San Leandro City Council Approves AI Policing



(Credit gorodenkoff)

The San Leandro City Council has just approved the purchase of a new AI technology product created by a former Palantir employee (of the company owned by Trump billionaire backer and bigot, Peter Thiel) to be used by the San Leandro police department. All without a competitive bidding process, a written contract, or even a scope of work, to allow SLPD to conduct operations on residents without oversight or controls. All to the tune of $705k. As a start.

Credit to u/ww_crimson on the SL subreddit for sharing this update. I think it should be obvious to everyone - including our elected officials who voted for it, Mayor Juan Gonzalez, Councilmember James Aguilar, Councilmember Xouhoa Bowen, and Councilmember Fred Simon, encouraged by the city manager, Janelle Cameron - that this is a terrible idea that will take away our rights to privacy, endanger residents, and prevent our police department from actually making our city safer.

(Credit to Councilmembers Sbeydeh Viveros-Walton, Dylan Boldt, and Victor Aguilar for opposing this and voting no.)

As reported by u/ww_crimson, this proposal did not go before the Community Police Review Board (CPRB), had not been agendized or discussed by the Council before this meeting, and they plan to put into use for a minimum of 3 years before we'll be told if it's working. It will spy on individuals and businesses alike, collecting data without any kind of human review or legal process, let alone a warrant.

Please email and/or call city hall to protest this decision. Contact information is available on the city website. You can also attend the next meeting on October 12 and 19. Information on how to attend will be posted at on the city's meeting page.

More details on this issue is available from The Brennan Center for Justice.

Take note and take care.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

San Leandro Voter's Guide: 2026 Primary Election

Image
As your local advocate and community organizer, I'm here to bring you the only comprehensive guide for San Leandro voters, election after election . I'm here to help you decide what to vote for (or against) along with reasons and receipts. This will be a long post, so buckle up! I'm starting with the local San Leandro measure, then the county races, then the local judgeships, then our federal district, then the state offices. If you're strapped for time, you can find the TL;DR version just below and then check out the details further down at your leisure. NB: this does not include any candidates that are uncontested and so won't be on your ballots, but feel free to reach out if you'd like information about them too. *** City of San Leandro Measure F: Yes County of Alameda District 3 Supervisor: Write-In Member, Board of Education, 4th Trustee Area: Aisha Knowles County Superintendent of Schools: Alysse Castro District Attorney: Pamela Price Judicial Offices Sup...
Read more

The Inevitable Fail of Mayor Juan Gonzalez

Image
I've been saying it for years   and years . But now it seems like many in the community are finally figuring it out : San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez is terrible. From political corruption to moral cowardice. From selling out the city to big tech to silence on women's healthcare rights. From photo op facades, taking credit for the work of others, particularly women, to trying to hijack millions in taxpayer funds for pet projects and donor desires. In fact, it's fair to say that Juan Gonzalez has presided over one of the most expensive, incompetent, and disastrous periods in San Leandro's modern political history. His lack of leadership and inability to govern resulted in not just dysfunction on the city council , but the waste of precious public resources towards pet projects and petty grievances. Well, I think it's past time for me to share the 50+ receipts I have been saving for just this moment. And those just the ones I was able to save before they were modera...
Read more

Former City Councilman Allegedly Violates Campaign Finance Rules in Bid to Reclaim Seat

Image
(Photo credit: Darin Moriki/Bay Area News Group) Failed former San Leandro City Councilman Ed Hernandez was recently reprimanded by departed City Manager, Fran Robustelli, for allegedly violating campaign finance rules. While this isn't the first time Hernadez has reportedly engaged in questionable behavior, it certainly is ironic coming from a guy who's spent years complaining about mismanagement at city hall. Here's the scoop from The San Leandro Advocate, courtesy of a confidential source: *** "Dear Mr. Hernandez: I write to inform you that the City received several complaints from residents who attended the Cherry Festival parade that you and volunteers related to your campaign for a City Council seat were engaged in campaign activities during the Cherry Festival parade. As I trust you are aware as a public official, under California law it is illegal to use public funds for any campaigns, whether to support or oppose ballot measures or candidates for office. T...
Read more