Over the years Republican politicians have very successfully attacked Democratic Presidential candidates as being soft on crime...often forcing them into espousing draconian and often racist policies in a vain attempt to disprove the claim. To be ‘tough on crime” also means to declare your undying love for the police...to hug them tight and their unions even tighter. Police unions are powerful organizations.
I was, therefore, very pleasantly surprised to hear some of this year’s candidates boldly voicing their displeasure with the prevailing police culture; some even promoting policies that could have been written by members of BLM movement. I thought it would be a good exercise to take a preliminary look at where most of the leading candidates are in their understanding of the need to discuss over policing. To see who even recognizes that there’s a problem and who has a plan to address the issues surrounding police reform. It’s important to note that criminal justice reform is of the utmost importance but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee police reform. For example, the much-hyped First Step Act does mention de-escalation training but there’s no punishment for those who do not abide by the rules and regulations.
SEC. 406. DE-ESCALATION TRAINING.
Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall incorporate into training programs provided to officers and employees of the Bureau of Prisons (including officers and employees of an organization with which the Bureau of Prisons has a contract to provide services relating to imprisonment) specialized and comprehensive training in procedures to—
(1) de-escalate encounters between a law enforcement officer or an officer or employee of the Bureau of Prisons, and a civilian or a prisoner (as such term is defined in section 106 of this Act); and
(2) identify and appropriately respond to incidents that involve the unique needs of individuals who have a mental illness or cognitive deficit.
Almost all the candidates speak about criminal justice reform, only a few address police reform.
Michael Bennet
It may be that the senior Senator from Colorado has a position on police violence, I couldn’t find it.
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Joe Biden
VP Biden is still developing his own policy ideas. However, I find his response to the murder of Alton Sterling quite instructive. Here he explains why the police could decide to kill the man they had already wrestled to the ground.
“I looked and saw ... an African American on the ground with two police officers over top of him,” he said. "What I didn’t know at the time is that a homeless person called in and said there's a guy threatening me with a gun.
There’s also this comment from 2016.
“I think for anyone to suggest that there is not inappropriate behavior in a small percentage of the police departments, police men and women, is just not being realistic and so what Black Lives Matter in large is about, is acknowledging the institutional racism that remains,” Biden added. “But the vast majority of the 18,000 police departments you know, they in fact apply the law equally and well, but it does exist.”
It’s early days yet...and he does have Symone Sanders as senior advisor on his campaign. I’m hopeful.
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Bill de Blasio
One would think that Bill de Blasio must be doing something right as it is no secret that New York City cops hate him and make no attempt to hide their hatred of him. One would think, right? The truth is that their hatred has become a very effective weapon against the mayor. Where before he was elected he was very vocal about the need for reform, now he sees no evil and speaks no evil about police malicious actions in his city. No surprise, then, that there’s precious little on his website about the issue.
He ended the era of stop and frisk and pursued reforms to bring the NYPD and the communities they serve closer together. At the same time, he drove crime to record-low levels.
Mr. De Blasio is married to a black woman and has a black son; I don’t think that he’s unaware of the need for a sophisticated and empathetic police force.
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Cory Booker
Comprehensive criminal justice reform should address over-policing. While almost all the candidates promise to look at criminal justice, it is not clear that they see over policing as the existential threat that it is. Cory Booker has spoken about police brutality in the past. Here, for example, is a video (unable to embed) where he posits that “taking care of cops can actually decrease police brutality.”
"President Obama's 21st century Task Force on Policing actually found out that they can use predictive analytics to intervene on police officers before they have incidents."
Cory Booker lays out solutions to America's police brutality problem.
And from The New York Times:
But during his time as mayor, Newark’s police department faced accusations of brutality and intimidation, and the Department of Justice launched an investigationinto the department; Mr. Booker said he “welcomed” the inquiry.
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Pete Buttigieg
Mr. Buttigieg has definitely given some thought to this intractable problem. He has a policy proposal for criminal justice reform and directly addresses police misconduct:
For many Black and Brown communities, the criminal legal system has threatened, rather than promoted, safety and security. Security is not accomplished by racially discriminatory policing.
Candidate Buttigieg further promises to:
- Prevent discriminatory police practices
- Increase police accountability for misconduct
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Julian Castro
Julian Castro has thought long and hard about the culture of police brutality, and it’s a problem he says he’s ready to solve.
Mr. Castro’s plan to fix the broken system deserves its own diary it’s so comprehensive. At times it reads like our own Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act. Under his “People First Policing” banner, the Candidate characterized police brutality as a “national crisis,” and that it is. Read for yourself here:
“If police in Charleston, South Carolina can arrest Dylann Roof after he murdered nine people worshipping at Bible study, without hurting him,” he said in January, “then don’t tell me that Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice, and Aiyana Jones, and Eric Garner, and Jason Pero, and Stephon Clark, and Sandra Bland shouldn’t still be alive today, too.”
More:
1. End Over-Aggressive Policing and Combat Racially Discriminatory Policing
In establishing national standards for the conduct of police officers and local departments that receive federal funding, we ensure that every police department in the United States establishes minimum standards for how their officers interact with community members. Those standards include combatting racially discriminatory policing that leads to the disproportionately high number of black men who are killed by police.
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Kirsten Gillibrand
I can find no comment from Ms. Gillibrand about the need for police reform.
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Kamala Harris
Under the heading of Criminal Justice Reform, Senator Harris reminds us of her record as Attorney General of California:
As Attorney General, Kamala’s Department of Justice became the first statewide agency to mandate a body camera program and launched the first of its kind implicit bias and procedural justice training in the country. She launched pattern and practice investigations into discriminatory actions by law enforcement agencies and pioneered data transparency initiatives on law enforcement activities
Senator Harris endorses independent investigations of police misconduct:
“I believe the best approach is to have independent investigations,” Harris told MSNBC on Monday. “I think we are all very clear that there’s got to be an independent investigation conducted from the first moments of the incident, so that we can be certain and sure there has been a thorough investigation that is not informed by bias and so that there will be justice for all of the people concerned.”
Senator Harris speaks to Trevor Noah about police bias:
From Sis Denise Oliver Velez:
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Jay Islee
Governor Jay Inslee signed a pretty revolutionary police reform bill — aka “the use of force bill” — into law last year. Thanks to Kossack jhecht for the link.
On their last day of the session, the Washington State legislature passed police “use of force” reform Initiative 940, which is also House Bill 3003.
Governor Jay Inslee has already signed the bill into law. It will take effect in 2019.
The measure will require all law enforcement officers in the state to receive violence de-escalation and mental health training.
It will also amend the standard for justifiable use of deadly force by law enforcement, including adding a “good faith” standard and requiring independent investigation.
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Amy Klobuchar
I could find nothing about police brutality from Senator Klobuchar, and what I did find about her views on matters having to do with the police were not very encouraging...but there’s time yet.
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Beto O’Rourke
Beto O’Rourke Criminal Justice reform does not include a plan for police reform, but he has on many occasions given impassioned speeches about the subject.
More:
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Bernie Sanders
Senator Bernie Sanders promises to “Bring about major police department reform.
Over the last number of years, we have seen a terrible level of police violence against unarmed people in the minority community: Laquan McDonald, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Jessica Hernandez, Tamir Rice, Jonathan Ferrell, Oscar Grant, Antonio Zambrano-Montes and others. People of color, killed by the police, who should be alive today. We know that African-Americans are twice as likely to be arrested, and almost four times as likely to experience physical force in an encounter with the police.
Today, black men are sentenced to 19% more jail time for committing the exact same crime as white men, and African Americans are jailed at more than five times the rate of whites.
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Elizabeth Warren
Senator Warren’s Criminal Justice Reform plan does not address police brutality. But I did find this powerful speech from 2015:
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There’s still a lot of time for candidates to develop and or refine their views on police brutality. I’m sure they’ll be forced to address the issue at the debates. We look forward to their answers.
If readers are aware of statements or policy positions that I’ve not covered, please share in comments and, with your permission, I’ll add to the diary. Thanks.