Los Angeles Wave: New Year Brings New Hope for 21st Century Policing

In 2014, hundreds of thousands of people across the country poured into the streets to demand real change in their communities, especially in communities of color. They were motivated by high-profile tragedies in Ferguson and New York where two unarmed Black men—Mike Brown and Eric Garner—were killed by police. In Los Angeles, after the death of Ezell Ford, people protested throughout the city. Nationwide, protestors were multiracial and from all generations and they all came together with a unified message:  Enough is enough; this stops today. 

 

In response to the public outcry for change, President Obama created the Task Force on 21st Century Policing to tackle this problem head on. Made up of law enforcement representatives, community leaders, faith leaders, academics and youth leaders, the Task Force will have 90 days to compile suggestions on how to improve community trust in law enforcement and more effectively reduce crime.  

 

President Obama appointed Los Angeles' own Attorney Connie Rice, Executive Director of the Advancement Project, to his task force. Rice is renowned for fighting for reforms in the LAPD and the LA Sheriff’s office with unconventional approaches and unwavering determination. 

 

Throughout her career, Rice has called for police officers to make an effort to get out of their police cars and really get to know and work with the communities they serve. As leader of the Blue Ribbon Rampart Review panel, she worked closely with NYPD Police Chief Bill Bratton when he was chief of the LAPD. Her work on this panel was instrumental in promoting community-based policing.

 

In her new role, she is seeking input from the community to inform her role on the task force and is making South Los Angeles her first stop. On January 24 at Ward AME Church from 10am – 12pm, she will join my town hall called “21st Century Policing: A Forum on President Obama’s New Task Force.” 

 

If you want to give your input to our representative on President Obama’s task force and weigh in on the national dialogue, please join us and share your opinion. 

 

But as we begin a new year, all signs point toward a hopeful new direction. 

 

In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti authorized the purchase of 7,000 body cameras for the Los Angeles Police Department to increase transparency about police officers’ interactions with people in custody. 

 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will now have greater accountability after the Board of Supervisors voted to approve a civil oversight system. Although the details are still being hammered out, this commission can provide civilians with a critical opportunity to challenge injustices in our criminal justice system. 

 

Attorney General Kamala Harris and several members of the California State Legislature have also promised to take up the issue of policing. California Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer said he expects the California Legislative Black Caucus will view police violence as the number one public safety issue this year. 

 

In Congress, in spite of deep party divides, we came together to reauthorize Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)’s “Death in Custody Reporting Act.” This law, which requires police departments to report all people killed in police custody or during arrest, improves transparency by providing reliable information on how many people are killed by police each year.  

 

Reps. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Raul Labrador (R-ID) also introduced the “Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act,” a bipartisan bill to stop the Department of Defense from giving inappropriate military-grade equipment from Iraq and Afghanistan—such as high-caliber weapons, grenade launchers, armed drones, and armored vehicles—to local police departments. This bill could help stop a repeat of images like those from Ferguson that shocked our nation last summer. 

 

At every level of government, lawmakers should come together to address the issue of police-community relations. We cannot stay silent when this issue disproportionately affects black and brown families. At a minimum, laws must be applied equally and fairly to law enforcement and civilians, no matter what their race. People deserve to feel their country values their lives equally. We deserve to trust that our lives matter.