1,000 signatures reached
To: Houston Mayoral and City Council Candidates
Stop Police Violence and Re-Imagine Safety for Everyone in Houston
Dear Mayor John Whitmire and Houston City Council Members,
Our tax dollars should be spent on community programs that heal and support people who are struggling, not on more surveillance and more police.
We are RISE Houston, a new grassroots coalition of Houston community members, organizers, civil rights lawyers, and concerned civilians dedicated to Re-Imagining Safety for Everyone (RISE) in Houston.
We are tired and fed up with ongoing, unrelenting police violence destroying our loved ones and communities. We are coming together to stop police violence and demand that Houston tax dollars be spent on community programs that actually make us safe.
In a recent survey conducted by Pure Justice of over 400 Houston residents, 60.2% of those surveyed did not believe there was a need for more law enforcement officers to make their communities safe. At the RISE Houston Campaign kickoff on June 20, 2023–an event with nearly 200 attendees–we asked community members what resources and support they wanted to see funded in the City of Houston: their answers included grocery stores, fair chance housing, childcare, and a fair minimum wage.
Our coalition demands that the Mayor John Whitmire and all Houston City Council Members agree to support and meet three demands from Houston residents:
1. End the City's wasteful $3.5 million contract with ShotSpotter, Inc., for bogus and harmful surveillance technology;
---Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/EndShotSpotter
2. Protect Black and Brown drivers from harassment and violence by prohibiting police from making stops for minor traffic violations in the City of Houston; and
---Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/PoliceOutofTraffic
3. Freeze HPD's budget and invest in the kinds of community infrastructure and supports that actually make us safer.
---Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/freezeHPD
Houston residents deserve care and support from their government. Prioritize safety for everyone in Houston, and endorse our three demands TODAY.
Why is this important?
Dear Houstonians,
Are you fed up with ongoing, unrelenting police violence destroying our loved ones and communities? Are you tired of seeing the city of Houston respond to people who are struggling with punishment instead of support?
There is something you can do about it.
Re-Imagining Safety for Everyone in Houston (RISE Houston)--a new grassroots coalition of Houston community members, organizers, civil rights lawyers, and concerned civilians--has launched a campaign to stop police violence and demand that Houston tax dollars be spent on community programs that actually make us safe: We envision a Houston where we all have the tools and resources we need as individuals, families, and communities to survive and thrive.
RISE Houston has come together to amplify three demands from Houston residents that will get our City closer to a world free of violence. We are calling on Mayor John Whitmire and Houston’s City Council to:
1. End the City's wasteful $3.5 million contract with ShotSpotter, Inc., for bogus and harmful surveillance technology;
2. Protect Black and Brown drivers from harassment and violence by prohibiting police from making stops for minor traffic violations in the City of Houston; and
3. Freeze HPD's budget and invest in the kinds of community infrastructure and supports that actually make us safer.
We are working together to educate our communities and will be letting them know which elected officials are #RightonRISE. We are currently holding the electeds accountable for the commitments they made during their campaigns. To learn more about RISE Houston, visit: www.risehouston.org and follow us on social media @RISE_HOU_TX on Instagram and Twitter
Today, you have the opportunity to stand with RISE Houston and demand that the City of Houston take care of its residents. Just sign the petition.