Titled “Reimagining Safety in the AV,” the forum will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, April 25, at Transplants Brewing Company, located at 40242 La Quinta Lane, unit 101, in Palmdale. Residents can attend the forum in person or online (by clicking here).
The forum is presented by Cancel The Contract AV and Knock-LA, in partnership with Reform LA Jails, Dignity and Power Now, Ground Game LA and JusticeLA. It will be moderated by Cerise Castle, journalist and author of “A Tradition of Violence: 50 Years of Deputy Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department”, and Arthur Calloway II, CTC: AV Steering Committee member and founder of Vote Your Power Back. It will be co-hosted by Antelope Valley activists Waunette Cullors and Beth Cayetano.
“Policing affects every part of our lives — from response times, to the department complying with the DOJ settlement requirements due to proven acts of illegal tactics from law enforcement, and to everyday community stops that are initiated just to say hello and that leads to an arrest,” Calloway said. “This forum is your chance to sit in on an interview of the civil servant who you will have the option of hiring through an election in June and November. We hope for the community to leave the forum with a clear decision about who should be our next Sheriff because they drive so many policies that affect our everyday life.”
All eight candidates for LA County Sheriff were invited to attend the forum, and seven of them have confirmed, including incumbent Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva; retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna; retired LASD Captain Matthew Rodriguez; LASD Captain Britta Steinbrenner; LASD Lieutenant Eric Strong; LASD Commander Eli Vera; and Deputy Sheriff Karla Carranza.
“The Antelope Valley is the largest community within Los Angeles County that is policed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department… Unfortunately the department’s presence in the Antelope Valley has also been accompanied by patterns of violence and racism, earning the stations a federal monitor,” Castle said. “The next Sheriff’s prerogative will be addressing these issues in the Antelope Valley and throughout the wider department… The forum offers the only chance for voters to see the candidates in person and to hear from them on the issues.”
For more information on this event and to RSVP, visit: bit.ly/knockforum.
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Iconoclast says
I attended the forum. Sheriff Alex called off. Something about the groups sponsoring didn’t like LASD. Strong, Steinbrenner, and Carranza appeared. Steinbrenner and Strong said they were going to do a lot of things. Steinbrenner said vote for her because she is woman. Strong says vote for him because he is black and knows what it is like be pulled over by the cops. I don’t if Carranza wants you to vote for her, but she seems nice. Bottom line: these three ain’t gonna be the next Sheriff and I hope it isn’t Alex again either!
Kay says
“Reimagining”? Why not change that word to “enforcing the laws”?
Gordo Blanco Roberto says
Will the same children be running around screaming while their parents get drunk as they usually do at Transplants Brewing? Love their beer but dislike the Chuck E. Cheese atmosphere.
AV Forum says
Between the LACSD contestants, the panel hosting the event, and the Chuck E. Cheese atmosphere, it should make for a gong show evening.