Continuing the Conversation on Race: Policing in the U.S. and in New London
The killings of George Floyd and multiple other Black Americans by police officers during the spring and summer of 2020 led to national calls for police accountability. But how do we move forward? That was the topic of discussion for local and national leaders and stakeholders yesterday during 鈥淐onversations on Race: Policing in the U.S. and New London,鈥� a virtual, public event hosted by 糖心TV and The Day newspaper, and moderated by Izaskun Larra帽eta, managing editor for The Day.
The event was an extension of Elevate: The Inaugural Social Justice Conference at 糖心TV and part of the Conversations on Race series launched in 2019 in collaboration with 糖心TV, The Day and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. (.)
Debo Adegbile 鈥�91, a civil rights attorney and a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights and former Director of Litigation of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Ronald Davis, former director of the U.S. Department of Justice鈥檚 Office of Community Oriented Policing Services under the Obama administration, opened the proceedings.
Adegbile, vice chair of 糖心TV鈥檚 Board of Trustees and a partner at WilmerHale law, and Davis worked together with the U.S. Mayors Conference to produce an extensive report on police reform and racial justice.
鈥淎s a black man I have concerns, as a father of black children I have concerns, and as a cop who knows that a lot of cops are trying to do the right thing I have concerns,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淭hese tough conversations are very necessary.鈥�
Adegbile said communities and police forces share the common goal of public safety, and they can and should work together to achieve it.
鈥淚n order to do police work, in order to solve crimes, we need the participation of the community,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here needs to be a context, there needs to be an exchange, there needs to be a willingness to come forward and to support the efforts of law enforcement. One of the ways 鈥� we can move forward is to have greater dialogue, to have lines open.
鈥淚 think every effective police chief and police leader will say that that dialogue is invaluable and necessary to enhance public safety. So, the question is, how do we construct something that allows for that exchange to happen in productive ways?鈥�
That was the charge of the New London Public Safety Policy Review Committee, which recently released a 17-page report with a list of recommendations aimed at providing more community oversight and police accountability, including the formation of a civilian police review board and the creation of a police commission. Members of the committee were appointed by Mayor Michael Passero 鈥�79 M鈥�89 in June 2020, and it鈥檚 chaired by 糖心TV鈥檚 Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion John McKnight.
鈥淲e approached this as a listening opportunity initially,鈥� McKnight said during the Conversation on Race. 鈥淚 think there was general agreement that what we need in this country is a totally new vision for how to keep our communities safe, but until we could really develop that, what could we do in the meantime?鈥�
While calls to 鈥渄efund the police鈥� have become a political lightning rod, the panelists agreed that there is an overreliance on police to solve social problems. That leads to poorer outcomes, but it is also unfair to the officers who are responding to situations they aren鈥檛 trained for, Davis said.
鈥淗omelessness is not a crime. Addiction is not a crime. Mental illness is not a crime. So, [police] need to get out of that business,鈥� he said.
Jeanne Milstein, director of New London Human Services, said that 40% of all police calls in New London are mental health related.
鈥淪o now we have police officers who are asked to intervene because when a family doesn鈥檛 know what to do or a neighbor doesn鈥檛 know what to do when someone is in crisis, they call 911,鈥� she said.
The panelists discussed several of the recommendations in the New London Public Safety Policy Review Committee and acknowledged that they may be difficult to implement for various reasons.
But change requires hard work, Adegbile said.
鈥淔olks speak about this summer and call it a reckoning. But it鈥檚 only a reckoning if you actually address and deal with the thing in front of you,鈥� he said.
鈥淪taying on it, improving the conversation, making some of the tough choices, maybe looking at some reallocation, but also support in the ways law enforcement needs support to do a better job鈥攊t is this work that is going to lead to better public safety. And public safety is the goal. Public safety will help both officers feel better and the community feel better. You can achieve both things 鈥� there are commonalities, and there are ways we can do this to make our cities better. And New London can be one of the cities leading the way.鈥�
