Unapologetically Anti-Racist
Recently there has been an increase of disinformation connecting crime rates to police reforms and it is now more important than ever to publicly reiterate the values driving the work of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability.
So, let’s set the record straight. The current police system and practices disproportionately target, harm and kill Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks, including those who are queer, gender diverse, and currently experiencing poverty. We believe in the humanity and life of those who are victims of police violence and want to ensure that another family does not experience the grief, loss, and heartache the impacted families in our coalition live through every day.
Data shows that law enforcement agencies in Washington state are disproportionately targeting people of color. For example, in Pierce County, their own report shows discriminatory policing, where Black residents accounted for 21.2% of the use of physical force incidents yet comprise only 4.8% of the population. Native Americans experienced physical use of force more than 3 times as often as white residents in Pierce County. The data show the current system is not fair. We are still waiting to see if the Pierce County Sheriff's Office will take this report seriously and make necessary changes.
It is WCPA’s mission to reduce police violence and increase police accountability. This means that we must tackle the issues regarding discriminatory policing and create anti-racist policies. The current profession of policing must be held accountable. This is why we advocated for the enactment of HB 1310, which regulates the use of physical force by police. This is why we are advocating for all three hundred law enforcement agencies in the state to adopt the Attorney General’s Model Use of Force Policy.
White people have a very different experience when interacting with the police than if you are a Black or Indigenous person or another person of color. For BIPOC people there is a much higher probability the interaction will be a violent one.
Every person in Washington State deserves to feel safe and not fear physical force when encountering law enforcement. That is why one of our strategies in 2021 was to eliminate police tactics such as chokeholds, which are now prohibited under HB 1054. But the momentum does not end there. One of our top priorities in 2023 is limiting traffic stops for non-moving violations (such as expired tabs) that cause people to interact with police. A simple interaction can become deadly.
Yes, WCPA is here to do the work. We are unapologetically anti-racist. The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability believes that Black Lives Matter. Native Lives Matter. Disabled Lives Matter. Latino Lives Matter. Southeast Asian Lives Matter. Pacific Islander Lives Matter. Lives of people in poverty Matter. LGBTQ+ Lives Matter.
