On Wed, Aug 5, 2026 at 2:37 PM Aram James
wrote:
> 8/5/2026
>
> Hi Sam,
>
> You failed as San Jose’s mayor to ban flesh-eating police canines. As I
> said to you before, in an earlier email, you were in bed with the SJPD and
> the manufacturer, Axon, regarding the use of deadly Tasers. And sadly, in
> the same bed with the use of deadly police canines by the SJPD. Now you
> have a chance to redeem yourself by writing federal legislation to ban
> flesh-eating police canines in all federal agencies. As you well know,
> deadly canines and deadly Tasers are both hugely disproportionately used on
> African Americans. It is way past time that you take a stand against the
> use of these weapons that have been used to terrorize, injure, and murder
> African Americans and other people of color. Time to do the right thing,
> Sam!
>
> Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James
>
> 1944 Ivy Lane
> Palo Alto, CA 94303
>
>
> https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02nCJwEiq6GcSKydyuQaQXbSZEcedEgULhPMNLz5ZHJ58KtrFfaFDZPrDXEAf4PbeMl&id=593194226&mibextid=wwXIfr
>
Sam on Police Canines
I could not find evidence that *Sam Liccardo took a public position against
police K-9 units or advocated ending their use* while he was mayor of San
José or afterward.
There are a few related points that may be causing confusion:
- Liccardo did support some police reforms, including changes to
use-of-force policies and greater police accountability after the 2020
protests.
- At the same time, he also supported funding for police equipment in
some instances, such as voting for the 2020 purchase of Taser 7 devices for
the San José Police Department.
- More recently, as a member of Congress, I could not find any
statements from Liccardo supporting California proposals to restrict or ban
police dogs, nor any public statements opposing police K-9 programs.
If you’re referring to a *specific incident*—for example:
- an attack by a San José police dog,
- a vote on the city’s K-9 unit,
- or a bill in Congress or the California Legislature
Sam on Tasers
Yes. Based on the available City Council records, *Sam Liccardo voted in
favor of purchasing Tasers while serving on the San José City Council as
mayor.*
The clearest example is the *December 1, 2020* City Council meeting, when
the council considered a proposal to purchase *Axon Taser 7 conducted
electrical weapons, software licenses, accessories, training, and
installation* for the San José Police Department under a contract worth up
to *$4.61 million* over five years.
The official agenda recommended approval of the purchase.
The official meeting minutes show that:
- The item received public comment, including speakers who opposed the
purchase and urged greater scrutiny.
- The motion passed *unanimously, 11–0*.
- *Resolution No. 79805* authorizing the purchase was adopted. Since the
vote was unanimous and Liccardo was present as mayor, he voted with the
majority.
So, if the question is specifically:
*Did Sam Liccardo vote to purchase Tasers while on the San José City
Council?*
The answer is *yes*. The December 1, 2020 vote approving the purchase of
Taser 7 equipment for the San José Police Department passed unanimously,
and Liccardo voted in favor.
According to the official San José City Council minutes for the *December
1, 2020* meeting, the following members of the public spoke in opposition
to the Taser purchase:
- *Richard Konda*, Executive Director of the *Asian Law Alliance*
- *Blair Beekman*, community activist
- *Eric James*
- *Sparky Harlan*, CEO of the *Bill Wilson Center*
- *Caller “5140”* (identified only by caller number in the minutes)
- *Veronica*, identified as a *special education teacher*
The minutes summarize their concerns as including:
- The risks associated with Tasers.
- A recommendation to create a task force and allow greater public
scrutiny before making the purchase.
- A preference for using the funds to enhance social services rather
than buying new police equipment.
- The need for greater social equity in public safety spending.
A contemporaneous news report provided additional detail on some of the
speakers’ arguments:
- *Richard Konda* argued that Tasers have been associated with more
than *1,000
deaths since 2000*, citing Reuters reporting.
- *Sparky Harlan* said the city should delay the purchase and instead
discuss investing the nearly $5 million in community-based responses to
mental health crises and other non-emergency calls.
>