Enough. The shooting deaths of Delrawn Small of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge, La.; Philando Castile of Falcon Heights, Minn.; and Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, Brent Thompson and Patrick Zamarripa of Dallas, Texas shook the foundation of the American society. All are victims of deadly violence.
These nightmarish incidents are troubling, racially divisive and very complicated because they involve difficult issues, including the use of deadly force, our mental health system, the use of guns, the legacy of racial animus and the failure of many leaders, police and community, to provide the necessary leadership and commitment to confront and ameliorate these long-standing crucial problems. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. counseled that if you are unwilling to confront problems, especially racial ones, you will never be able to overcome them.
So, what can be done?
First, a process should be developed in which everyday Americans and rank-and-file police officers can unite across racial, religious, gender and economic lines to begin a public dialogue intended to improve police-community relations. This inquiry should touch on the source of the anger and lack of trust between racial minorities (especially the African-American community) and police officers that is currently exploding and has existed for many years. What are the criticisms and grievances that each side has against the other and what can be done to ameliorate them?
Two years ago, after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and the choking death of Eric Garner in New York City and protests across the country, and then the killing of two New York City Police officers, Eric Adams and Gale Brewer, respectively, the borough presidents of Brooklyn and Manhattan, and I sponsored such a process, including town hall meetings where New Yorkers and police officers talked with each other about these difficult issues and published a 192-page report entitled, “Improving Police-Community Relations.” Currently, we are discussing our 37 recommendations with Police Commissioner Bratton and his top aides. Perhaps, others cities and communities can duplicate what we are attempting to accomplish in New York City.
Some of our suggested reforms are the listed below:
- Establish permanent statewide independent special prosecutors to investigate and prosecute allegations of police deadly and excessive force so as to avoid the inherent conflict of interest between local prosecutors and police departments who work together on a daily basis in our criminal justice system. Too many police shooting or excessive force cases result in a failure to indict or convict, and hold police to a low standard of accountability. The protestors chants of “no justice, no peace” reflect these frustrations and alienation.
- Abolish or reform the grand jury system. The grand jury system has become an instrument of the prosecutor, marked by unfair procedures carried out in secrecy. Recently, California passed legislation prohibiting the use of grand juries to determine whether police officers should be indicted under circumstances wherein deadly force has been used. In instances of alleged police misconduct, there should be a preliminary hearing in open court, presided over by a judge in the presence of lawyers for the prosecution and defense, as there is in a normal adversarial process, instead of a non-adversarial, secret grand jury process to determine if there is enough evidence to indict a police officer for a shooting, especially of unarmed persons.
- Creation of independent civilian review boards to investigate and prosecute complaints of excessive force, abuse of authority and discourtesy, including the use of racial, religious, gender, homophobic and ethnic slurs.
- Police academy training should be for one year. An independent panel should review the training at the academy and post in-house material and procedures every three years.
- Residents and police should develop “neighborhood policing” programs together, wherein officers receive basic training and community affairs policing.
- Training should be modified to enhance skills in the de-escalation of conflict, and the reduction of all forms of stereotyping.
- Increase psychological screening for applicants and, because of the stress of the job, re-evaluate and provide support for officers every three years.
- Provide incentives, including public housing, reduced and subsidized rents and tax deductions so police officers can afford to live within the cities and communities they police.
- Increase racial and gender diversity in police departments.
- Provide police stations with up-to-date technology, including phone/fax systems, computers, Internet and wi-fi access.
- Develop a sabbatical program for police officers similar to those offered in the private sector and to public-school teachers.
The challenge to stop violence and improve police-community relations is enormous. We as a nation have no choice but to exert all our energies and skills to confront and resolve, or at least ameliorate, this long-standing problem that is dividing us. It does not have to be this way.
Normal Siegel is a civil rights attorney.