A brief timeline of the passage of the Community Safety Act

. 2009 Comprehensive Racial Profiling Bill
Fall, 2012 Conversations start informally among community-based organizations on
frustrations with the state racial profiling bill campaign. These grassroots groups have
memberships comprised of youth, people of color, low income, refugee, immigrant, queer 8:
trans folks who drive the work their organizations do. Key provisions of the state bill that
were most impactful to the community were being negotiated away to win passage by
placating the police chiefs? association.

The organizations shifted their work to local legislation, creating a coalition to pass a
Providence based ordinance that truly centered community safety. Throughout the process,
the Coalition has made sure to center the voices of those most affected by police brutality.

Spring, 2013 The Coalition started a series of small meetings where community members
brainstormed what a full policy agenda for safe communities could consist of. These
meetings also included a youth forum to analyze and further develop proposals in
conjunction with corresponding research on provisions in other cities.

Spring ?14? The Coalition began to hold numerous meetings between constituents and City
Council staff to let them know about the ordinance, get their feedback, ask for their support.

IUNETEENTH 2014? Introduction of the CSA
There was an immediate pushback from the POP. but they never attempted to contact us
directly to discuss it.

October 13?h ?14 - Commissioner Ray Kelly from NYPD comes to Brown to give a talk about
racist Stop and Frisk policy. Key members of the Providence Police Department were in
attendance of the event. Major community turn out in protest of the event.

October 22mi ?14 - The People?s Forum was held for the mayoral race in which we asked
candidates about their stances on various community issues, such as funding, housing, and
community safety. Both leading candidates (Elorza, Cianci) agreed to support all or most
provisions of the CSA as introduced publicly. Their written responses available for those who are
interested.

MLK IR Forum 2015 -- newly-appointed Mayor Elorza shows up to a community organized
event at in which he vaguely answered our questions about how his administration
will function, especially in relation to the CSA.

Pride 2015 The Coalition participates in the Rhode island Pride Illumination Parade in
which community members designed a light box turned march to protest the policing of
queer and trans people of color.

 

November ?15 The College Hill Neighborhood Association holds a series of community
conversations with the Mayor and Providence Police department about the crime in their
neighborhood. The Coalition shows up in protest as we had yet to have a meeting with the
Mayor and our concerns about community safety were not being heard. It would take a series
of protests on behalf of the community to be able to get a meeting Mayor Elorza.

December ?15 The Coalition holds its second retreat to strategize around the campaign,
including hiring a campaign coordinator.

IuneIIuly ?16 After two years of stalling from City Hall to examine the ordinance,
signatures are collected for a petition to have a public hearing for the CSA.

Pride 2016 Following the shootings at Pulse there is an increase of police
presence at Pride. This was done despite queer and trans people of color expressing their
qualms around police. The Coalition protests Pride.

July ?16 In coordination with the National Black Lives Matter Day of Action, the Coalition
stages a City Council Hall demonstration over frustrations with the delay in the scheduling of
the public hearing for the CSA.

Sept ?16 The it?t public hearing is held. There is a large amount of turn out with community
members testifying on different points of the CSA. For a complete coverage of it, please visit


February ?17 Following months of compromises and edits made to the CSA ordinance, a
second public hearing is held to discuss further key provisions of the ordinance that the
community wanted in tact for their protect. For more coverage, visit


April 6th 2017 The FOP publish their first letter of intimidation in the first voting by full City
Council.

April 27th 2017 The scheduled second vote by full City Council is tabled to June 1st as the
Council bows to pressure from the FOP, whose believed their concerns were not being heard
despite numerous meetings held between the police department and the coalition.

May ?17 The City Council forms a CSA working group to address the concerns of the FOP.
The working group would then make recommendations to the City Council on how to address
concerns made.

June 15t The FOP releases another letter expressing their discontent with the CSA, stating
that their concerns were not being fully heard. Despite their intimidation tactics, WE PASS
THE 

June ?17 - Elorza signs the CSA into law