Why do we need a law to police the police, you may ask. Consider this: As reported by USA Today, police are involved in 400 killings per year.
Is this what we want? ("Ferguson, Missouri," by Eric Drooker)
Nearly two times a week in the United States, a white police officer killed a black person during a seven-year period ending in 2012, according to the most recent accounts of justifiable homicide reported to the FBI. (USA Today).As alarming as that is, we need The Michael Brown Over-Policed Act of 2015 for other reasons. Investigative reporters Kevin Johnson, Meghan Hoyer, and Brad Heath note why:
While the racial analysis is striking, the database it's based on has been long considered flawed and largely incomplete. The killings are self reported by law enforcement and not all police departments participate so the database undercounts the actual number of deaths. Plus,the numbers are not audited after they are submitted to the FBI and the statistics on "justifiable" homicides have conflicted with independent measures of fatalities at the hands of police. (USA Today, emphasis added).Rev. Dr. William Barber said "I want you to be angry." (See Daily Kos discussion here.) We have taken his exhortation to heart. We have gotten angry, and our anger drives us to participate in this project. Please join us in making The Michael Brown Over-Policed Act of 2015 into law.