Legislation has been proposed in San Francisco to punish people who make racially motivated 911 calls. City Supervisor Shamann Walton introduced the law known as the Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies or the ‘Caren Act’ to fight against racial profiling.
The legislation mirrors others that have happened in Oakland and New York City as more stories of Black people having the police called on them for nothing other than being Black.
Walton says that the Caren Act is, “part of a larger nationwide movement to address racial biases and implement consequences for weaponizing emergency resources with racist intentions.”
San Francisco had its own incident that became a national headline when Allison Ettel also known as “Permit Patty” called the police on a Black woman and her daughter for selling water outside her apartment complex.
The legislations name is a play on the term “Karen” which is a reference to white women who call the police on innocent Black people. “Karen” became the alternative to creating individual nicknames like “Permit Patty” and “BBQ Becky.”
