A Call for Continued Dedication
WCPA was appalled by the ‘not guilty’ verdict in the Tyre Nichols case. The verdict came despite, among other things, significant video footage of the fatal beating, the fact that the officers did not report injuring the victim’s head, and their failure to call for medical assistance. Finding officers not guilty in such a trial is further evidence that the change needed in policing must be systemic.
Justin Nix, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, comments in a New York Times article that “any significant reduction in the number of people killed by the police would require doing more than just focusing on department policies and involve a host of societal factors that go way beyond the police.
Our work is with state legislators to enhance police accountability across our state. Our goal is to create safer communities by promoting legislation that reduces police violence and increases their accountability. This has always been an uphill battle. Despite strong steps forward in 2021 on the wave of national interest following the murder of George Floyd, we have lost some ground. Several bills we have pursued have not been passed. And some laws from 2021 have been weakened.
Jamiles Lartey of The Marshall Project documents how several states have walked back accountability legislation passed in 2021. In WA state, WCPA worked hard to create common-sense restrictions surrounding dangerous police pursuits. The legislature has since rolled back the reform, based largely on lies and misrepresentation of law enforcement. Since then, deaths from police pursuits have skyrocketed.
Police reform in the U.S, as clearly evidenced here in WA, is stalled, not invigorated as we had hoped. It's terrible enough to think that someone like George Floyd must die for even some states to pass reasonable restrictions on policing. It is worse to think that more lives must be lost before attention is again paid to these issues.
Paul Butler, author of Chokehold: Policing Black Men, in a Washington Post opinion piece suggests we view the aftermath of the Floyd incident more positively. He notes the states where police reform laws have been passed and that other large-scale movements (e.g., gay marriage or other civil rights improvements) took time and were first achieved at the state level. He writes, “continued investment in local, grassroots activism is essential.”
As a WCPA impacted family member, Elaine Simons said, “Today our hearts ache for Tyre Nichols, but our resolve remains unbroken. Though his killers walked free, we will not falter in our quest for justice. This is a moment of reckoning for our nation. Tyre's life will be a beacon of hope in our pursuit of accountability.” We agree.
