By Craig Anderson

This story contains updated information.

Jeremy McDole. Lymond Moses. Anton Black. Breonna Taylor. Jacob Blake. George Floyd.

A virtual “Justice for All” panel discussion Wednesday focused on remembering the names of those who died during encounters  with police, as a push for greater law enforcement accountability continues in Delaware and nationwide.

“We heard from (families) who live with the excruciating pain of losing a loved one at the hands of police, and their powerful stories are just a small representation of the countless people who are hurt or killed by police every single day in America,” said the event’s moderator, Haneef Salaam, the manager of American Civil Liberties Union Delaware’s Campaign for Smart Justice.

To open the virtual gathering, Mr. Salaam said, “This is not just a local problem that we’re seeing in America, where cops are killing unarmed Black men specifically, amongst others, and not being held accountable.”

Participants asserted that strengthening pending legislation — Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 149, designed to amend Delaware’s Law-Enforcement Officers’ Bill Rights and open police officer disciplinary records — is a must and that continuing to press for it publicly is crucial.

The bill is currently on the ready list for the Senate floor but has not been assigned a voting date.

According to Mr. Salaam, “When it comes to police violence, ‘justice for all’ means justice for the people who have been hurt or killed by police, justice for the friends and families who love them, and justice for the communities that live through the fallout every time another act of police violence slips under the radar without accountability for the officer or officers involved.

“Justice for all isn’t going to be achieved by LEOBOR reform alone, but it cannot be achieved so long as LEOBOR blocks all meaningful efforts at accountability.”

Latoya Holly, whose younger brother, Anton Black, died at the hands of police in Maryland in 2018, thanked everyone who has cast a vote, marched in a protest or written their senator, among other contributions.

According to Ms. Holly, in part, “It’s going to take a multitude of voices to be heard, and just having a single voice or scattered voices is not going to get the job done.

“This is a huge undertaking we have. This is a battle. We’re actually at war here for our families, for our children, our sons, our brothers, ... and we’re warriors, so we’re not going to stop. We’re calling on all warriors to come and join our fight in any way, shape or form that you can participate that’s comfortable for you.”

She asked attendees to ensure their voices are heard.

“Please make sure that your politician knows that we’re not going to stand for the injustices that continue to happen, (even) if it’s not in your community but in other communities that you see because if it hasn’t happened in your community yet, it’s just a matter of time.”

The Delaware Department of Justice has issued findings on 10 deadly use-of-force incidents involving law enforcement that occurred since 2020. All involved officers were determined not to have committed criminal offenses.

Two other investigations are ongoing, including the shooting death of 21-year-old Milford resident Rodney K. Robinson II by a Dewey Beach police officer March 19.

Wednesday’s meeting was livestreamed on Facebook and though Zoom, and there were approximately 30 attendees, according to ACLU. The number of views of the Facebook recording, still accessible, was around 240 Friday morning.

More information on the Campaign for Smart Justice can be found here.