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.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

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

Group Takes First Steps to Recall District Attorney Diana Becton

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency. On their social media post, they say: “We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states. “We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.” Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Published

3 hours ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

Diana Becton has served at the Contra Costa County District Attorney since 2017. Richmond Standard photo.

By Post Staff

After gathering more than 100 verified signatures, a group led by crime victims delivered a ‘notice of intent’ to the offices of Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton seeking her recall.

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency.

On their social media post, they say:

“We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states.

“We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.”

Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Becton has seven days to respond. According to the East Bay Times, her office spokesperson said her “answer will be her public comment.”

After Becton responds, according to the Contra Costa County Elections Office, Recall Diana Becton must then finalize the petition language and gather signatures of a minimum of 10% of registered voters (72,000) in 160 days before it can go on the ballot for election.

She is the third Bay Area district attorney whose constituents wanted them removed from office. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was removed from office in 2021 and last year, Pamela Price lost her position in a recall election.

Of the top 10 proponents of Becton’s recall, three are the families of Alexis Gabe, Thomas Arellano, and Damond Lazenby Jr.

In each of those cases, the families say Becton failed to pursue prosecution, allowed a plea deal instead of a trial in a slaying and questioned the coroner’s report in a fatal car crash.

Some political science experts suggest that, in the Bay Area there may be a bit of copycat syndrome going on.

In many states, recalls are not permitted at all, but in California, not only are they permitted but the ability to put one into motion is easy.

“Only 10% of registered voters in a district are needed just to start the process of getting the effort onto the ballot,” Garrick Percival, a political science professor told the East Bay Times. “It makes it easy to make the attempt.”

But according to their website, the Recall Diana Becton group express their loss of faith in the prosecutor.

“Her lack of transparency regarding crime in this county, and her attempts to keep her offenders out of jail have left us disheartened,” the recall group wrote.

Petitioners say they are acting not just for themselves but other crime victims “who feel ignored, exasperated and hopeless in their pursuit of justice for themselves or their loved ones.”

KRON TV, The East Bay Times, and Wikipedia are the sources for this report.