Night Owls is a themed open thread appearing at Daily Kos seven days a week.
McKinley L. Price is mayor of Newport News, Virginia, and president of the African American Mayors Association. At The Grio, he writes—Black mayors are leading the charge to reform the police:.
[...] My Black mayor colleagues and I at the African American Mayors Association are keenly aware of the need to revamp our policing system. That’s why we created a PEACE Pact, with proven, practical solutions to foster community-centered policing that will keep all Americans safe—and have started implementing these reforms in our communities.
These solutions work because they bring the police and the people they serve closer together. Now, it’s up to federal policymakers to help make these policies standard practice across the nation.
The “P” in our pact’s acronym stands for provide transparency. The foundation of community-centered policing is built upon trust, and trust is fostered by providing ongoing transparency to the community. Transparency in policing can be enhanced by establishing a dedicated website or hotline for the public to report misconduct. We also recommend cities establish a joint protocol between the mayor’s office and the police department to address public inquiries concerning police-involved incidents resulting in death or injury, provide consistent community updates on police activity, and publish incidences of misconduct and disciplinary actions online.
THREE OTHER ARTICLES WORTH READING
- Electric Cars’ Looming Recycling Problem, by Perry Gottesfield. Financial incentives to recycle spent electric vehicle batteries are eroding. That could spell environmental disaster.
- Israel and Saudi Arabia set to push Biden away from the Iran nuclear deal, by Mitchell Plitnick. It will be crucial for the Biden administration to hear from Americans who support re-entry to the agreement without changes. That support will be necessary both to counter the Israeli and Arab states’ influence, and it will help to determine the initial course of Biden’s policy in the region for the next four years.
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TOP COMMENTS • RESCUED DIARIES
TWEET OF THE DAY
QUOTATION
“[O]ffenses like disorderly conduct, obstruction, and resisting arrest are easily alleged, they effectively give police the power to arrest based on violations of their own sense of authority.”
~~Alexandra Natapoff, Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal (
BLAST FROM THE PAST
On this date at Daily Kos in 2006—Extend Debate on Alito:
t seems clear to me that the significance of Alito's views on executive power, access to the courts, civil liberties, the right to privacy, the federal Commerce power, and a myriad of other issues, is only now coming into proper focus. More time is needed for the Senate to properly carry out its Constitutional function of advice and consent.
An appointment to the Supreme Court is for a lifetime. Samuel Alito is 55 years old and, like Justice O'Connor, is likely to sit on the Court for a quarter century if confirmed.
Given the stakes, an additional period of consideration and debate seems appropriate. The length of this additional period need not necessarily be long nor the debate protracted. It seems to me that with a fairly brief period of consideration, the members of the Senate can chart a course for appropriate action regarding Judge Alito.
Thus, I urge the Senate, and in particular the Senators of the Democratic Caucus, to consider moving for extended debate to further consider the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.