Community involvement is key in preventing the next Ferguson
There have been multiple reports of black Americans dying in police custody this summer, often in seemingly dubious circumstances. On Saturday an ABA panel focused on addressing the issue, with much of the discussion centering on community involvement in politics and on social media.
“It starts with the policymakers we put in place. Most city councils hire the chief of police,” said panelist Daryl D. Parks. A partner with Parks and Crump in Tallahassee, Florida, his law firm represents the family of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Florida youth shot and killed by private citizen George Zimmerman in 2012. Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder a year later. Parks, a former president of the National Bar Association, also represents the family of Michael Brown, a young man shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last August.
“It’s Not Just Ferguson: Promoting the Rule of Law and Other Solutions at Home” was sponsored by the Judicial Division and moderated by Judge Bernice B. Donald of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
She mentioned the recent deaths of Sandra Bland and Samuel DuBose, as well as the arrest of Dylann Roof. Roof, who is white, was charged in June with killing nine people at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Donald noted that after his arrest Roof told officers that he was hungry, and they fed him.
“All of these things have caused us to question our system of justice, and the proportionality of our policies and actions,” she said. “And it has asked us to think about what is really behind these things. There’s an obligation on each of us to take action and do something.”
Parks noted that social media has significantly changed how the country views deaths that happen in police custody. “I don’t think you can get the attention without people taking it to the streets and being on social media; it’s probably democracy at work,” said Parks, who thinks the FBI should investigate every death that occurs in police custody.
The role of young people was also discussed. Arthur Burnett (PDF), a retired senior judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, said that he strongly encourages young people to register to vote and serve on juries when called.
Young black men sometimes have a defiant attitude toward police, Burnett added. He recalled being a young man stopped by police, with their guns drawn. Burnett says his attitude was respectful, and that’s why he’s alive today.
“I tell youngsters that sometimes by not being defiant and belligerent, you end up getting a college education and being in a position of power,” Burnett said. “Go to a lawyer to deal with problems of abuse—don’t fight it out in the streets.”
Police, Burnett said, need to treat black citizens with the same dignity they accord white citizens, and judges are responsible for holding them accountable in court.
Melanca Clark, chief of staff for the Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services, was also a panelist at the Saturday event. Her group often works with local law enforcement agencies, and she said that of the police agencies her group works with, 95 percent want help with issues that center on use of force.
Clark also mentioned the use of data by various government agencies. “There’s been much recognition around data collection, and a lot of support for the field, because that shows where change needs to happen,” she said.
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