On Racial Justice & Police Reform
Thoughts and prayers were never enough. The longer we wait to act, the more our history of violence against Black and Brown citizens is repeated. I cannot sit idly by paying lip service, sleeping comfortably in my bed while my Black and Brown sisters and brothers lie in fear and die in the streets at the hands of police; while Black mothers and fathers lay awake at night worrying about their children. We have to act.
Police violence in any form cannot go unchecked. Over the past week, the United States has witnessed countless acts of aggression, initiated by the police against protesters seeking justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many other Black people to name, who have been murdered by the police.
New York is not immune. In streaming videos and social media feeds, we’ve watched police officers in Buffalo shove a 75 year old peace activist to the ground, and leave him bleeding from the head while other officers walked past. We’ve learned of journalists being shoved to the ground, pepper sprayed, and hit in the face with riot shields. We’ve seen police officers in New York City beat and brutalize more protesters than we can count, ironically proving the reason we march.
Today, as a starting point, I am calling for all police departments in the 125th Assembly District to initiate substantial and sustainable policy changes, based on meaningful dialogue with Black and Brown communities, and other concerned residents.
I’m also calling on Town Boards, Common Councils, County Legislatures, Town Supervisors, Mayors, and County Administrators to put in place authentic Citizens Review Boards with powers and rights to hold police officers accountable, and to support full adoption of the Safer NY Act. Municipalities should also decline offers of discarded military equipment by federal agencies for use by their local police departments. I call on my colleagues in elected office to freeze any increased funding to law enforcement until these measures are implemented.
We, as lawmakers have been doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Our community did not elect us to be fools, but to lead change.
On Monday, I put my racial justice statement on my website which can be viewed here; however, now more than ever the state reforms outlined there cannot wait. I urge all of you to call our state officials and tell them to pass every piece of the Safer NY Act.
We need to End Police Secrecy by repealing 50-a (A2513-O’Donnell/S3695-Bailey)
To improve transparency of policing activities across the state we must pass the Police Statistics & Transparency (STAT) Act (A05472-Lentol/S1830–Hoylman).
We need to strengthen and codify Executive Order 147 and make the Special Prosecutor’s office permanent (A1601-Perry/S2574-Bailey)
We have to end marijuana prohibition and invest in communities by passing Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act (A1617-Peoples-Stokes/S1527 –Krueger)
Lastly, we need to reduce unnecessary arrests for non-criminal offenses (A4053-Aubry/S2571-Bailey)
While these policies will not solve racism in New York, they do represent an important step forward, especially when combined with other legislation to do things such as provide quality health care and housing to all, and reduce the scope of incarceration. I am committed to fighting for policies that mitigate racism, and I will not stop fighting until we have true equity in our society.
