From: Catalin Kaser
To: City Clerk Dept User
Subject: Public Comments - Open Forum
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026 3:03:22 PM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Mayor Martinez, Council Members, and City staff,
I write with a combination of sorrow and anger about the slow progress on making our streets safer. I began working in Richmond in August 2008, walking or riding my bike from the Bart station to my workplace in the Iron Triangle. In early 2009, I moved here, to the N&E neighborhood, and biked from home to work. Though I’ve worked in different places both in and outside of Richmond since then, I have mostly gotten around Richmond via foot or bicycle, and have striven to help make improvements. I helped create Richmond’s Pedestrian Plan in 2010, helped craft the bylaws for the Richmond Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, have shown up and spoken at many, many public meetings about improving safety over the past 17 years. It’s so heartbreaking that we continue to have dangerous streets when we know how to make them safer! There are infrastructure changes that will make a big difference.
The two recent deaths on 23rd Street are only the most tragic of many vehicle collisions that happen in this city. All across the city, I see parked cars with dents, broken lights, hanging bumpers, and I find the detritus of crashes in many intersections. Even on our somewhat quiet residential streets of the N&E, there are regular crashes. I’ve personally witnessed several, and two or three times crashes have resulted in cars in my front yard. I’m sure many smaller collisions are not reported to the police, but I think if we got an accounting of all the crashes that are reported every week, like we do the police reports on crime, people would be shocked and maybe feel a need for action. What if we put those numbers on a public billboard and set a goal of reducing crashes? Maybe something similar to workplace safety signs: “X days without a collision.”
Regarding 23rd Street specifically:
In 2009, I was so excited by the prospect of an improved 23rd Street, just two blocks from my house. I thought it would be happening soon, after attending a meeting about it. Twenty-third is a street where I walk to get groceries or a restaurant meal, do laundry, and bike or walk across to get to work, go to BART, or attend cultural events. In the 23rd Street Improvement Project presentation from 2008, the technical advisory committee found that “23rd Street has the highest number of pedestrian collisions in Richmond.” Person-in-the-street interviews asked “What is the most important thing to improve on 23rd Street?” The biggest response was “Pedestrian Safety.” When asked “What is your biggest concern about 23rd Street?” the top two responses were (1) Safety, and (2) Pedestrian Safety. These interviews were conducted in 2008! Sadly, nothing has improved on 23rd Street since that time.
In 2023, the City adopted a Local Roadway Safety Plan, based on a deep study of traffic injuries and deaths. The recommended number 1 emphasis area in that plan is… 23rd Street from Grant to Maricopa. It should be noted that both of the people killed recently were crossing 23rd Street within that section.
PLEASE make road safety a priority. Pedestrians are not a special category of people - they are everyone. When you walk from your car into a store or into your home, you are a pedestrian.
If you have ever pushed a child in a stroller down 23rd Street, you know that there are many ramps missing and you may have felt a bit scared getting down the curb to cross the street.
The young people waiting at the bus stops on 23rd Street to get to Contra Costa College? They are also pedestrians. People driving cars mostly drive as fast as the conditions allow. This is a known fact. CHANGE THE CONDITIONS so that drivers will be forced to slow down. People being inconvenienced is better than people being killed or injured.
Please install quick-build traffic calming elements now, and work harder to implement the longer-term recommendations in the adopted Plan. Twenty-third Street is one of the most bustling and vibrant parts of the City. There are parks and schools on both sides, which children should be able to access safely. Many people live in the densely residential neighborhoods of Belding Woods and the N&E, and we want to safely access the small businesses on this corridor without taking our lives in our hands. Don’t wait for another tragedy!
Thank you for your time and attention to the long-overdue changes to 23rd Street, Catalin Kaser, 2600 Gaynor Ave
From: claudia citroen
To: City Clerk Dept User; Shannon Moore; Shasa Curl; Irene Lozano; Daniel Chavarria; Sharrone Taylor; Jamelia Brown; Cesar Zepeda; Eduardo Martinez; Soheila Bana; Lina Velasco Subject: City council meeting 20.06.026 open forum public comment Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 8:21:49 AM
Attachments: image0.jpeg
image1.jpeg
image3.jpeg
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
City council meeting 20.06.026 open forum public comment (p1 of 4 RPA Council Majority: Jimenez, Martinez, Robinson & Wilson conduct raises serious concerns regarding abuse of authority, conflicts of interest, selective enforcement, interference with staff, manipulation of public processes, preferential treatment, and violations of the Richmond City Charter, municipal ordinances and all other applicable laws. Jimenez / Martinez — SEIU Compensation placed on Consent Calendar a 4% annual automatic inflation adjustment for SEIU rather than presenting it as substantive matter requiring meaningful public discussion. Residents in attendance objected. During the resulting exchange, the City Attorney repeatedly stated that voter approval through a ballot measure is required and only voters can approve such measure. Any attempt to process it through routine consent calendar votes raises serious concerns regarding public transparency. Council intentionally overreached beyond legal authority to advance a policy for political gain without required voter approval. Jimenez of course prefers to “dig through trash in search of watermelon seeds” as financial advice.
OVERARCHING GOVERNANCE CONCERNS:
Taken collectively, this describes a pattern of procedural mistakes:
Selective enforcement of council & public-participation procedure, preferential treatment of political allies, lobbyists, RPA-speakers
Suppression and unequal treatment of opposing viewpoints Misuse of council-liaison authority, interference with professional city staff and HR functions Failure to consistently enforce adopted ordinances and Charter rules Brown Act and public-records concerns, council decisions, arrangements were discussed or coordinated outside public process, ethics violations, conflict-of-interests Labor-law concerns involving employee representation,
Manipulation of agenda priorities and consent-calendar procedures Misuse of public resources for political or campaign-related benefit, undermining staff independence and integrity of administrative record
Inconsistent fiscal scrutiny, inadequate disclosure of expenditures
CORE LEGAL PRINCIPLE
Council does not possess unlimited authority because a majority supports particular political objectives. A council must exercise governmental power through the Charter, enacted ordinances, properly noticed agendas, lawful public procedures, applicable labor and ethics requirements, and the authority actually granted to elected officials. Political agreement does not cure an otherwise unlawful procedure. A councilmember's assignment does not create independent authority to direct staff, circumvent established procedures, or privately implement matters that require formal council action.
REQUIRED RECORD REVIEW
Examine observed violations against the official council recordings and minutes, agendas and staff reports, consent-calendar records, speaker-registration records, Charter provisions, ordinances, resolutions, ballot measures, HR communications, City Attorney advice, labor-relations records, contracts, invoices, event expenditures, reimbursement records, emails/texts subject to disclosure, and communications between councilmembers, staff, lobbyists, and outside organizations. These violations can not be characterized as political disagreements. Governmental authority, public resources, council procedures, employee relationships, and public participation were not administered lawfully, consistently, transparently, but with preferential treatment.
Below crime data the council ignores to address: pg 4 of 4 From: Lisa Robesch
To: City Clerk Dept User
Subject: public comments - Open Session prior to Closed Session Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026 1:50:49 PM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Richmond City Council,
I understand that traffic safety measures are on the agenda for the upcoming meeting on October 6th, and I wanted to reach out to draw your attention to the dangerous section of Carlson Blvd that runs from the off ramp at I80 to Central Ave.
This section of Carlson is overwhelmingly residential, yet is treated by drivers as an extension of the freeway. Children walking to Fairmount Elementary from their Richmond Annex homes, and children catching the bus to Koramatsu are endangered every day on this stretch. It is even perilous for me when driving, not even walking, to attempt to make a left turn onto Carlson when leaving my house on Columbia Ave, especially during morning and evening rush hours. The cars are uniformly far exceeding the 30mph speed limit since they have a nice long unencumbered stretch to really get going. We desperately need traffic calming measures on this stretch of Carlson! If we act now, we won't have to act later in response to a fatality we could have prevented.
Sincerely,
Lisa Robesch
Lisa Robesch • TTLTeam.com
Living Local in The East Bay Free Guidebook
Realtor® • #2081605
510.520.9649
7502 Fairmount Avenue, El Cerrito, CA
Read what our clients have to say!
SERIOUSLY LOCAL FOR 50 YEARS
When information is supplied by third parties, please do not assume I have investigated or verified such information.
From: Sarah Menanix
To: City Clerk Dept User
Subject: 1) public comments – Open Session prior to Closed Session; 2) public comments – Open Forum; or 3) public comments agenda item O8
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 11:44:29 AM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Richmond City Council,
I am heartbroken to learn of the deaths of Rafael Delgado and Douglas Vargas on 23rd Street.
My thoughts are with their families. Thank you for putting traffic safety on the agenda so quickly. I support the council taking concrete action to make 23rd Street safer for pedestrians.
I also hope this moment can lead to a broader look at traffic safety across Richmond, so that changes happen before another tragedy. As one example, I live in the Annex and cross Carlson Blvd every morning with several other families walking our children to Fairmont Elementary, and many of our children cross Carlson alone as they walk home at the end of the school day.
Carlson sees a lot of fast traffic alongside heavy foot traffic. I would welcome the chance to share what I and other Fairmont parents in the Annex have observed whenever the time is right.
Thank you for your work on this.
In Community,
Sarah Menanix
From: Cindy McPherson
To: Doria Robinson; Soheila Bana
Cc: Eduardo Martinez; City Clerk Dept User
Subject: Urgent stand for privacy and civil rights
Date: Monday, October 5, 2026 9:54:30 PM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Council members Bana and Robinson,
My name is Cindy McPherson. I am a resident of El Cerrito and concerned about privacy, safety, and civil rights, particularly in my Contra Costa Community. I have attended Richmond City Council meetings and heard you support surveillance. I am sure you both know that a community that is criminalized and over policed is not safer. Rather, meeting everyone’s basic needs for food, shelter, work, and healthcare makes a safe and well community.
Mass surveillance does not make us safer. Being watched does not make people feel safe.
ALPRs do not prevent or deter crime. This Tuesday, I urge you:
Item O.1 - Say NO to Axon/Flock in Richmond
Item N.7.a - Say NO to Police Strategies doing a biased study of ALPRs in Richmond Item O.6 - Support and listen to Electronic Frontier Foundations’ analysis of the harms of ALPRs in Richmond
A company whose business model is to establish a network of mass surveillance *is* a danger to society. I am glad the Council voted to hear from EFF, and I urge you to consider the research they bring. I worked with my neighbors in El Cerrito to bring public comment to our City Council about our concern with Flock, ALPRs, and mass surveillance. We helped them move to take time to gather information aside from the vendor’s claims, and made connections to get a presentation from EFF’s Sara Hamid. It was illuminating and helpful. I am happy to facilitate making any additional connections with EFF or getting relevant information that you would like.
Please say NO to Axon/Flock in Richmond.
Cindy
From: Reimagine Richmond
To: City Clerk Dept User; Eduardo Martinez
Subject: Agenda Items O.1 and O.6: Richmond Says NO to Contracting With Axon Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 11:51:02 AM
Attachments: City of Richmond Letter Agenda O.1 and O.6 Public Comment.pdf This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Mayor and City Council,
Reimagine Richmond, alongside 13 community organizations, would like to share our letter AGAINST Agenda Item O.1, the proposed contract with Axon Enterprises for automated license plate readers, and in support of Agenda Item O.6, the Electronic Frontier Foundation presentation.
We oppose O.1 and urge the City Council to vote no on both Axon and Flock, and we support O.6, which highlights the risks of ALPRs in Richmond. Please see the attached letter for our full statement and recommendations.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
--
Sincerely,
Reimagine Richmond, alongside East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Rising Juntos, United Teachers of Richmond, Secure Justice, Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), Richmond Progressive Alliance, Contra Costa Young Democrats, American Friends Service Committee, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Safe Return Project, Multicultural Institute, Social Justice Collaborative, Richmond4Palestine, Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance, and Ensuring Opportunity Eduardo Martinez, Mayor
Sue Wilson, Councilmember
Jamelia Brown, Councilmember
Doria Robinson, Councilmember
Cesar Zepeda, Councilmember
Claudia Jimenez, Councilmember
Soheila Bana, Councilmember
October 6th, 2026
Dear Mayor and Members of the Richmond City Council,
We, the 14 undersigned community organizations, are writing to express our opposition to Agenda Item O.1, which proposes contracting with Axon Enterprises in Richmond for automated license plate readers and surveillance technology in Richmond. We are also speaking in support of Agenda Item O.6, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) presentation regarding the effectiveness of ALPRs.
We are calling on you to stand up against the mass surveillance systems that threaten our privacy and our livelihoods. In Richmond, ALPR cameras have been collecting and storing large amounts of location data about vehicles traveling through Richmond. This data can be accessed and shared with outside agencies, including law enforcement departments across the country and federal authorities. In Richmond, RPD has already shared data with 2,724 non-CA agencies, which is in violation of SB 34, which is a law that restricts the storage and sharing of ALPR data.
Richmond is a sanctuary city, and we cannot sit idly while corporations like Axon and Flock are used as back-end sources of surveillance for DHS and ICE agents who use ALPR data to target and arrest immigrants. At a time when immigrant communities are already experiencing increased immigration enforcement and fear, continuing to contract with Flock and Axon will only deepen this harm and erode community trust.
We do not want to see one surveillance corporation replacing another. Axon sells surveillance technology and weapons to foreign militaries like the IDF in their ongoing genocide in Palestine. Axon also contracts with ICE by supplying body-worn cameras, tasers, and software. Replacing Flock with Axon merely replaces the name of the company while maintaining many of the inherent security, data, and safety concerns.
With so many questions and concerns around surveillance, Electronic Frontiers Foundation has made it clear that ALPRs pose massive risks to our Richmond community. The data stored by ALPRs are inherently insecure and vastly intrusive to our entire community, regardless of whether we are suspected of any crimes. Our homes, workplaces, religious practices, political activity, healthcare visits, and personal relationships are all stored and logged by a large corporation that will have access to every aspect of our lives.
Community safety should be rooted in investments that actually support community well-being, including youth programs, mental health services, violence prevention programs, housing stability, and community-led safety initiatives. Richmond deserves safety rooted in care, dignity, and trust, not expanded surveillance. We urge you to vote NO on Flock and NO on Axon.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
From: Tammy Kreznar
To: City Clerk Dept User; Eduardo Martinez; Jamelia Brown; Cesar Zepeda; Doria Robinson; Soheila Bana; Sue Wilson; Claudia Jimenez
Subject: Public Comments Agenda Item #O.1
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 7:33:12 AM
Attachments: image001.png
ACLU NorCal Letter - Oct 6 meeting - Item O.1.pdf
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers:
Attached, please find public comment from ACLU of Northern California regarding agenda item #O.1:
Contract Amendment with Axon Enterprise and Contract with Assure MSP, Inc. for Law Enforcement and City Facility Video Technology, Surveillance, and Support Services.
Thank you,
Tammy Kreznar
Tammy Kreznar
Senior Organizer
ACLU of Northern California
39 Drumm Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 316-0300 | [email protected]
Pronouns: she/her/hers
www.aclunc.org
October 6, 2026
Richmond Mayor and City Council
City of Richmond
440 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, CA 94804
VIA EMAIL ONLY
Re: Item O.1 Contract Amendment with Axon Enterprise and Contract with Assure MSP, Inc. for Law Enforcement and City Facility Video Technology, Surveillance, and Support Services
Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers,
We write on behalf of the ACLU of Northern California (“ACLU NorCal”) to oppose the Axon Enterprise Contract.
ACLU NorCal urges the Council to not only oppose the Axon contract specifically, but to refrain altogether from contracting with any company to deploy Automatic License Plate Reader (“ALPR”) cameras in Richmond. We are deeply concerned that the proposed package not only includes ALPR cameras, but numerous other types of surveillance technology, including additional cameras and drones. ALPR camera networks make our community less, not more, safe because they violate privacy, increase the risk of dangerous police encounters, and risk exposing our immigrant community members to harm.
ALPR camera networks are a threat to privacy and raise serious civil rights issues.
ALPR surveillance cameras automatically record a vehicle’s precise location, when it was seen, and an image of the vehicle, at times even capturing the individuals inside. ALPR cameras can capture this information about thousands of drivers per day, regardless of whether those drivers have violated any law. When placed around communities, ALPR cameras effectively police the movements of people as they visit friends, come or go to work, and conduct their private lives.
For drivers who regularly drive past ALPR-surveilled areas, the cameras can capture multiple snapshots of their locations and vehicles a day.
With this sensitive location information, an ALPR operator can track the movements, habits, and associations of drivers over time, including where people live, work, worship, receive ACLU Letter to Richmond City Council
medical care, or attend school. But once a community installs a network of ALPR cameras, there is no practical way for a driver to avoid having their location tracked, short of choosing not to drive. And once collected by ALPR, sensitive information about people’s locations and movements can be exploited, including law enforcement. All people should feel safe to worship, to attend a protest, and to go about their personal lives safely without unnecessary surveillance.
ALPR systems pose a distinct threat to marginalized communities.1 As with other surveillance technologies, police often deploy ALPR cameras in poor and historically overpoliced areas, regardless of crime rates.2
When placed in fixed locations, ALPRs essentially create checkpoints throughout a city that log and monitor where residents go and when, threatening their freedom of movement and potentially reinforcing historical patterns of neighborhood segregation.3 Such surveillance can amplify racial and economic disparities in our policing and incarceration systems, and also has serious psychological consequences. 4 Out-of-state and federal agencies can exploit ALPR location information to target and locate people.
Government agencies can—and have—used the location information collected by ALPRs – to target and deport immigrants and track people exercising their First Amendment rights. 5 Law
enforcement agencies, including the federal government, may obtain or demand access to ALPR networks, exposing the lives and futures of immigrants to needless harm. Indeed, we 1 See, e.g., Angel Diaz & Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Automatic License Plate Readers: Legal Status and Policy Recommendations for Law Enforcement Use, BRENNAN CRT. FOR JUST. (Sep. 10, 2020) https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/automatic-license-plate-readers-legal-status-and-policyrecommendations; Matt Cagle, San Francisco – Paying the Price for Surveillance Without Safeguards, ACLU OF.
NORTHERN CAL. (May 22, 2014) https://www.aclunc.org/blog/san-francisco-paying-price-surveillance-withoutsafeguards. 2 Dave Maass and Jeremy Gillula, What You Can Learn from Oakland’s Raw ALPR Data, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUND. (Jan. 21, 2015) https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/01/what-we-learned-oakland-raw-alprdata; Barton Gellman and Sam Adler-Bell, The Disparate Impact of Surveillance, THE CENTURY FOUND. (Dec. 21, 2017) https://tcf.org/content/report/disparate-impact-surveillance/; see also, e.g., Kaveh Waddell, How License Plate Readers Have Helped Police and Lenders Target the Poor, THE ATLANTIC (Apr. 22, 2016) https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/how-license-plate-readers-have-helped-police-andlenders-target-the-poor/479436/ (summarizing data indicating that Oakland Police Department deployed ALPRs “disproportionately often in low-income areas and in neighborhoods with high concentrations of AfricanAmerican and Latino residents”). 3 Laura Schenker, David Sylvan, Jean-Louis Arcand, and Ravi Bhavnani, Segregation and ‘Out-of-Placeness’: The Direct Effect of Neighborhood Racial Composition on Police Stops, POLITICAL RESEARCH QUARTERLY (Apr. 2023), https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129231171516. 4 Chris Chambers, NSA and GCHQ: The Flawed Psychology of Government Mass Surveillance, THE GUARDIAN (Aug. 26, 2013) https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2013/aug/26/nsa-gchqpsychology-government-mass-surveillance 5 Vasudha Talla, Documents Reveal ICE Using Driver Location Data From Local Police for Deportations, ACLU OF NORTHERN CAL. (Mar, 13, 2019), https://www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrolabuses/documents-reveal-ice-using-driver-location-data ACLU Letter to Richmond City Council
know that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”) have exploited locally-collected ALPR location information to target, locate, detain, and deport immigrants as they drive to work, run errands, or drop their children off at school.
At least one California law enforcement agency has been sued for sharing the locations of drivers with out-of-state and federal agencies, a practice which is illegal under California law. 6 We should also consider that the risk to people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care in our community if ALPR-collected location information is shared with or demanded by a prosecutor in a state with anti-abortion or anti-LGBTQ laws. In anti-abortion jurisdictions, driver location information collected by California-based ALPRs may be exploited by investigators or prosecutors to closely monitor abortion clinics, the vehicles seen around them, and the movements of abortion seekers and providers. 7 We should avoid building a system that could be used to investigate or target someone who visits or travels through our community while seeking refuge and care in California.
Any community considering an ALPR camera network must take the possibility seriously that drivers’ locations will end up in the hands of a government agency that does not share the desire to protect the rights of marginalized people.
Furthermore, there are few regulations limiting how law enforcement or private parties can access ALPR databases. In California and some other jurisdictions, officers are required to provide a justification before they run searches through our archived location information, but records of those justifications are rarely reviewed and so the requirement is not taken seriously.
In some cases, law enforcement does not even bother to invent reasons for running searches, and we have seen officers type nonsense like “LMAO,” “IDK,” or “la la la la” when asked to 6 Case page, Legleva v. Doyle, ACLU of Northern California website, https://www.aclunc.org/our-work/legaldocket/lagleva-v-doyle-license-plate-surveillance. The California Attorney General (“AG”) recently published an informational bulletin confirming that it is illegal for California law enforcement agencies to share ALPR information with law enforcement agencies outside of the state and attorneys at ACLU affiliates in California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote the AG a letter explaining that some agencies still violate this law, putting California reproductive rights at risk. See California Automated License Plate Reader Data Guidance, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Oct. 27, 2023) https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/2023-DLE06.pdf; ACLU and EFF Letter to California AG Bonta (Jan. 31, 2024) https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/2024-01-31_letter_to_ag_bonta_re_sb_34_final.pdf; see also Nick Hidalgo and Matt Cagle, Californians Fought Hard for Driver Privacy Protections. Why Are the Police Refusing to Follow Them? ACLU OF NORTHERN CAL. (Feb. 12, 2024) https://www.aclunc.org/blog/californians-foughthard-driver-privacy-protections-why-are-police-refusing-follow-them (explaining the ACLU of Northern California’s advocacy regarding ALPRs).
7 Dave Maass, Automated License Plate Readers Threaten Abortion Access. Here’s How Policymakers Can Mitigate the Risk, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUND. (Sep. 28, 2022) https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/09/automated-license-plate-readers-threaten-abortion-access-hereshowpolicymakers.
ACLU Letter to Richmond City Council
justify a database search, while supervisors do nothing to stop them.8 Without meaningful guardrails, ALPRs facilitate horrific abuses of power, including running searches on behalf of ICE in violation of state law,
9 tracking people seeking reproductive care,
10 and outright stalking
romantic partners, exes, or even complete strangers.
11 In one particularly egregious example, a
San Jose police officer was recently found to have accessed ALPR information while off-duty to help his cousin track down a woman who had accused the cousin of domestic violence. 12
ALPR systems do not meaningfully improve public safety, but they have triggered unjustified stops of law-abiding people.
ALPR systems have repeatedly triggered dangerous and unjustified stops of drivers in Northern California and elsewhere. In San Francisco, police blind reliance on an ALPR scan led to the wrongful detention of a Black woman at gunpoint, triggering a multi-year civil rights lawsuit. 13 Two brothers returning from Thanksgiving with family were pulled from their rental car on I80 after ALPR wrongly flagged it as stolen.14 More recently, police in Walnut Creek wrongly detained the director of a non-profit at gunpoint after another license plate reader system error.15 And in Colorado, police officers forced four Black children to lie face down on the hot 8 Rindala Alajaji and Dave Maass, The High Crime of “LMAO”: How Cops Are Treating Flock’s Mass Surveillance As A Joke, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUND. (Sep. 14, 2026) https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/09/high-crime-lmao-how-cops-are-treating-mass-surveillance-joke 9 Tomoki Chien, SFPD let Georgia, Texas cops illegally search city surveillance data on behalf of ICE, S.F.
STANDARD (Sept. 8, 2025) https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/08/sfpd-flock-alpr-ice-data-sharing/; Khari Johnson and Mohamed Al Elew, California police are illegally sharing license plate data with ICE and Border Patrol, CALMATTERS (June 13, 2025) https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2025/06/california-police-sharinglicense-plate-reader-data/. 10 Rindala Alajaji, She Got an Abortion. So A Texas Cop Used 83,000 Cameras to Track Her Down, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUND. (May 30, 2025) https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/she-got-abortion-so-texas-cop-used83000-cameras-track-her-down. 11 Drew Harwell, Douglas MacMillan and Aaron Schaffer, How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking, WASHINGTON POST (Aug. 2, 2026) https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/02/how-police-officers-used-vast-network-cameras-spytheir-exes/; Jason Koebler, ‘I Saw a Shiny Thing’: Cop Explains Why He Used License Plate Reader to Stalk Woman, 404MEDIA (Aug. 19, 2026) https://www.404media.co/i-saw-a-shiny-thing-cop-explains-why-he-usedlicense-plate-reader-to-stalk-woman/. 12 Tori Gaines, SJPD Officer Fired After Using Flock Cameras to Help Cousin Accused of Domestic Violence, FOX KTVU 2 (Sept. 14, 2026), https://www.ktvu.com/news/sjpd-officerfiredafter-using-flock-cameras-help-cousin. 13 Kade Crockford, San Francisco Woman Pulled Out of Car at Gunpoint Because of License Plate Reader Error, ACLU, May 13, 2014, https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/location-tracking/san-francisco-womanpulled-out-car-gunpoint-because; Matt Cagle, San Francisco – Paying the Price of Surveillance Without Safeguards, ACLU OF NORTHERN CAL. (May 22, 2014), https://www.aclunc.org/blog/san-francisco-payingprice-surveillance-without-safeguards. 14 Charlie Warzel, Opinion | When License-Plate Surveillance Goes Horribly Wrong, THE NEW YORK TIMES, (Apr. 23, 2019) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/opinion/when-license-plate-surveillance-goes-horriblywrong.html. 15 Zach Norris, Opinion: At gunpoint, police handcuffed me after license-plate reader error, THE MERCURY NEWS (June 23, 2021) https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/06/23/opinion-at-gunpoint-police-handcuffed-mebecause-of-a- license-reader-error/.
ACLU Letter to Richmond City Council
pavement after misidentifying their car as a “stolen” vehicle based on an incorrect reading of an ALPR system.16 Whether due to computer or police error, the use of ALPR systems to stop drivers poses a threat to the health and safety of all motorists.
ALPR systems have not been meaningfully demonstrated to prevent crime or meaningfully improve public safety.17 To the contrary, studies indicate that ALPRs do not have a deterrent effect on crime, with a recent analysis of ALPR cameras in Alameda County finding that auto thefts actually increased following installation of a system in 2020, ending a period of steady decline.18 Similarly, a recent study by the FBI shows that in Atlanta, police crime clearance rates for homicide, robbery, larceny, and shoplifting all decreased after the installation of ALPR cameras.19 And while ALPR vendors and police agencies often tout the effectiveness of ALPR in reducing crime, public safety experts point out that any reduction in crime cannot be attributed to ALPR themselves.20 Inaccurate reads are also surprisingly common as well: one randomized control trial in Vallejo, California, found that 37 percent of all ALPR “hits” from fixed readers and 35 percent from mobile ALPRs were misreads. 21
We urge Richmond City Council to reject the contract with Axon Enterprises. While we support the City Council’s rejection of Flock, replacing that with another vendor’s systems does not assuage our concerns about privacy, the risk to civil liberties, and the abuses of power detailed above. We also encourage City Council to adopt an ordinance prohibiting the future acquisition of ALPR by city departments, including the police. Moving forward, we urge the City of 16 Matt Novak, Cops terrorize Black family but blame license plate reader for misidentifying ‘stolen’ vehicle, GIZMODO (Aug. 4, 2020) https://gizmodo.com/cops-terrorize-black-family-but-blame-license-plate-rea1844602731. 17 See, e.g., David Maass and Beryl Lipton, Data Driven: Explore How Cops Are Collecting and Sharing Our Travel Patterns Using Automated License Plate Readers, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUND. (Nov. 15, 2018) https://www.eff.org/pages/automated-license-plate-reader-dataset (finding that between 2016 and 2017, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department scanned 234.36 million license plates with a 0.22 percent hit rate, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department scanned 162.69 million license plates with a 0.06 percent hit rate, and the Sacramento Police Department scanned 116.23 million license plates with a 0.1 percent hit rate). 18 Lauren Do (@laurendo), Twitter (Dec. 21, 2021, 2:05 PM), https://twitter.com/laurendo/status/1473414317605150722?s=11; Alameda County Publicly Accessible Data Sets (Feb. 2022) https://www.bscc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/Alameda-County-Demographic-ReferenceData_Feb2022.pdf (finding motor vehicle theft increased from 10,267 in 2019 to 14,456 in 2020); see also Cynthia Lum, Julie Hibdon, Breanne Cave, Christopher S. Koper, & Linda Merola, License plate reader (LPR) police patrols in crime hot spots: an experimental evaluation in two adjacent jurisdictions, JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL CRIMINOLOGY (2011) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11292-011-9133-9 (“Our findings indicate that, when small numbers of LPR patrols are used in crime hot spots in the way we have tested them here, they do not seem to generate either a general or offense-specific deterrent effect.”). 19 Joe Wilkins, Flock Surveillance Cameras Are Actually Horrible For Fighting Crime, FBI DATA SHOWS, FUTURISM (Aug. 1, 2026) https://futurism.com/future-society/flock-surveillance-atlanta-fbi-data-crime-case-solve 20 4 Louise Matsakis, Flock Safety Says Its License Plate Readers Reduce Crime. It’s Not That Simple, WIRED (Oct. 24, 2019), https://www.wired.com/story/flock-safety-license-plate-readers-crime/. 21 Jason Potts, Research in Brief: Assessing the Effectiveness of Automatic License Plate Readers, THE POLICE CHIEF (March 2018) https://theiacp.org/sites/default/files/2018-08/March%202018%20RIB.pdf.
ACLU Letter to Richmond City Council
Richmond to engage community members in a discussion about non-surveillance alternatives to ALPR that have been demonstrated to improve the health and safety of our communities.
Sincerely,
Tammy Kreznar
Senior Organizer
[email protected]
Cc: Mayor Eduardo Martinez, [email protected] Councilmember Jamelia Brown, [email protected] Councilmember Cesar Zepeda, [email protected] Councilmember Doria Robinson, [email protected] Councilmember Soheila Bana, [email protected] Councilmember Sue Wilson, [email protected]
Councilmember Claudia Jimenez, [email protected] From: TerriLahey
To: City Clerk Dept User
Cc: Cesar Zepeda
Subject: New Business Item O.1 10/06/26
Date: Monday, October 5, 2026 11:13:31 AM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Richmond Mayor and City Council Members:
Please vote yes on New Business O.1: Contract Amendment with Axon Enterprise ...
Our professional police department is requesting this amendment. Support them to do their work and to protect the citizens of this city.
Terri Lahey
Richmond Resident and Homeowner.
From: Karlyn Neel
To: Cesar Zepeda; Daniel Chavarria; Robert Armijo; Eduardo Martinez; [email protected] Cc: Sabrina Lundy; Eric Greenwood; Brenda Greenwood
Subject: KBSS Public Comment from Karlyn Neel
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 2:03:55 AM
Attachments: KBSP Letter.pdf
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Hi there,
I attended the City Council meeting on September 23rd at 6 PM with my neighbors Brenda & Eric Greenwood. We stayed until 11 PM in which the agenda item was pushed last minute.
I now notice that it is on the agenda for the special City Council meeting. I’m not sure I will be able to call in as I am traveling.
So I wanted it to be on public record what I was going to say on September 23rd:
My name is Karlyn Neel, a 13-year resident and owner of 265 Western Drive—a home my grandfather built in 1964. I basically grew up in this home & am a shepherd of this home. As a four-term public servant on the City of Richmond Design Review Board, I have deep, long-term roots in this community.
I want to thank the City of Richmond Public Works, Cesar Zepeda, Consultant BKF, and our community experts and neighbors for their impressive, collaborative effort in researching and developing potential sewer solutions. The 324 page Feasibility Study is comprehensive & very informative.
I am a big proponent of Option B1 (rehabilitate existing KBSS). I have talked to a few sewer experts, one who did my sewer lateral and has consulted for the City, and they all say that the existing sewer can be & should be rehabilitated.
Option C1, (traditional open-cut with pump stations) has many flaws and problems:
It increases the possibility of problems, leaks & risks multiplied by the number of households & individual systems. Could be a huge monitoring nightmare.
Installing a sewage pump is no small job. if it was on a flat lot with a grass backyard, I could see the possible consideration.
But, many lots are super narrow with no room to install the plumbing. My home is literally ~8 feet from my neighbors with concrete steps and walkways between our homes.
In addition, this is 3 stories / 40-50 feet of uphill pumping to the street - not just from the house to the street - ALL THROUGH CONCRETE
What happens when the power is out? We recently had (2) power outages and power outages do happen regularly
The $40K+ (probably higher for my lot) plus electricity, plus maintenance for the individual pump solution - It’s a huge financial burden.
I also personally along w/some neighbors have erosion on my cliff and am very concerned to be digging into the hillside. I was advised by the late William K Langbehn, reknowned Bay Area geo engineer to maintain my back patio at all costs to support the hill, not to cut through it
Thank you councilmembers & mayor, and I hope you decide on one of the recommended & top scoring directions and NOT individual pumping stations Please do forward this to the rest of the council. Including Sabrina for assistance.
Thanks much!
Karlyn Neel
On Jan 15, 2026, at 4:22 AM, Karlyn Neel <[email protected]> wrote:
City Officials and Consultants working on the Keller Beach Sewer Project, I will not be able to attend the Keller Beach Sewer Project Workshop tonight due to my civic duty as a volunteer on the City of Richmond Design Review Board.
So I would like to have my recommendations and concerns on public record. I know you are on the investigation phase / public workshopping phase of the project but I need to have my inputs represented this way du to not being able to attend tonight.
I would like to have this letter be put on the public record as my recommendation to:
1. Attempt to rehab existing gravity systems as a first choice. We have the science, engineering and ability to make this happen. Even if it’s “hard” - let’s do better on this attempt and not give up because it’s “hard” - I know from talking to engineers it’s not impossible.
2. If the City and City Consultants choose a different direction than rehabbing existing systems, I recommend a small number of municipally owned and operated pumping stations to consolidate multiple households worth of waste. It’s the smarter thing to do than individual pumping stations.
Please reference my letter with images attached.
Thanks!
Karlyn Neel
FROM THE DESK OF
KARLYN NEEL
January 14, 2026
Head of Public Works, Daniel Chavarria
Mayor Eduardo Martinez
Vice Mayor / Councilmember District 2, Cesar Zepeda
BKF Consultant Adam Brown
RE: Keller Beach Sewer Project
City Officials and Consultants working on the Keller Beach Sewer Project, I will not be able to attend the Keller Beach Sewer Project Workshop tonight due to my civic duty as a volunteer on the City of Richmond Design Review Board. So I would like to have my recommendations and concerns on public record.
I know you are on the investigation phase / public workshopping phase of the project but I need to have my inputs represented this way du to not being able to attend tonight.
If we cannot do a restoration implementation, I am in favor of a small number (maybe 6) of municipally owned and operated pump stations at beach level, to consolidate multiple households worth of waste for pumping up to the newly invented pressure lines in Western Drive and Ocean Avenue. And NOT 72 privately owned and operated pumps. I have attached rationale and photographs as to why in the following pages.
Sincerely yours,
Karlyn Neel
265 WESTERN DRIVE, RICHMOND, CA 94801 510-816-3636
Issues with Individual Pumping Stations Options
Issue One: Close Proximity of Some Homes (no real space for lines/digging) Some homes are incredibly close together, in some cases ~8 feet with only poured sidewalks/stairs in-between all which would significantly impact homes (cost + integrity) Incredibly tight space between 265 Western
Drive and 279 Western Drive shown above
Incredibly tight space between 265 Western
Drive and 257 Western Drive shown left
Issues with Individual Pumping Stations Options
Issue Two: Erosion
When I purchased my home, the geo-engineer advised to keep my back patio in great condition at all costs as it support the home. The fairly new updated sewer lateral goes through that patio. I am now facing some erosion issues on the hill below and will need to address that. I am very concerned digging up between the tightly fit homes could further upset the hillside and possible cause further erosion issues undermining stability of homes.
Photo above shows original construction from 1964 & super close proximity to homes & fragility of hillside
Issues with Individual Pumping Stations Options
Issue Two: Erosion (Continued)
I am now facing some erosion issues on the hill below and will need to address that. I am very concerned digging up between the tightly fit homes could further upset the hillside and possible cause further erosion issues undermining stability of homes.
Photo above shows fragility of hillside. Concerns of further digging along cliff will impact the integrity of the hillside.
Issues with Individual Pumping Stations Options
Additional Concerns:
Huge cost for homeowners - In addition to the costs of equipment, installation, some homeowners would have huge structural engineering bills and concrete replacement bills.
It’s a poor engineering idea and poor economies of scale (to do individual solutions) Power outages - what happens when individual pumping stations are without power Property line/legal issues - while many homes have a survey and property lines are clear, there may be cases where homes have issues on where the new sewer lines could/would need to go.
Digging up all of Western Drive for Connection to the individual pumping stations has major issues in itself - how do people get to their homes? Will this cause more erosion? In conclusion, I would like to have this letter be put on the public record as my recommendation to:
1) Attempt to rehab existing gravity systems as a first choice. We have the science, engineering and ability to make this happen. Even if it’s “hard” - let’s do better on this attempt and not give up because it’s “hard” - I know from talking to engineers it’s not impossible.
2) If the City and City Consultants choose a different direction than rehabbing existing systems, I recommend a small number of municipally owned and operated pumping stations to consolidate multiple households worth of waste. It’s the smarter thing to do than individual pumping stations.
Thank you again for your time,
Karlyn Neel
From: Caleb Arata
To: City Clerk Dept User
Cc: Eduardo Martinez; Claudia Jimenez; Jamelia Brown; Cesar Zepeda; Doria Robinson; Soheila Bana; Sue Wilson; Marlene Arata
Subject: 1) public comments – Open Session prior to Closed Session; 2) public comments – Open Forum; or 3) public comments agenda item O8
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 11:25:39 AM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Councilmembers,
I am saddened, but not surprised, to hear of the recent pedestrian deaths of Douglas Vargas and Rafael Delgado on 23rd Street. My family and I go to restaurants on 23rd Street and have noticed the unsafe pedestrian crossings and fast-moving traffic. I support the Council making changes to prevent more pedestrian deaths and injuries on 23rd Street.
As the Council meets to discuss traffic safety on 23rd, I encourage them to think larger than one street. I live less than a block away from Carlson Blvd in the Annex (Carlson and Panama), and see many of the problems with 23rd Street’s design mirrored in Carlson Blvd.
Like 23rd Street, Carlson Blvd is a four-lane road that promotes speeding. Like 23rd Street, Carlson has many unprotected crosswalks where drivers do not yield. Like 23rd Street, Carlson will have similar tragedies if changes are not made. Please use your position to direct the attention and resources needed to fix the dangerous streets in our city.
Thank you,
Caleb Arata
From: Sarah Menanix
To: City Clerk Dept User
Subject: 1) public comments – Open Session prior to Closed Session; 2) public comments – Open Forum; or 3) public comments agenda item O8
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 11:44:29 AM
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
This email originated from outside of the City's email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Dear Richmond City Council,
I am heartbroken to learn of the deaths of Rafael Delgado and Douglas Vargas on 23rd Street.
My thoughts are with their families. Thank you for putting traffic safety on the agenda so quickly. I support the council taking concrete action to make 23rd Street safer for pedestrians.
I also hope this moment can lead to a broader look at traffic safety across Richmond, so that changes happen before another tragedy. As one example, I live in the Annex and cross Carlson Blvd every morning with several other families walking our children to Fairmont Elementary, and many of our children cross Carlson alone as they walk home at the end of the school day.
Carlson sees a lot of fast traffic alongside heavy foot traffic. I would welcome the chance to share what I and other Fairmont parents in the Annex have observed whenever the time is right.
Thank you for your work on this.
In Community,
Sarah Menanix
Portal Search...
Meeting Date Agenda Item Name Email Comment Position Status Attachment City Council
10/6/2026 4:30 PM Apply for Grant
Funding to Acquire an
Armored Rescue
Vehicle and a Rapid
Response Armored
Vehicle for the
Richmond Police
Department
Andrea Williams anwi.ennui@yahoo
.com
I oppose seeking funds
for an armored vehicle
for the Richmond
Police Department.
Any effort to militarize
the police should be
opposed. Why, for a
single instance of an
armed person
experiencing a mental
break, is the city
seeking a piece of
equipment that will
only keep those
officers inside it safe,
instead of seeking (for
example) mental
health funding or gun
buyback funding?
Those would help
more people. The city
should not look to
purchase armored
vehicles that adjacent
jurisdictions already
own. Further, city staff
time is not free--nor is
upkeep, training, and
maintenance if the
grant is successful (see
item O.1 adding $3.5M
in funds to service
RPD's surveillance
tech). Finally, having
an armored vehicle
means it will have to
be used to justify its
existence; calling it a
"rescue vehicle" does
not make it any less
than a visible
escalation of force in a
tense situation or a
non-solution to
problems better
solved in a different
manner.
Against Approved -
10/7/26, 9:32 AM richmond.escribemeetings.com/Pages/ReportingPrintFriendly.aspx?reporting-reporttype=PublicComment https://richmond.escribemeetings.com/Pages/ReportingPrintFriendly.aspx?reporting-reporttype=PublicComment 1/1