The Delaware Legislative Black Caucus made big promises about police reform to Delaware’s minority citizens in 2020. We heard eloquent speeches outlining issues to be addressed and changed through the legislative process. There were impassioned pleas by our state’s minority leaders, encouraging their fellow legislators to use solidarity and urgency to address police reform. They posed for photo ops, while exclaiming broad changes and swift action. However, what we received was politics as usual when it comes to addressing issues vitally important to our communities. We were sold a bill of goods born out of generations of frustration and tragedy, masked with the familiar stench of political stonewalling, ineffective task force committees and misguided Black bourgeoisie interference.
We do not need the Law Enforcement Accountability Task Force to tell us what is wrong with law enforcement in Delaware. Every Black and Brown citizen and poor Delawarean knows what is wrong with policing in Delaware. We do not need a task force that is mainly comprised of law enforcement officers and citizens disconnected from disenfranchised communities dominating the conversation about change. Changing the culture of law enforcement in Delaware is not a job for the task force. This is an issue for the Delaware state legislature, and the issue of police reform should be a priority to every Legislative Black Caucus member. Now is the time for Delaware state leaders (senators and representatives) to work together to change the Delaware Law-Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. No institution that relies on taxpayers’ dollars should be allowed to operate under a veil of secrecy and be immune from public scrutiny. If restoring public trust for law enforcement in minority communities is important to this caucus, then changing the Law-Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights should be paramount on your agenda.
No routine interaction with any law enforcement officer should result in a citizen’s murder. There are too many examples of African American citizens being killed by law enforcement officers in incidents that should not result in death. Too often, poor policing is being ignored because of archaic policies that allow such behaviors to go unchallenged. Transparency and accountability are hallmarks of public trust and foundational pieces to our democracy. The Delaware Legislative Black Caucus made promises to Delaware’s minority citizens in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. So far, those promises appear as hollow as the halls of justice for Delaware’s minority citizens.
Terrell A. Williams
Middletown
