INTRODUCTION
Events in Ferguson and elsewhere require us to protect our citizens from out-of-control police departments. That's where you come in. Please help us craft a new law to send to members of Congress. The proposed law is already in rough draft form. We need you to criticize the hell out of it. We need you to make it better.
[Note from JoanMar: This diary is being published under my name as the founder of the group, Support the Dream Defenders. The diary was written by members of the group.]
BACKGROUND
News reports from respectable media have reported that 50 of the 53 police officers in the Ferguson Police Department are white. The population, on the other hand, is approximately 70% black. One report indicated that 1,500 warrants were issued in Ferguson for every 1,000 people. We have heard about the brutal treatment of a number of people in Ferguson, leading up to the murder of Michael Brown. That pattern of mistreatment continued with the abuse of reporters and innocent protestors.
Moreover, Ferguson is not a blip on the screen. Not too long ago, New Orleans agreed to a consent decree allowing the federal government to monitor its police department because of a pattern of misconduct. In New York, race-based policing has been a problem for years. As the New York Civil Liberties Union reported regarding that city's infamous "Stop and Frisk" policy:
"Only 11 percent of stops in 2011 were based on a description of a violent crime suspect. On the other hand, from 2002 to 2011, black and Latino residents made up close to 90 percent of people stopped, and about 88 percent of stops – more than 3.8 million – were of innocent New Yorkers. Even in neighborhoods that are predominantly white, black and Latino New Yorkers face the disproportionate brunt. For example, in 2011, Black and Latino New Yorkers made up 24 percent of the population in Park Slope, but 79 percent of stops. This, on its face, is discriminatory."
We are making history, folks, and it's not pretty: "The Civil Rights Division [of the Department of Justice] currently has more active police pattern or practice investigations of law enforcement agencies than any other time in the division’s history." According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were 18,000 state and local police departments in the country back in 2008. It is time to bend that arc of history towards justice and away from tyranny. We suggest we bend that arc with The Over-Policed Rights Act.
ABOUT THE OVER-POLICED RIGHTS ACT
It would be like the Voting Rights Act except that it would apply to police jurisdictions that have a long-standing pattern of discrimination based upon race. Any citizen or resident alien, through an attorney, could ask the Federal Court in that jurisdiction to determine whether that pattern exists.
For example, 50 of 53 white police officers in a mostly black jurisdiction would be relevant evidence of this, as would high percentages of arrests of ethnic or racial populations not consistent with the makeup of the county or city, the percentage of citizen complaints, the percentage use of force, the percentage of "Terry Stops" or traffic stops that involve a particular race that is not reflected in the general makeup of the jurisidiction's population, the number of warrants issued as a percentage of the population, etc.
If the Federal Court determines that a long-standing (at least 18 months) pattern exists, then that police jurisdiction would become a "Federal Over-Policed Rights Act" jurisdiction. In that case, each act of removing a weapon from a holster (i.e. baton, taser or gun), and each assault or battery by a police officer would immediately become a matter for DOJ investigation. (Police officers are trained to know what an "assault" or a "battery" look like. They should not have a problem understanding the distinction between normal human activity and assault and battery.) Failure to report an incident would be a crime.
Because of the number of these matters, the DOJ would be able to assign this responsibility to the State Police or other interested and capable governmental party to investigate and report. That would be within the Attorney General's discretion. A Federal Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction would be responsible for reporting all of these numbers to the DOJ or the DOJ's designee.
Additionally, the jurisdiction must report any time an initial encounter with a citizen involves an escalation of charges. For example, if a traffic stop results in a misdemeanor charge, then that must be reported. If a misdemeanor call results in a felony charge, then that must be reported.
The DOJ or the Federal Judge would appoint volunteer observers with carte blanche to ride along in police cruisers or monitor precinct offices. These observers would have the right to carry video cameras. The jurisdiction would be subject to audit by the FBI at the discretion of the Attorney General. It would also be subject to forfeiture of any militarized vehicles or weaponry until it can successfully petition to be relieved of the Federal Over-Policed Rights Act jurisdiction designation.
There would be new reporting requirements for all police in every political subdivision. Every time a police officer fires his or her weapon at another human being, that must be reported to the FBI. Moreover, the report must be particularized to include the circumstances, including the race of the officer and the citizen or resident alien, injuries, any civil or criminal outcome, any internal disposition, and the number of times that officer has fired off his or her weapon in an official capacity. As you can see, this envisions an initial report and a follow-up.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Read the proposed Act below. Criticize the hell out of it! We want to make it stronger; we want it to make a difference. Even if you think it is a waste of time, tell us why. That's important information. What should be added? What should be deleted?
Tweet this diary. Follow @TheOverPoliced for any news. We are going to have a twitter presence. Join our group! This is a short-term project looking to draw attention to the problem police have with race and to bring a proposed law to Congress.
When we have a final draft, print out a copy of The Over-Policed Rights Act and take it to your member of Congress and show it to him or her. The goal is to have a final draft ready for Congress when it comes back into session. We will need Kossacks in the Washington, D.C. area to present the bill to members of Congress.
ADVANTAGES
What The Over-Policed Rights Act would offer that already does not exist is a mechanism for citizens to effect change in their communities. The Department of Justice, already over-worked and under-funded, would be able to opt into any suit, but it could conserve its resources for other matters. Civilians would not have to wait for the DOJ to act or for a "Ferguson" to remedy a bad police department.
The reporting that all police jurisdictions would have to comply with would provide information that the FBI currently doesn't receive. That's very important information that we should have. We need to know who is being killed by police bullets and why.
The use of volunteer "Observers" is from the Voting Rights Act, and it would provide a check on poor policing. Mainly, the OPRA would act as a deterent and negative reinforcer. Once an official complaint is filed in Federal Court, the poor policing should improve almost immediately. It places a premium on the use of non-physical force (i.e. words and not guns or clubs). Would assist in providing equal protection for all under the law. Would change the conversation and perhaps help to set national standards for non-racism- and non-brutality-based policing.
A procedure like this would allow individuals to obtain a favorable outcome in a much shorter time. Long before the murder of Michael Brown, there were people in Ferguson who knew the policing problem they faced but didn't have any ability to do anything about it. This would resolve issues much quicker than current circumstances allow. This type of action is not wholly unprecedented. Under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, private citizens like us can file suit in federal court. There are so many police units around the country, we cannot expect the DOJ to handle all of them.
Finally, even if never implemented, it could change the conversation and potentially impact the future for the good.
DISADVANTAGES
The DOJ can already investigate and file suit so this Act is in some ways duplicative. There is a chance of frivolous suits. All of the remedies are now theoretically possible with a federal judge in charge of a pending matter. Cost at federal and local levels. Unintended (and unforeseen) consequences that you will tell us about in your comment. What would happen with a Republican Attorney General? What about a Republican Federal district court judge?
Until we get a majority in both Houses of Congress and the Presidency at the same time, the Act is not likely to even be brought up much less signed into law. The standing requirement: For every federal suit, a party must have standing to make the claim. Intrusion on local or state governments.