San Francisco Law Lets People Bring Legal Action for Racist 911 Calls
2020-10-28
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1San Francisco lawmakers have approved a law giving people of color the right to take legal action against false accusations.
2The law is meant to prevent people from calling law enforcement when they see other people, who are different from them, carrying out common activities.
3In the San Francisco area, reports say white people have called 911 when they saw people of color doing things like selling bottles of water or having a barbecue.
4Nine-one-one is the national emergency number.
5All 11 officials on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted this month for the Caution Against Racial and Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act, or CAREN.
6The acronym CAREN sounds like the name "Karen."
7That name has special meaning.
8It is used by some people to describe an entitled white woman who tries to use her position in society to make demands or threats without concern for the effect on others.
9Critics say the law's name is sexist and unfair.
10Supervisor Shamann Walton is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the city's lawmaking body. He introduced the legislation and is Black.
11He told the Associated Press, "We don't want... false accusations of Black men and boys in this country...to ever happen again."
12He also spoke of the killing of Emmett Till in the southern state of Mississippi in 1955.
13Till was a Black youth beaten to death after accusations by a white woman who later admitted to lying.
14Walton also said that 911 is not a "service line for someone's racist behavior."
15He has dismissed concerns about calling the legislation the CAREN Act by saying it does not point to any individual.
16In May, Amy Cooper, a white woman, called 911 from Central Park in New York City.
17She claimed that a Black man - who had asked her to leash her dog - was threatening her.
18She has now been charged with making a false police report.
19In San Francisco, a white couple was criticized on social media for accusing a man of damaging someone else's property.
20In a video, the couple questioned the Filipino-American man who was chalking "Black Lives Matter" in front of his home in June.
21The two walked toward James Juanillo and demanded to know if he was the homeowner.
22The couple later called police.
23Supporters of the law say it is frightening to be faced with police because someone saw you as a threat.
24Brittni Chicuata leads San Francisco's Human Rights Commission.
25She said there is a proven pattern of mistreatment of "Black people and other people of color in our city" and country.
26The San Francisco law gives people the right to bring legal action in court against someone who calls 911.
27The law also makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of their "religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity."
28Supporters say they hope it will prevent people from calling police for the wrong reasons.
29The legislation does not make clear what conditions are needed to bring civil legal action against someone.
30The Board has gotten written complaints from eight people - several whose names have different spellings of Karen.
31They say they support the law but dislike its name, which they say insults women and older people.
32Karen Shane, for example, wrote, "Yes, I am named Karen, and I do speak up for injustices" all the time.
33She asked the city to rename the law so that it does not criticize "a whole group of people."
34I'm Alice Bryant.
1San Francisco lawmakers have approved a law giving people of color the right to take legal action against false accusations. 2The law is meant to prevent people from calling law enforcement when they see other people, who are different from them, carrying out common activities. 3In the San Francisco area, reports say white people have called 911 when they saw people of color doing things like selling bottles of water or having a barbecue. Nine-one-one is the national emergency number. 4All 11 officials on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted this month for the Caution Against Racial and Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act, or CAREN. 5The acronym CAREN sounds like the name "Karen." That name has special meaning. It is used by some people to describe an entitled white woman who tries to use her position in society to make demands or threats without concern for the effect on others. Critics say the law's name is sexist and unfair. 6Supervisor Shamann Walton is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the city's lawmaking body. He introduced the legislation and is Black. 7He told the Associated Press, "We don't want... false accusations of Black men and boys in this country...to ever happen again." 8He also spoke of the killing of Emmett Till in the southern state of Mississippi in 1955. Till was a Black youth beaten to death after accusations by a white woman who later admitted to lying. 9Walton also said that 911 is not a "service line for someone's racist behavior." He has dismissed concerns about calling the legislation the CAREN Act by saying it does not point to any individual. 10When is calling 911 a problem? 11In May, Amy Cooper, a white woman, called 911 from Central Park in New York City. She claimed that a Black man - who had asked her to leash her dog - was threatening her. She has now been charged with making a false police report. 12In San Francisco, a white couple was criticized on social media for accusing a man of damaging someone else's property. In a video, the couple questioned the Filipino-American man who was chalking "Black Lives Matter" in front of his home in June. The two walked toward James Juanillo and demanded to know if he was the homeowner. The couple later called police. 13Supporters of the law say it is frightening to be faced with police because someone saw you as a threat. 14Brittni Chicuata leads San Francisco's Human Rights Commission. She said there is a proven pattern of mistreatment of "Black people and other people of color in our city" and country. 15The San Francisco law gives people the right to bring legal action in court against someone who calls 911. The law also makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of their "religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity." 16Supporters say they hope it will prevent people from calling police for the wrong reasons. The legislation does not make clear what conditions are needed to bring civil legal action against someone. 17The Board has gotten written complaints from eight people - several whose names have different spellings of Karen. They say they support the law but dislike its name, which they say insults women and older people. 18Karen Shane, for example, wrote, "Yes, I am named Karen, and I do speak up for injustices" all the time. She asked the city to rename the law so that it does not criticize "a whole group of people." 19I'm Alice Bryant. 20The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 21________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23affiliation -n. the state of being closely associated with or connected to an organization, company, person, etc. 24gender -n. the state of being male or female 25acronym -n. a word formed from the first letters of each one of the words in a phrase, often used with Laws in the U.S. 26entitled - adj. believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment 27leash -v. to attach a rope to a dog or other animal to control it 28couple -n. two people or things that are together 29chalk - v. to write something using a soft, light-colored rock 30pattern -n. the regular or repeated way in which something happens or is done