San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Shamann Walton introduced the legislation in July, saying it was “in response to the rising incidence of people harassing and calling 911 on black people and people of color doing daily activities all over the country.”
Walton continued:
The CAREN Act will make it illegal for people to contact law enforcement solely to discriminate on the basis of a person’s race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and other protected classes, and allow individuals harmed by fraudulent emergency calls based on their race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity to pursue civil remedies through civil court and hold the person making the call accountable for their behavior.
“Under the CAREN Act, individuals who make fraudulent 911 calls can be sued by those who were harmed for damages for up to $1,000,” he explained at the time.
This week at the Civic Center, some early voters said they agreed with the measure, CBS SF BayArea reported.
“[T]hey are using their white privilege to create trouble for someone else that isn’t based in reality,” Nicole Didondiff told the outlet.
