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  • Letter To Board Lisa Alexander

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    Joe Eskenazi
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    Lisa Alexander, a San Francisco business owner, writes to clarify that reports she called 911 on a man of color are untrue, and asks city officials to stop associating her name with the proposed CAREN Act, which would penalize false 911 calls; while she acknowledged approaching the man, she claims it was out of concern for private property and not due to race, and she did not call 911 or file a police report. She wants to meet with officials to discuss the incident and correct misinformation, as the backlash has devastated her business and health.

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    Lisa Alexander letter to mayor, BOS

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    Letter to Board Lisa Alexander

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    Lisa Alexander, a San Francisco business owner, writes to clarify that reports she called 911 on a man of color are untrue, and asks city officials to stop associating her name with the proposed CAREN Act, which would penalize false 911 calls; while she acknowledged approaching the man, she claims it was out of concern for private property and not due to race, and she did not call 911 or file a police report. She wants to meet with officials to discuss the incident and correct misinformation, as the backlash has devastated her business and health.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
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    1K views3 pages

    Letter To Board Lisa Alexander

    Uploaded by

    Joe Eskenazi
    Lisa Alexander, a San Francisco business owner, writes to clarify that reports she called 911 on a man of color are untrue, and asks city officials to stop associating her name with the proposed CAREN Act, which would penalize false 911 calls; while she acknowledged approaching the man, she claims it was out of concern for private property and not due to race, and she did not call 911 or file a police report. She wants to meet with officials to discuss the incident and correct misinformation, as the backlash has devastated her business and health.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Mayor London Breed; MayorLondonBreed@sfgov.

    org
    Supervisor Matt Haney; [email protected]
    Supervisor Rafael Mandelman; [email protected]
    Supervisor Gordon Mar; [email protected]
    Supervisor Aaron Peskin; [email protected]
    Supervisor Dean Preston; [email protected]
    Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer; [email protected]
    Supervisor Hillary Ronen; [email protected]
    Supervisor Ahsha Safai; [email protected]
    Supervisor Catherine Stefani; [email protected]
    Supervisor Shamann Walton; [email protected]
    Supervisor Norman Yee; [email protected]

    Subject: CAREN Act and Public Statements that Lisa Alexander Called 911

    Date: July 10, 2020

    Dear Mayor Breed and Members of the Board:

    I am writing to you regarding the incident that happened between myself and Mr. James Juanillo
    on June 9th and recent stories connecting that incident with the proposed CAREN Act.

    This incident, unfortunately, has been misrepresented and misunderstood. As time goes by, news
    stories and social media posts about what happened on that day keep getting further and further
    from the truth, and I am reaching out to you because I know how important the issue of racial
    inequity/injustice is. I also know that if you want a strong foundation for the CAREN Act, it should
    be built upon truth.

    This whole event has been extremely hurtful because I always thought I was part of the solution,
    not the problem. For my entire life I have always worked towards being a person who fought for
    positive change in this world through my personal behavior and my business practices. I care
    deeply about our City and those who live here, and the only way for me to continue to move
    forward in a positive and constructive manner is for me to explain to you what happened and
    hope you are able to hear me.

    The press releases and news stories related to San Francisco’s proposed CAREN act that would
    criminalize filing false police reports and 911 calls against people of color have held me up as the
    West Coast poster child personifying the behavior you are trying to stop through this legislation.
    I agree with Supervisor Walton’s position that people should not make unfounded or racially
    motivated 911 calls or reports that divert police resources from real emergencies. However, I
    never called 911.

    BLACK LIVES MATTER!


    I have been publicly branded as a racist. I keep seeing news stories that LISA ALEXANDER called
    911, but I didn’t. I see news stories that LISA ALEXANDER filed a police report, but I didn’t. Seeing
    my name in press releases and news stories about the CAREN Act is not only devastatingly hurtful,
    but it is not the truth.

    When I walked up to Mr. Juanillo that Tuesday, I had no idea what his race was nor what he was
    messaging. All I saw was a person I did not know writing on a neighbor’s wall, and I thought I was
    being a good neighbor. When I approached him, it was from behind, and he was wearing a COVID
    mask. Neither his race, nor mine, was a consideration, at all.

    Since 911 (2001), we have all been taught “If you see something, you say something.” It’s posted
    everywhere, including SF Muni buses, trollies, and trains and throughout the BART system. Even
    though what I thought I was doing was being a responsible citizen—what any neighbor would do,
    I know now that it came across as something completely different. Never in a million years would
    I have said anything if I thought it could be construed as anything but what I intended, which was
    me trying to be a good neighbor.

    These are the actual facts:

    -no one called 911


    -no police report was filed
    -my asking Mr. Juanillo if he lived there was about private property, not about race
    -I knew then that the owner of the house is John Newmeyer, and I had never seen Mr. Juanillo at
    2004 Gough, the Belden House, which is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
    -I have walked that block 1000’s of times in the 14+ years of living 350 feet from that property
    and saw what to me was a stranger writing on my neighbor’s wall
    -I approached him from behind, he was wearing a Covid mask, and neither his race nor mine was
    ever a consideration
    -what he was writing was never a consideration; it was the “act of, not what”
    -after we left, Mr. Juanillo stalked us for 1.5 hours as we walked to the Marina ( why ?)
    -the incident occurred on June 9, but he didn’t Tweet his video of the encounter until June 12
    (why the delay?)
    -he hired a PR firm (why?)
    -my company which is my livelihood and which I built from scratch is crushed, a company built
    on honesty and fairness, with a diverse customer base, whose cruelty free products help people
    that are recovering from skin cancer and other skin conditions
    -I have been receiving death threats, (mail, calls, emails, etc..) and people coming to my home
    with ski masks and bats and ringing my doorbell at all hours of the night
    -I issued a heartfelt public apology June 14 , made multiple attempts to meet up with Mr. Juanillo:
    in person, on the phone, and in a letter, but he dismissed all my attempts.

    This has been absolutely devastating to me, my health, and my livelihood (a San Francisco-based
    women-owned small business)--but most importantly, to the cause because BLACK LIVES
    MATTER, and destroying someone that agrees with this message is counterproductive to the
    cause and confusing for those who care.

    I would very much like the opportunity to speak with you in person to discuss this matter. I also
    wanted to ask that now that you know more of the facts, and my true intentions, that you please
    help in stopping the spread of these untruths. It is time we all worked together constructively
    towards this common goal. I cannot do it without your help, and I want to start by setting the
    record straight. I don’t think it is right that I am being held up as the poster girl for calling 911, as
    I did not do that. I am respectfully asking you to stop referring to me in discussions of the CAREN
    Act, which specifically addresses persons calling 911. I did not call 911.

    I love San Francisco and pray that we can all come together to restore the spirit of St. Francis,
    who said “Lord make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”
    That is my commitment to myself, to the City, and to my fellow San Franciscans.

    Sincerely,

    Lisa Alexander
    1980 Washington Street. #205
    San Francisco, CA 94109

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