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Protests cost San Luis Obispo at least $250,000

June 24, 2020

By KAREN VELIE

The city of San Luis Obispo tallied some of the taxpayer costs related to a handful of recent protests. Those expenses come to $253,238, and do not include all the costs.

One of the primary goals of the protests is to shift a portion of police department funding to social services. However, officer overtime costs related to five days of protests has exceeded $176,000 at a time the city is facing budget shortfalls related to the coronavirus.

In response to a records request, the city provided partial costs for the five protests that occurred from May 31 through June 5. The costs include officer hours, management hours, barrier material, and food and drinks.

On June 1, protesters blocked traffic on Highway 101, and later engaged in a standoff with officers near the police station. During the protests that followed, officers guarded on-ramps and off-ramps to keep the protesters off Highway 101.

While the number of protests has slowed, protests are continuing, with another protest planned for Thursday at 7:45 p.m.


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“At least $250,000” is correct. As the COVID rolls back in, the business closures will run that number up. Certainly the social issues are important to remember and continued reinforcement to assure racial bullies or bullies in general are squelched.


-4

Sickening or killing others through the spread of pestilence is not the answer.


4

Bologna and hotdogs. MKaney….lol I realized something, remember my story about a SLO pride event with my ‘fake’ gf?


-3

What would it cost if we wanted to have go-cart races? That may raise money for the city?


8

Sounds like fun!


2

So, a couple of teenage looters (who got caught) break into stores and the “tough on crime” crowd lumps that in with the protest just to give themselves an excuse to be a bunch of no name reactionary racists. Gotta love that level of courage whilst displaying one’s ignorant upbringing.


In the mean time, I suggest those of you who think the protest was so uncalled for and expensive tally up the cost of all the times that LEOs have used excessive or lethal force and mishandling and cost the taxpayers for their incompetence and brutality. How about the video of the death that took place in the jail well before the last election and you all reelected the guy who was overseeing things at the time? You know the one, where a mentally ill man was tortured for days and finally died in our jail, with those heroic officers looming over him laughing and joking while he expired? Not ringing any bells?


The same sheriff is still in office, so you didn’t seem to mind how much all that barbarism cost us. Hey, he bought himself a fancy boat that he said was to chase drug dealers, which we all know is actually the Coast Guard’s job and you still reelected him. But the protestors!!! Now that is a real problem. They want racial equality and I can see where that just won’t work for ya.


How many of those kinds of episodes of wrongful death are ya’ll comfortable with ? Not happening to you so you don’t care? Well you are certainly paying for it. We all are. And I don’t feel even a tiny bit comfortable with what has been happening in my name, on my dime to those people or the dogs either, for that matter. Nor is any of this fair to the good and competent officers who are actually brave and kind and sign up to be genuinely helpful.


Law enforcement is one thing. Some of this other stuff is quite another matter.


-89

Right on comments. The price of justice is not cheap, As long as this sick society is unjust the protests will go on. We must clean up our act 

I notice that all my posts, yours, and even mkaney’s always get hammered by downvotes, even on factual posts like the video by mkaney. I guess the trolls, idiots and fascists have taken over the readership of this site.


-59

hotdog — Thank goodness for the “common-sensed” people who can see through the idiocy of the people who love calling other commentors colorful names. The smugness you and Francesca must feel — so righteous to call anyone else who supports our law enforcement and disagrees with HOW the protesters are trying to get their message/cause out there — racists, trolls, idiots and fascists! Getting your message out there is one thing…but many of us are willing to work for a better situation without the whole — “gotta march, gotta disrupt, gotta call other people names” mentality.


43

Great reply TiaMia. All their “self-centered”, “we’re better than you” rhetoric does is divide people even farther. The problem with that kind of mindset is they always demand tolerance, inclusiveness, and understanding of their cause, but never give it in return. You put your words out there, accept the consequences. I might not agree with most of what the stand for, but I would never tell them to “sit this one out”, or try to silence them as some other commenter’s have while standing in their self-righteous arrogance. In the infamous words of the late Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along”?


26

And we hear from another no name (must be really proud of your opinion) who can’t stand up for what they claim to believe.


Yes, I am more than willing to stand by my words. I take responsibility for every one of them. Unlike those who throw verbal rocks from behind the curtain of anonymity. The marchers, of whom I approve, make their needs known in person. Ya’ll like to be all nasty and call names when you can hide yourselves here and then present your phony smiley face to the public. That is just sad. As far as I am concerned, your “disapproval” is an indication to me that I must be doing something right.


Oh, and by the way, we already know the likes of you would disapprove of ANY way that the protestors had expressed themselves. That has already been proven beyond a doubt. I certainly haven’t heard ONE suggestion of how better to prove to you thick headed people that we are done with letting the status quo continue. Ya’ll are racists who clearly don’t want change.. Pure and simple. How’s THAT for self righteousness and names?


-35

My goodness. Just because I disagree with you I’m a racist? You don’t even know what your saying with a bigoted statement like that. The hate and rage isn’t very inviting. Thanks for helping prove my point about you and your so-called movement.


35

Hi hotdog.!

May I call you hotdog? Or should it be Mr. Hotdog? (making an assumption here)


First of all, thank you for your words of support. Please see my comment below to the anonymous person who saw fit to spend that precious little piece of their mind belittling us.


Honey, fascist is as fascist does. Ya, my posts almost always get hammered. I take it as a compliment, considering the source. It is most likely, I think, that the trolls, etc., who vomit bile after almost every story here have simply had their desired effect of discouraging almost anyone with half a brain from bothering to try and have a discussion, which is true troll, idiot, fascist style..


They certainly are consistent, I will say. Johnny at the rat hole with a predictable ration of toxic BS. But I suspect that they have little else to do, sitting in their underwear in their mother’s basement. One can’t just spend all their time on porn. Wear and tear, ya know……….


-38

You want to see why the costs are so high? You think this is reasonable and rational management of law enforcement? Managing things this inefficiently would get you fired in the private sector very quickly.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBA2R5xneCY


-53

I see the police union and their family members have jumped in this morning to skew the up/down voting.


-68

If my family, business, city or country was threatened, the above picture would reflect the minimum – hopefully behind this group of fine officers would stand the 82nd Airborne.


38

Mkaney (world’s foremost authority on everything)

The sheriffs deputies and CHP officers were at the Marsh Street 101 ramps to prevent marchers from shutting down the freeway, as they had done earlier.

I know you think it was an overreaction, but if they hadn’t safeguarded the freeway and you got stuck in a traffic jam because the marchers took the freeway over you would be the guy bitching that the cops didn’t do their jobs in keeping the freeway open.


50

Umm….. they needed the cops there. Who else was going to prevent the dips**** from getting ran over?


88

The organizers of the “rally” of June 11th had a permit. The thousands that marched through the city after the rally did not. Why did the SLOPD allow this? They knew this was going to happen at least a day before.


Was the SLOPD afraid of confrontation given the size of the mob — and the prospect of little mutual aid given all the other disruptions going on, or again, would stopping them from marching through Downtown SLO without a permit simply have went against Harmon’s and Cantrell’s personal politics that keep them in office/in a job?


37

I truly wonder if the mayor, city council and chief of police welcomed the protest marchers because:


1) Their political foundations and ideology, and most especially, their coming political campaigns forced them to to metaphorically “get on their knees.”


2) Or because they were simply afraid that the hoard of “peaceful” protestors would destroy Downtown SLO?


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