Dear Friend,

Seventeen people lost their lives to California police in January, many
unarmed.(1) Los Angeles police officers killed three people in the first
week of 2023 alone.(2)

And it’s likely that those responsible may never be held to account.

The state legislature has slashed the budget of the department in charge
of investigating police shootings. Laws that would put stricter
regulations around police shootings have been voted down. And our
legislators have taken more than $38.5 million from police unions since
2012, the most of any state.(3,4)

In the wake of the tragic death of Tyre Nichols, the nation is finally
showing the political will needed to rein in violent police forces. And
the people of California need to know how those in charge of holding
killer cops to account are shirking their duty. We are planning to run
Facebook ads calling out California legislators who have taken police
union money, and we need to raise $10,000 to target every district.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to Courage California and help hold killer cops
accountable?

[ [link removed] ]Donate

In 2020, a law was passed requiring the Justice Department to investigate
all incidents in which an unarmed person died from a police shooting.(5)

But the department’s budget was cut in half shortly after the legislation
went into effect, and while it has opened 31 investigations, it has opted
out of 17 more -- and of the open investigations, only two have been
closed.(6)

Moreover, other bills meant to rein in police violence, from stripping bad
cops of their badges to allowing public access to use-of-force records,
have failed over and over in the legislature.(7)

Police union lobbyists have swarmed the California legislature to ensure
that police forces across the state remain powerful and untouchable, to
the tune of nearly $40 million in donations -- four times more than the
state that has the second-most donations.(8)

California’s legislators need to be held accountable for not ending the
scourge of police deaths in our state. We are going to call out our
representatives for taking big bucks from the police unions while not
standing up for the people they hurt. Will you chip in?

[ [link removed] ]Yes, I’ll donate to Courage California today.

Thanks for your critical support.

–Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Isidra, Lindsay, Mai, Mai, and Scottie
(the Courage team) 

[ [link removed] ]Donate

PS: Courage California is fighting for equity and justice across the state
and country. [ [link removed] ]Will you become a monthly donor and help sustain our work?

Donations go to support all of Courage California's work for a more
progressive California and country. Follow us now on [ [link removed] ]Facebook or
[ [link removed] ]Twitter!

Footnotes:
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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6. Ibid.
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8.
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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.

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