Supporters rally for Delaware police accountability

By Craig Anderson
Posted 6/23/21

DOVER — During a rally hosted by the Police Accountability NOW campaign early Wednesday afternoon, advocates pushed for the passage of pending legislation that would open law enforcement …

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Supporters rally for Delaware police accountability

Posted

DOVER — During a rally hosted by the Police Accountability NOW campaign early Wednesday afternoon, advocates pushed for the passage of pending legislation that would open law enforcement officers’ disciplinary records to the public.

The gathering outside Legislative Hall provided opportunity for supporters of Senate Bill 149 to voice support for increasing “transparency and (allowing) for more meaningful oversight” of police, according to a synopsis of the proposed legislation that would significantly amend the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.

SB 149 was released from the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 16. Sen. Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, D-Wilmington, is the legislation’s prime sponsor.

Delaware Campaign for Smart Justice Manager Haneef Salaam began the roughly 38-minute gathering by pointing to the Delaware police-involved deaths of Lymond Moses (in 2021) and Anton Black (in 2018).

“If you didn’t know, police violence is the leading cause of death for young men in America, especially Black men, so we need police reform because it’s not just national but they’re killing our Black men, shooting our Black men right here in Delaware,” he said.

“And even before they get to the point of violence, these are cops who are continually harassing people, continually breaking laws and we can’t even know if they received a citation or not. ...

“If you got accused 50 times of harassing people in the community, why shouldn’t we know about it? We should be knowing about that not now but .....”

“Right now,” the crowd responded in unison.

Family members of the late Mr. Moses and Mr. Black spoke at the rally as well.

“It’s going on six months … I don’t know who murdered my brother,” said Lakeisha Nix, sister of Mr. Moses.

“They blurred [police officers’] faces out but they let the world see my brother get murdered on camera. This is not right. At this point, this is about the greater good.”

According to Mr. Salaam, “Delaware police officers enjoy more protections from discipline than any other government entity, any other.

“Nobody gets protected like the police and I have family and friends that are officers so I know the importance of being a law officer and I want my family and friends to come home every night.

“But that does not mean that disciplinary records cannot be accessible to the public. That does not mean community review boards should now be implemented to be able to oversee the police, investigate the police and bring justice to the police not now, but.

“Right now,” the crowd responded in unison.”

Video of the rally was posted on the ACLU of Delaware’s Facebook page.

According to the ACLU of Delaware, rally attendees “took direct action in support of SB 149 through emails, phone calls and the delivery of more than 1,000 postcards in support of police accountability to members of the General Assembly.”

The Police Accountability NOW Campaign launched in April, in the aftermath of Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction for the murder of George Floyd. The campaign is focused on passing four reforms through legislation, including:

• Revise the LEOBOR to make police disciplinary records and use of force reports public record.

• Amend LEOBOR to allow civilian review boards that can review, investigate and discipline officers in misconduct cases to be established in cities across Delaware.

• Revise the standards and practices for use of force so that officers can be held accountable when they engage in unconstitutional use of force.

• Implement body-worn cameras, require them to be turned on during all police and community interactions, and make that public footage.

After the rally Wednesday, the ACLU and ACLU of Delaware released results of a poll conducted by YouGov this month that concluded:

• 71% of Delawareans support creating community oversight boards that would investigate and advise on discipline for officers who engage in misconduct.

• 68% of Delawareans support making Delaware police officers’ disciplinary records available to the public.

• 72% of Delawareans believe that if a police officer faces misconduct allegations, the officer should be questioned as soon as possible so that details of an incident are fresh and officers don’t have time to “get their stories straight.”

Besides the ACLU, other partners in the effort include Delaware Campaign for Fair Policing, Delaware Campaign for Smart Justice, NAACP of Delaware, Network Delaware, Not Just Another Protest, and Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League’s Building People Power Campaign.

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