Santa Cruz City Council meeting gets disorderly during police vehicle discussion

Santa Cruz Police are on alert after a group of protestors shut down the city council chambers on Tuesday. The city said it was forced to close the doors and postpone some agenda items for next month.

Extra police officers were on hand at council chambers through out the night, following a discussion got out of hand about a new police vehicle.

The city said council members decided to approve a bulletproof vehicle, which the police department will get through a Homeland Security grant. But NewsChannel 5 found out about 12 people spoke up during the public comment portion, several of them speaking over the mayor.

The city said order was lost, at that point chambers were closed, everyone was asked to leave. Yet some people continued to knock on the windows in protest.

“There were a number of folks in the audience that were very vocal and concerned that this was a militarization of our police force and that this vehicle would be used inappropriately. Our response to that is, you know we’re getting out of the business of using people as shields from bullets and now we want to use machines,” said Keith Sterling, community relations manager for the City of Santa Cruz.

Council was back open tonight for the later session, but extra officers were still around, keeping an eye out. Since the vehicle was approved, the police department will now spend the next few months obtaining it for about $100,000 to $200,000. The city said public comment, but council chambers must remain orderly.