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UJ SoCal 7iv202s Mayor Amezcua and City Councilmembers 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 ecomment&Santa-ana.org Via Email RE: Oppose Agenda Item 29 — Amendments to the Police Oversight Commission Ordinance Dear Mayor Amezcua and City Councilmembers, We are writing to express our strong opposition to Agenda Item 29, which proposes damaging amendments to the City of Santa Ana (City) Police Oversight Commission (Commission) Ordinance. ACLU SoCal defends the fundamental rights outlined in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These include the right to freedom of speech and assembly, the right to religious freedom, due process of law, equality before the law and the right to privacy. ACLU SoCal has also worked extensively in the area of police accountability. The Commission was created in 2022 after years of community organizing by residents who demanded meaningful accountability and transparency. The Commission remains the first and only civilian oversight body in Orange County with independent investigatory powers —a critical tool for addressing police misconduct and restoring public trust. The proposed amendments under Item 29 would dismantle the core functions of the Commission. These changes would: • Strip the Commission of its authority to conduct independent investigations into police misconduct; • Limit the scope of complaints it can review, and only after SAPD's Internal Affairs has concluded its own review; • Eliminate the Commission's ability to make disciplinary recommendations; • Cut off communication with the City Manager and City Council, removing necessary channels of accountability; • Prohibit the Commission from engaging the public through forums or education; • Mandate SAPD-led tramings and ride-alongs for Commissioners, rather than independent instruction; • Weaken public transparency by removing complaint data from annual reports. These are not technical adjustments —they are a deliberate rollback of the oversight structure that Santa Ana residents fought for and deserve.