Thread by @doctorow

US cities spend 20-45% of their budgets on policing on but cops run foundations that solicit millions from large corporations, which then take tax breaks for their donations.

The money goes into a slushfund used to procure off-the-books military and surveillance gear.

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A pair of illuminating reports from @littlesis detail how these foundations turn corporations into deep-pocketed secret armorers for the largest, most violent police forces in the nation.

First, who gives and what is spent:

news.littlesis.org/2020/06/18/cor…

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Houston PD: "SWAT equipment, LRAD sound equipment, and dogs for the K-9 unit"

Philadelphia PD: "long guns, drones, and ballistic helmets"

Atlanta PD: "a major surveillance network of over 12,000 cameras."

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LAPD: "surveillance software from Palantir" ("by having the foundation purchase it for them, the LAPD was able to bypass...public meetings and approval from the city council")

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Who gives:

BoA: "$200,000 to NYC Police Foundation, $51,250 to Atlanta Police Foundation, $25,000 to Boston Police Foundation, $10,000 to Los Angeles Police Foundation; smaller donations to the Yarmouth MA, Sarasota, Abilene, Duluth, Bellevue, and Sacramento & Glendale CA"

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Goldman Sachs: "$250,000 to the Los Angeles Police Foundation in 2018, as well as $15,000 to the NYC Police Foundation."

Wells Fargo: "'partner' and donor to the Seattle Police Foundation, and it sits on the Atlanta Police Foundation’s board and sponsored its Blue Jean Ball"

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Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock: "co-chaired the NYC Police Foundation’s annual gala in 2017, 2018, and 2019"

SunTrust Bank: "$3 million to the Atlanta Police Foundation"

Commerce Bank of Washington: "partner and donor to the Seattle Police Foundation"

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Target: "major contributions to police foundations across the country, including the NYC, Atlanta, and Seattle Police Foundations..$200K from Target helped the LA Police Foundation purchase sophisticated surveillance equipment"

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Starbucks: "active donor to the Seattle Police Foundation and has a representative on its board. The company also recently donated $25,000 to the NYC Police Foundation"

Coca Cola: "long time donor to the Atlanta Police Foundation and pledged to give $2 million"

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Walmart: "donates to the Washington D.C. Police Foundation"

Amazon: "sits on the executive committee of the Seattle Police Foundation’s board and is a partner and donor, but it donates to police foundations across the U.S. through its charitable program, AmazonSmile"

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Motorola: Board seats on police foundations for Seattle, DC, Detroit; donor to Chicago foundation, and "profits from selling body cams, radios, and other products to police departments"

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Verizon: Donor to Chicago and NYC foundations, "a board member of the Detroit foundation," "Platinum Partners of the National Sheriff’s Association, a law enforcement lobbying group"

Facebook, Google, and Microsoft: "partners and donors to the Seattle Police Foundation"

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AT&T: "a deep-pocketed donor to the NYC Police Foundation"

Chevron: "has a spot on the Houston Police Foundation board"

DTE Energy: "donor to the Detroit Public Safety Foundation board"

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Also implicated, sports teams: NFL’s Lions, NBA’s Pistons, MLB’s Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and NY Mets

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This "giving" doesn't just arm cops, it also helps corporations avoid taxes. Many of these same companies appear on an @iteptweets list of notorious tax-dodgers, including profitable firms that nevertheless pay NEGATIVE taxes, getting cash subsidies.

itep.org/corporate-tax-…

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Littlesis makes the connections between dark-money arms and cyberweapon purchases and corporate tax avoidance:

news.littlesis.org/2020/06/24/fro…

eof/