Special Public Safety Committee Meeting Summary - June 27, 2025
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Special Public Safety Committee Meeting Summary - June 27, 2025
The San Diego Public Safety Committee held a special meeting on June 27, 2025, at 1:00 PM. The meeting covered consent items, an update on the Smart Streetlight and ALPR program, an ordinance to designate fire hazard severity zones, and an EMS system update. The meeting began with a video showing an unidentified group arresting a hotel employee, prompting discussion about federal overreach and public trust.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1: Approval of committee minutes from May 14, 2025.
- Item 2: Authorization to enter into a contract with Motorola Solutions Inc. for the San Diego Police Department's computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, valued at $18.5 million.
- Both items were approved unanimously without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 4 (ALPR/Smart Streetlights): Numerous speakers addressed the committee. Many community members, union representatives, and advocates urged a pause or end to the ALPR program, citing fears of federal misuse for immigration enforcement, racial profiling, and lack of transparency. Several speakers noted that SDPD shared data with federal agencies 62 times in 2024 and that third-party vendors (Flock, Ubiquia) retain control over data. A few speakers supported the technology, emphasizing its role in solving crimes like hate crimes, kidnappings, and burglaries. The Privacy Advisory Board (PAB) chair highlighted the need for stronger compliance audits and transparency.
- Item 3 (Fire Hazard Zones): A few speakers commented, including Cesar Javier who criticized the city's water management, and Blair Beekman who discussed the importance of wildfire planning for ADUs. One speaker raised concerns about chemtrails and dense development in fire zones.
- Item 5 (EMS Update): Tony Sorcy, president of the San Diego Firefighters Local 145 (paramedics), called for a new RFP, citing high unit hour utilization, burnout, and understaffing. He noted that the alliance model generated $11 million in profit but that workload issues remain. Other speakers, including a paramedic, echoed concerns about missed breaks and lack of communication. John Goward of Falck spoke in support of the partnership.
- Non-Agenda Public Comment: Speakers addressed topics including encrypted police scanners, marijuana policies, nicotine pouch regulation, and the death of Christopher Diarman, alleging police and fire delayed medical aid.
Discussion Items
- Item 4: Update on SDPD's Smart Streetlight and ALPR Program
- SDPD Captain Charles Lara and Lieutenant Chris McAndrew presented, reporting that the technology has assisted in over 450 cases, 320 arrests, recovery of 350 stolen vehicles, and $4.7 million in property since deployment. They emphasized that the system is not used for immigration enforcement and that data is retained for 30 days (ALPR) and 13 days (video). They disclosed that an initial configuration error allowed unintended access by California law enforcement for two weeks in 2023, which was fixed. A second error involved sharing data with federal agencies 62 times, which was halted after California DOJ intervention. PAB Chair Tim Blood stressed the need for proactive compliance audits and noted that the PAB has no dedicated staff.
- Council members questioned Flock and Ubiquia representatives about data storage, encryption, and response to subpoenas. Flock stated that data is stored on AWS GovCloud, they have no contract with ICE, and they would notify the city of any legal requests. Ubiquia stated that video is stored on-device (encrypted, 13-day retention) and only transmitted upon request. Councilmember Whitburn focused on risks of federal data access, while Councilmember Campbell supported the technology but urged shortening retention periods. Chair Von Wilpert directed SDPD to explore 14-day retention for ALPR data and to report back.
- Item 3: Ordinance to Designate Fire Hazard Severity Zones
- Deputy Fire Marshal Tony Tosca and Assistant Fire Marshal Daniel Hypes presented. The state’s new maps reduced Very High zones from 153,000 acres (2009) to 71,000 acres, but the city proposes adding back areas (including canyon rims) to reach 142,000 acres, consistent with 2009 methodology. The proposal would designate all moderate and high zones as Very High to ensure consistent requirements (defensible space, building codes). The ordinance is required by July 22, 2025. Councilmember Campbell and Whitburn expressed support, and the motion passed unanimously (3-0).
- Item 5: EMS System Update
- Deputy Chief Becky Newell and Battalion Chief Aaron Bothwell presented response time data under the alliance model. Citywide compliance averaged 91% over eight months, with improvements in winter and summer quarters. They highlighted the Resource Access Program (RAP), which reduced one high-utilizer from 45 calls/month to 1, and the LIFT program (conservatorship advocacy) which reduced 911 calls for 18 clients from 3,002 to 207. The committee praised the work and noted ongoing discussions about a future RFP.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously.
- Item 3 (Fire Hazard Zones): Ordinance approved unanimously (3-0). The city will adopt state-designated zones and add additional canyon rim areas, designating them Very High.
- Item 4 (ALPR/Smart Streetlights): Informational only. Chair directed SDPD to explore reducing ALPR data retention to 14 days and to report back. SDPD will continue working with PAB on compliance audits. The annual surveillance report will be submitted to full council after PAB review.
- Item 5 (EMS Update): Informational only. The committee noted the need for a new RFP and will monitor workload issues. The council will follow up on community funding cuts mentioned by public speakers.
- General: The committee will hold its next regular meeting on July 9, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good afternoon. Welcome to the special public safety committee meeting of June twenty-seventh, twenty twenty-five at one PM. Our committee lays on Sarah Jordan will provide information and instructions for the public on how to participate in today's meeting. Sarah, please proceed. Thank you, Chair von Wilbert. Well, members of the public are able to attend the meeting in person. This meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony. Yes. I will be attending the meeting today remotely. Pursuant to the Brown Act, I am disclosing that there are there is one individual, 18 years of age and older, present in the room with me. He is a member of my staff. That individual I will update you if this disclosure of that individual or anything else changes during the course of this meeting. Thank you so much. Thank you. And Chair Von Wilbert. President. Also attending the meeting today is lawyer de Pointer from the Office of the City Attorney. Baku Patel from the office of the IBA and Coda Zeiser from the office of the mayor. If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of chambers and place it in the box indicated in the front of the room. In a please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management. In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins, and members of the public can join the webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone by accessing the link which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage to join the Zoom webinar by telephone. Please dial 1669-2545252. Inputting webinar ID 161-217-1797 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and it will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Please note that if you are watching via City TV 24 hour online, there may be delay. Please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it's your turn to speak. If you wish to speak to a particular item, please wait for that item to be called and then raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you're a calling participant by pressing star nine on your phone. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be lowered. Chair. Thank you very much for reviewing instructions for the benefit of the public. A quorum is now present, and I want to note the order of our agenda items today. We will begin with consent items one and two. Then we're going to take item four, followed by item three, and then hear item five. So we're gonna do one, two, skip to item four, back to item three, and then to item five, and non-agenda public comment will be taken at the end of the meeting after our agenda items today. So at this point, are there any committee member, mayor, city attorney, or independent budget analyst comments? And I see Councillor Whitburn on the lights. Thank you very much, Chair. I'd like to show everybody a video that is circulating on social media that happened in my district yesterday. I find this very disturbing. Natalie, please play the video. Who are those men? I want to know. What we do know is that this was a woman who was a hotel employee on her way to work, who was accosted and thrown to the ground by these unidentified men and taken away against her will. Again, who were these men? I want answers. The residents of my district want answers. Her co-workers want answers. A lot of San Diegans want answers. I understand that these were not San Diego police department officers.
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