importance of the aid; community groups working the with Culver/Palms Y to get food to people who need it; and he expressed support for CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles) and any of the groups listed.
June Hibino was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Michelle Weiner was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Nancy Barba was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Jack Galanty , with one minute ceded by Caroline Galanty, expressed support for CHIRLA as well as the Culver/Palms Y; discussed the actively developing situation; the need to get in front of things instead of being reactive; the importance of volunteers; he proposed breaking the grant into two amounts to benefit two organizations; discussed being a beacon to other cities in the area; showing the immigrant community that Culver City stands with them in more than making a statement; and he felt that things would get worse quickly and there should be a plan to save the community.
Sam A. felt that best use of the grant would be to provide legal services to immigrant community members, especially those detained; discussed her outreach to Esperanza to get a better understanding of how far $50,000 would go; providing support for 4-5 detained cases, community outreach , and a clinic for legal assistance; potentially earmarking time for Culver City residents and employees during virtual hours; and the increasing difficulty of representing detained immigrants.
Kelli Estes discussed Council Member concern with costs; the decision to join the current ACLU lawsuit; extra reporting costs for CCPD; looking at the big picture of how much things cost; July 9, 2025
38 and she expressed support for allocating the monies to the Culver City YMCA.
Meg Sullivan indicated being a small housing provider and she suggested that monies be allocated to rental assistance for undocumented families who have had their primary breadwinner detained.
Maria Vivanco expressed appreciation for the agenda item; discussed work with the Culver City Presbyterian Church to provide modest aid to Culver City families; noted the importance of legal aid and rental assistance; a similar grant passed in Anaheim; and support for providing grants through a third party for legal and rental assistance.
Denise Neal discussed budget constraints and FBA (Foundational Black Americans) reparations that were approved several years ago.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding rental assistance agendized for discussion on July 14, 2025; communication with the Culver/Palms YMCA; meeting people where they are at; support for the organizations on the list; providing the majority of the money to access to legal aid; Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project; I mmDf; outreach to organizations to ensure they have the capacity to receive and support Culver City residents; prioritization; people who might be at capacity; availability; a suggestion from the Legal Aid Foundation that aid be provided to CHIRLA or ImmDf; providing advocacy and education rather than direct legal representation; staff outreach to organizations; appreciation for the work done to support the community; the importance of immigration defense; partnership with CHIRLA for future efforts to educate; and prioritization for legal defense and food.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding concern with costs; the intent to bankrupt Culver City; the importance of being good stewards of the City’s money; support for helping neighbors in need; legal services offered by CHIRLA; the need for more reserves for emergencies; concern with spending more money that has not been budgeted for; the ability to impact a lot of people who need help; connecting people to immigration services; concern with spreading the money too thin; mee ting basic needs; a request that accounting be required in the agreement for a report back on how many people are supported; requesting that the organizations provide aid to July 9, 2025
39 residents, families of students, and workers; and ensuring the money is earmarked in the way the City wants.
Council Member Fish proposed a motion that Culver City grant $40,000 to ImmDf and $10,000 to the Culver/Palms YMCA and Council Member McMorrin seconded the motion.
Council Member Vera proposed a substitute motion to grant $50,000 to Culver/Palms YMCA.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding clarification that the Culver/Palms YMCA does not provide legal support.
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VERA AND SECONDED BY MAYOR O’BRIEN THAT THE CITY COUNCIL: APPROVE 100% OF THE $50,000 GRANT TO THE CULVER/PALMS YMCA.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: O’BRIEN, PUZA, VERA
NOES: FISH, MCMORRIN
Mayor O’Brien moved to adopt a budget amendment appropriating $50,000 from the General Fund Contingency Reserve and Council Member Vera seconded the motion.
Vice Mayor Puza received clarification that since he was in the majority, he could move a motion for reconsideration.
MOVED BY VICE MAYOR PUZA AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FISH THAT THE CITY COUNCIL RECONSIDER THE PREVIOUS MOTION.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: FISH, PUZA, MCMORRIN, VERA
NOES: O’BRIEN
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VERA AND SECONDED BY MAYOR O’BRIEN THAT THE CITY COUNCIL: APPROVE 100% OF THE $50,000 GRANT TO THE CULVER/PALMS YMCA.
THE MOTION FAILED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: O’BRIEN, VERA
NOES: FISH, MCMORRIN, PUZA
July 9, 2025
40 Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding including accounting in the agreement with periodic reporting; monitoring of the program; and awarding the grant contingent on willingness to earmark funding for Culver City residents, students, and workers.
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FISH AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCMORRIN THAT THE CITY COUNCIL: APPROVE A $40,000 GRANT TO IMMDF FOR LEGAL AID AND A $10,000 GRANT TO THE CULVER/PALMS YMCA FOR FOOD AND SUPPLIES.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: FISH, MCMORRIN PUZA
NOES: O’BRIEN, VERA
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FISH AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCMORRIN THAT THE CITY COUNCIL:
1. APPROVE A RELATED BUDGET AMENDMENT APPROPRIATING $50,000 FROM
THE GENERAL FUND CONTINGENCY RESERVE (REQUIRES FOUR -FIFTHS VOTE); AND,
2. AUTHORIZE THE CITY ATTORNEY TO REVIEW/PREPARE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS; AND,
3. AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE SUCH DOCUMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY.
THE MOTION FAILED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: FISH, MCMORRIN, PUZA
NOES: O’BRIEN, VERA
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding a suggestion to split the grant equally between Culver/Palms YMCA and ImmDf; the feeling that the money would go further if the YMCA received more; providing daily sustenance for people who do not have income coming in; and cost of legal aid.
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FISH AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCMORRIN THAT THE CITY COUNCIL: APPROVE A $25,000 GRANT TO IMMDF FOR LEGAL AID AND A $25,000 GRANT TO THE CULVER/PALMS YMCA FOR
FOOD AND SUPPLIES WITH PERIODIC REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND
EARMARKING FUNDS FOR CULVER CITY RESIDENTS, STUDENTS, OR WORKERS.
July 9, 2025
41 THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: FISH, MCMORRIN, O’BRIEN, PUZA
NOES: VERA
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FISH AND SECONDED BY VICE MAYOR PUZA THAT THE CITY COUNCIL:
1. APPROVE A RELATED BUDGET AMENDMENT APPROPRIATING $50,000 FROM
THE GENERAL FUND CONTINGENCY RESERVE (REQUIRES FOUR -FIFTHS VOTE); AND,
2. AUTHORIZE THE CITY ATTORNEY TO REVIEW/PREPARE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS; AND,
3. AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE SUCH DOCUMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: FISH, MCMORRIN, O’BRIEN, PUZA
NOES: VERA
Council Members discussed whether to hold off on remaining agenda items in conside ration of the late hour and they determined to move forward.
o0o
Item A-4
CC - Creation of and Appointment of Two City Council Members to a City Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee on 11029 Washington Boulevard Redevelopment Proposal
Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager, provided a summary of the material of record.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding the number of existing Ad Hoc Subcommittees; a suggestion to allow the Planning Commission to take the item on and provide their recommendations; the City Manager hiring process; the subcommittee of the Planning Commission that would have to recommend to the Planning Commission which would then have to make a recommendation to the City Council; allowing opportunity for public participation; and consideration of the item by the full Planning Commission.
July 9, 2025
42 Mayor O’Brien invited public comment.
The following member of the public addressed the City Council:
Rosie Gabl was called to speak but did not respond.
Gary Zeiss was called to speak but was not present online or in person.
Denise Neal questioned whether the property was the one the City had spent $6 million on; wanted to know whether the property would be torn down and redeveloped; asked about public
participation and the timeline; and wanted to know what would need to be earned in order to make money from the property.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding proposals being accepted for redevelopment of the site; the tour two weeks ago; consideration of proposals by the City Council in October or November; previous City Council direction that housing, preferably affordable, be provided over retail with a community space included ; and clarification that there would not be a subcommittee and all consideration would be public.
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FISH, SECONDED BY MAYOR O’BRIEN AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THE PLANNING
COMMISSION TO MAKE A RECOMMEDNATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON THE TOP REDEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL.
o0o
Item A-5
CC - Discussion and Direction Regarding Transitioning the City Council Ad Hoc 2025 Police Policies Subcommittee to a Standing City Council Public Safety Subcommittee
Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager, provided a summary of the material of record.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding meeting frequency; the proposed name change; support for keeping the original name; the number of new standing subcommittees; increased staff time required for standing committees vs. for ad hoc committees; benefits of transparency and public input; training new people to do Webex and agenda posting to allow for more help; understanding that new requests not included in the July 9, 2025
43 work plan require reprioritization; the 44 outstanding Council requested items that have yet to be presented to the City Council; and concerns voiced about why items are taking so long.
Mayor O’Brien invited public comment.
The following members of the public addressed the City Council:
Rosie Gabl was called to speak but did not respond.
Bryan Sanders expressed concern about motives behind the item; discussed creation of the agenda item; targeting of CCPD; providing an opportunity to invite lobbyists and activists who do not live in Culver City to try to sway police policy in Culver City; lack of a req uirement to disclose residency when speaking; and he indicated that he is a Culver City resident.
Denise Neal questioned the difference between the Police Policy Subcommittee and the Public Safety Subcommittee; discussed impacts to relations with WestCOG (Westside Council of
Governments) and regional emergency management; multi - jurisdictional items; and she asked whether working with Emergency Management would include all of the westside cities.
Keith Jones was called to speak but did not respond.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding clarification that the subcommittee would report to the City Council; reporting by staff and Council Members who are representatives of the Westside COG; review and approval of the immigration policy changes that did not allow for public viewing before adoption; public concern with the changes made and reasoning behind it; additional revisions to include language that had been removed; the opportunity for more transparency and public awareness; and significant impacts to people’s lives.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Council Members regarding benefits to making the body a standing subcommittee; comfort with the current process; feedback from the Chief’s Advisory Panel; community meetings as needed; concerns with the workload; number of administrative staff; nimbleness of the ad hoc subcommittee; calling a quick meeting for feedback for urgent matters; value to candid conversations; public
conversations; items that end up coming before the City Council; subcommittee scope; a suggestion to change the title to include policies, procedures, and technologies; limited purpose and duration of ad hoc subcommittees; changing the name to the July 9, 2025
44 Police Subcommittee; appreciation for the work put into meetings; availability of the City Council in Closed Session; additional work required in order to have a standing
subcommittee vs. an ad hoc subcommittee; updating the scope of the subcommittee ; consolidating community meetings into the public meetings; doing RIPA meetings at the subcommittee meetings; existing transparency; and community meetings.
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FISH AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMB ER MCMORRIN THAT THE CITY COUNCIL: APPROVE THE TRANSITION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AD HOC 2025 POLICE POLICIES SUBCOMMITTEE TO THE STANDING CITY COUNCIL POLICE SUBCOMMITTEE.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: FISH, MCMORRIN PUZA
NOES: O’BRIEN, VERA
o0o
Public Comment – Items Not on the Agenda (Continued)
Mayor O’Brien invited public comment.
The following member of the public addressed the City Council:
Denise Neal reported attending the Santa Monica budget meeting; discussed their $47.2 million dollar Housing Trust Fund that they lent to their General Fund; unanswered questions she asked about the CCSM Jubilo Village project; requested documentation that has not been received; and she noted that the hedge fund had been pestering her for information.
o0o
Items from Council Members (Continued)
None.
o0o
Council Member Requests to Agendize Future Items
City Council consensus was achieved to agendize the following item:
July 9, 2025
45 • Consideration of joining the Coalition in Support of the Sepulveda Transit Corridor
• CCFD staff to provide information on mutual aid given and received for the past 3 -6 months based on the discretion of staff
o0o
July 9, 2025
46 Adjournment
There being no further business, at 1:21 a.m. on July 10, 2025 the City Council adjourned to a regular meeting to be held on July 14, 2025
o0o
Jeremy Bocchino
CITY CLERK of Culver City, California
EX-OFFICIO CLERK of the City Council, Culver City, California
DAN O’BRIEN
MAYOR of Culver City
Date: _________________________