Do the fatal police shootings of Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez, and Mario Woods warrant reform of the police department? And beyond general calls for de-escalation training, what would that reform look like?
Respuestas en español aquí.
43 Questions is a weekly series — started 43 weeks before Election Day — to question the candidates running for District 9 supervisor. Send us your questions to info@missionlocal.com and let us know in comments or in an e-mail if you think candidates have answered the questions asked.
Hillary Ronen, Chief of Staff for Supervisor David Campos
The tragic deaths of Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez, and Mario Woods — all young men of color — illustrate a larger problem of institutionalized racism in our criminal justice system. According to nearly every study, African-Americans and Latinos are disproportionately targeted by police, and jailed far more often than their white counterparts. While police have taken some steps to address racial disparities, reforms have not gone far enough. We need to start by equipping every police officer with body-worn cameras; immediately triggering an independent investigation in officer-involved civilian deaths; and creating the Office of Public Advocate for more effective oversight.
Joshua Arce, civil rights attorney and Community Liaison for Laborers Local 261
Community trust in law enforcement is being tested at a level this city has not seen in decades and we’ve seen too many tragedies involving young men of color. We can’t delay the establishment of better training and stricter guidelines around the use of force.
As Supervisor, I commit to meaningful reform that goes beyond current policies, practices and legal standards to ensure public safety for all San Franciscans. In addition, when inappropriate force is used against anyone, we must seek independent investigation and ensure that adequate punishments are leveled against any officer found guilty of breaching these rules.
Iswari España, Training Officer with the San Francisco Human Services Agency
Basic business principles dictate that how your organization is designed determines how it will perform. However, let us not forget that in order to change a behavior there has to be a willingness to change, currently there is no acknowledgment of wrongdoing, and not much accountability from the department. Therefore, I propose to start with having a structure change, let us have body of elected officials that regulate and sanction the behavior of officers, made out of members of the community, with the absolute power to terminate employment. As well, all members of the police commission need to be elected, and all policies and practices need to reviewed and corrected.
Edwin Lindo, Vice-President of External Affairs at the Latino Democratic Club
We deserve better. I grew up around the corner from Alex Nieto. His parents knew my parents and grandparents. It does not escape me that it could have been me.
We must be bold in our actions to change this epidemic.
And here is where we start:
- Federal civil rights investigation of SFPD & sheriff’s department.
- Anti-racist and anti-oppression trainings of police officers
- Remove secretive grand jury process for excessive force cases
- Create African-American / Latino community oversight committee
- Use of force standards
- Independent investigations
- Stop criminalizing people of color
…among other things. Please see my full post here for more.
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