HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - Item 16
Flores, Dora
From:Carlos Perea <carlosiran1992@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, February
To:Amezcua, Valerie; Phan, Thai; Vazquez, Benjamin; Bacerra, Phil; Penaloza, David; Lopez,
Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; eComment; Carvalho, Sonia R.
Subject:Public Comment for Agenda Items #15, #16 and #19
Attachments:Letter to SA City Council re_ Agenda Items #15, #16 and #19.pdf
Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links.
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
I write to express my concerns and opposition to the proposed agreement authorizing the Santa Ana
Police Department’s purchase of drones and participation in a “Drone as a First Responder” program.
My concerns are ethical, civic, and grounded in the lived experience of immigrant communities in
Santa Ana.
I also strongly support the councilmember-requested item by Councilmember Vazquez directing the
City Manager to prepare a public report and directing the Police Oversight Commission to hold a
public hearing on the Santa Ana Police Department’s response to the July 2025 protests.
Please see attached letter.
Sincerely,
Carlos Perea
Santa Ana Police Oversight Commissioner
1
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Santa Ana City Council
From: Carlos Perea, Santa Ana Police Oversight Commissioner
Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Subject: Concerns with Police Drone Purchase and Supporting Oversight & Transparency
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
I write to express my concerns and opposition to the proposed agreement authorizing the Santa
Ana Police Department ’s purchase of drones and participation in a “Drone as a First Responder ”
program. My concerns are ethical, civic, and grounded in the lived experience of immigrant
communities in Santa Ana.
The vendor selected for this agreement, Axon Enterprise, profits from surveillance and policing
infrastructure that is deeply entangled with systems of immigration enforcement and detention.
Axon and its subsidiaries maintain contracts with ICE and other federal enforcement agencies at
a time when immigrant communities across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels
of surveillance, raids, and violence. Separately, Axon has also drawn sustained scrutiny for its
role in providing technology used by the Israeli military amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Santa Ana residents should not have to worry that a surveillance company with documented
ties to ICE, and whose profits are built on global systems of militarized policing, now has
contracts with our City. The expansion of aerial surveillance is not occurring in a vacuum. It must
be evaluated in light of communities that will be surveilled.
As an immigrant and as a Commissioner on the Santa Ana Police Oversight Commission, I am
particularly concerned about the chilling effect that expanded surveillance technologies have on
civic participation, protest, and everyday life, especially for undocumented residents,
mixed-status families, and communities already subject to cruel immigration enforcement. For
these reasons, I urge the City Council to reject the proposed drone purchase agreement, and
hold a community townhall to take more time to hear from residents’ concerns.
At the same time, I want to express my strong support for the adoption of the Police Oversight
Commission bylaws. These bylaws are the result of months of open meetings and deliberation
by the Commission.
I also strongly support the councilmember-requested item by Councilmember Vazquez directing
the City Manager to prepare a public report and directing the Police Oversight Commission to
hold a public hearing on the Santa Ana Police Department ’s response to the July 2025 protests.
That demonstration, triggered by ICE raids and a broader federal enforcement presence, raised
serious and unresolved questions about SAPD’s use of force, deployment of less-lethal
munitions, inter-agency coordination, and the overall costs borne by the public. Transparency
after such incidents is fundamental for public trust. Directing a full report and a Commission-led
public hearing is the minimum required to ensure accountability and allow community
members to be heard.
I urge the Council to reject the drone purchase, adopt the Police Oversight Commission bylaws,
and advance the requested report and public hearing by Councilmember Vazquez.
Respectfully,
Carlos Perea
Santa Ana Police Oversight Commissioner