Welcome to the weekly update from the Campaign to End Qualified Immunity! Here, we give you a wrap-up of the latest developments and notable news as we continue our state-focused fight to abolish the unjust rule.
This week, the DOJ exposes systemic racism in the Minneapolis Police Department; the NYPD’s interim commissioner gets called out for excessive force; California gears up to decertify thousands of cops accused of misconduct; and more!
FEATURED STORY
NBC News: DOJ Probe into Minneapolis Police Finds Racial Discrimination and Excessive Force
“The Minneapolis Police Department, the probe found, ‘uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and other types of force’; ‘unlawfully discriminates against Black and Native American people in its enforcement activities’; ‘violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech’; and discriminates against people with behavioral health issues.”
Read more here.
NEW YORK
New York’s independent Civilian Complaint Review Board has substantiated claims that Edward Caban, who’s set to become the NYPD’s interim police commissioner, brutally arrested a Black man during an unwarranted 2006 stop-and-frisk incident.
Read more here.
VERMONT
The ACLU of Vermont has slammed Governor Phil Scott for vetoing a bill that would prevent state police from using deceptive, coercive interrogation tactics on people under the age of 22. “Through his veto, Governor Scott rejected a meaningful opportunity to advance racial justice and police accountability in our state,” said ACLU of Vermont Executive Director James Lyall.
Read more here.
ILLINOIS
“‘The duties of a police officer are to respond to…violence, not to stop it from happening,’ notes Chicago public defender Takenya Nixon. Non-punitive approaches to violence prevention—mental health services, life coaching, economic opportunities—can uplift individuals and therefore strengthen public safety, which benefits both communities and law enforcement alike.
Watch here.
A new report out of Chicago reveals serious racial disparities in the Windy City’s stop-and-frisk practices: Black residents are nine times as likely to be stopped by police than their white counterparts, while Latinos are three times as likely.
Read more here.
On Juneteenth, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced that the city will erect eight public monuments intended to “memorialize events, people and groups that historically have been excluded or underrepresented.” One of these, the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial, honors survivors of police abuse.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
KTVU: Up to 3,500 Police Officers in California Could Be Decertified Each Year
“California’s police standards commission, known as POST, said it’s possible that they could decertify or suspend up to 3,500 police officers each year for serious misconduct under a new state law….The estimates detailed in a POST budget request, and reported by the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday, suggest that’s about 4% of the roughly 90,000 officers working in California.”
Read more here.
MPR News: DOJ Report Praises Minneapolis Behavioral Crisis Response Team
“The report shows the department’s culture and practices created systemic problems that made the police killing of Floyd possible….But the report had positive things to say about the city’s behavioral crisis response team. The report praised the unarmed mental health professionals who answer certain 911 calls and says the program should be expanded.”
Read more here.
Undark: Studies Show a Need for Procedural Justice in ‘Hot Spot’ Policing
“Many researchers and policymakers say that if police officers practiced more of what is known as procedural justice—a seemingly straightforward but, critics say, under-utilized emphasis on fairness, transparency, impartiality, and offering citizens a voice—there would be fewer police abuse and brutality cases like the one in Memphis, even within the context of hot spot policing.”
Read more here.
CT Mirror: CT Passed Police Reform, but Black Residents Still Feel Unheard
“In the three years since George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, a tragedy that set off a global wave of protests along with the passage of Connecticut’s police accountability law, many Black residents…feel that little has actually changed—and that ongoing conversations about policing haven’t centered enough on their personal experiences or the well-being of their communities.”
Read more here.
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