Crime

OP-ED: Police Reform Now: The State of Emergency in our Precincts

Published

10 years ago

May 1, 2015

by Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League

“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.” – Charles de Montesquieu, “The Spirit of the Laws,” 1748

A tragic deja vu is playing out in communities all across America, particularly in the growingly skeptical streets of Black and Brown neighborhoods.

Once again, our nation is forced to grapple with fresh accounts of police misconduct in its deadliest incarnation. Once again, the victims are unarmed Black men and the perpetrators are the very public servants charged with keeping them—in fact, all of us—safe; it seems only the states and the circumstances change.

On April 4, Walter Scott was driving a Mercedes-Benz with a busted tail light through North Charleston, South Carolina. Officer Micheal Slager pulled Scott over. Said to be in fear of being arrested, the 50-year-old ran away from the car. A cellphone video shows Officer Slager chasing Scott and shooting at him with his stun gun, when that failed to stop him, he used his gun to fire eight shots at Scott’s back, killing him on the scene.

Weeks later, in a West Baltimore neighborhood, witnesses used cellphone video to capture parts of Freddie Gray’s arrest. Police say the 25-year-old was arrested after making eye contact with the police and then running away. Gray can be heard screaming in pain as he’s being dragged into a police van. While the mystery of what happened in the van has yet to be solved, we do know that his encounter with the police left him with serious spinal cord injuries. He died of those injuries a week later.

This unjust treatment of our nation’s Black and Brown citizens by law enforcement officials sworn to dispense justice should stir, if not shock, our collective conscience. These heavy-handed, sometimes fatal, police tactics should inspire outcry from all corners of our country—and the world. But we can’t leave our frustrations—and our fight—at the doorstep of outrage. Our challenge is to make the Scotts and Grays of this nation the rarest of exceptions, not the fatal rule. Anger has its place, but it is in action—strategic, comprehensive action—that we will begin to attack the cancer of police misconduct.

In light of the most recent deaths, and our nation’s desperate need for solutions during this state of emergency that calls for action, and an action plan, I want to reintroduce the National Urban League’s 10-Point Justice Plan for police reform and accountability, calling for:

Widespread Use of Body Cameras and Dashboard Cameras
Broken Windows Reform and Implementation of 21st Century Community Policing Model
Review and Revision of Police Use of Deadly Force Policies
Comprehensive Retraining of All Police Officers
Comprehensive Review and Strengthening of Police Hiring Standards
Appointment of Special Prosecutors to Investigate Police Misconduct
Mandatory, Uniform FBI Reporting and Audit of Lethal Force Incidents Involving All Law Enforcement
Creation and Audit of National Database of Citizen Complaints against Police
Revision of National Police Accreditation System for Mandatory Use by Law Enforcement To Be Eligible for Federal Funds
National Comprehensive Anti-Racial Profiling Law

The rage that has spilled out onto so many of our streets since the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last year makes it clear that the issue of police-involved killings is one that will not be easily swept under a rug of un-awareness and indifference. When we, as a nation, address the problem of police officers using deadly force, particularly against people in communities of color, we know that we are saving lives—perhaps our own—and shaping a more just system of justice for all. When officers are held accountable for using excessive force—as they have thankfully been held in the cases of Scott and Gray—we are encouraged and know that change is possible, but our work does not end there.

To deliver on the promise of fair treatment by law enforcement for every American, we: citizens, community stakeholders, policy-makers and politicians, must all commit to play our part for the long haul to right the historic wrong of the unequal treatment of people of color by police under the law.

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Related Topics:Baltimore Freddie Gray Marc H. Morial Michael Brown National Urban League OP-ED Opinion police accountability police reform Walter Scott

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Activism

‘Donald Trump Is Not a God:’ Rep. Bennie Thompson Blasts Trump’s Call to Jail Him

“Donald Trump is not a god,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

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December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he not intimidated by President-elect Donald Trump, who, during an interview on “Meet the Press,” called for the congressman to be jailed for his role as chairman of the special congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Donald Trump is not a god,” Thompson told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

“He can’t prove it, nor has there been any other proof offered, which tells me that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said the 76-year-old lawmaker, who maintained that he and the bipartisan Jan. 6 Select Committee – which referred Trump for criminal prosecution – were exercising their constitutional and legislative duties.

“When someone disagrees with you, that doesn’t make it illegal; that doesn’t even make it wrong,” Thompson said, “The greatness of this country is that everyone can have their own opinion about any subject, and so for an incoming president who disagrees with the work of Congress to say ‘because I disagree, I want them jailed,’ is absolutely unbelievable.”

When asked by The Grio if he is concerned about his physical safety amid continued public ridicule from Trump, whose supporters have already proven to be violent, Thompson said, “I think every member of Congress here has to have some degree of concern, because you just never know.”

This story is based on a report from The Grio.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 11 – 17, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 11 – 17, 2024

Published

5 days ago

December 13, 2024

Oakland Post

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Outgoing D.A. Pamela Price Releases Report on County Gun Violence Epidemic

The 84-page report is divided into two parts: the Public Health Impact of Violence and the Contribution of Structural Inequalities; and the Public Safety Impact of Gun Violence and the Regulation of Firearms. Each section documents trends in rising gun violence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with special attention to the rise in gun-related deaths of women and children in Alameda County. Each section advises innovative approaches for the County to address gun violence and build safe communities.

Published

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Exclusive interview with County D.A. Price days before recall election. Photo by Ken Epstein.

Pamela Price was recalled in the election on Nov. 5. File photo.

By Post Staff

Criminal Justice Reformer District Attorney Pamela Price, who is leaving office this week after losing a recall election, released a comprehensive report on the gun violence epidemic and public health emergency in Alameda County: “Tackling Gun Violence Epidemic in Alameda County: A Public Health Emergency (2019-2023).”

This report represents an unprecedented collaboration between public safety and public health partners and provides data and recommendations to guide the County’s continued work to reduce violence while advancing justice reform.

Each section documents trends in rising gun violence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with special attention to the rise in gun-related deaths of women and children in Alameda County. Each section advises innovative approaches for the County to address gun violence and build safe communities.

“Between 2019 to 2023, an average of three residents were killed by firearms each week in Alameda County, and behind every statistic is a shattered family and community,” said Price.

“Under my administration, the DA’s office has taken bold steps to combat gun violence while promoting equity and healing for survivors,” she said.

The report highlights strategies for keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Last month, the DA’s office secured a $5.5 million grant from the California Judicial Council to help improve compliance and case management for gun cases and gun relinquishment orders —the removal of guns from people prohibited from possessing a firearm – with law enforcement and court partners.

This effort builds on Price’s work in 2023 and 2024 in attacking the gun violence epidemic.

“We launched an innovative Gun Violence Restraining Order Outreach Project to educate communities about the availability of tools to remove guns and ammunition from people who are a danger to themselves and others and the intersectionality of domestic violence and gun violence and convened gun violence roundtable conversations with our law enforcement partners and collaborated with the Alameda County Public Health Department to produce this comprehensive report,” she said.

“We supported Oakland’s CEASEFIRE program through its transition and implemented a pilot Mentor Gun Diversion Program with our collaborative court partners, offering non-violent youth in possession of a gun pathways to interrupt the potential for escalating harm.” added Price.