Protests have erupted globally in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many more. The injustices we witnessed in Minneapolis and Louisville mirrored the systemic violence many of us are familiar with in Hayward, where the lives of several residents have been taken by the police.

Activists, organizers, teachers, parents, students, and workers came together and formed the Hayward Community Coalition, putting forward a set of 7 demands that addressed our collective concerns regarding police brutality in our city.

Hayward City Council has done virtually nothing since then, justifying their inaction by claiming our demands represent a minority opinion. Hayward's police chief joked (and later apologized) that only a handful of us actually want to defund our bloated police department (which eats up 45% of Hayward’s general fund expenditure) to reinvest in our community. We need your help to prove them wrong. 

Since then, we've updated our demands based on city and community feedback. We're asking for your signature in support of the following:

The People of Hayward Demand

1. Redistribute 10% of the police budget to non-police, community-based services outside of the police department.
2. Cancel and ban police contracts with HUSD schools, and allow Hayward people to file police reports regarding school incidents directly to HPD.
3. Demilitarize the police. Ban HPD from purchasing any riot, military, & surveillance equipment (including software).
4. Freeze police department hiring indefinitely after the incoming class, including the natural attrition of departing officers.
5. Pass a resolution denouncing the practice of paying officers while on investigatory leave and condemning any officer that accepts payment while under investigation for misconduct.
6. Ban all spending on the assessment and/or construction of any new police buildings or corp yards that will service HPD.
7. Establish a city-wide, participatory committee for all residents (regardless of citizenship status) that will dictate how to reallocate another 10% of the police budget to non-police, community-based services for FY2022.