Saturday Night Owls: Black mayors push police reform

The first “E” in our PEACE pact represents evaluate all policing related contracts, policies, and cultural norms. Reforming policing on the ground requires reform and revision of the multi-layers of laws, contracts and cultural norms that regulate local policing. Among other things, we recommend evaluation, revision, or renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements, codes of conduct, law enforcement officers’ bills of rights, and non-crime related policing functions such as social work and mental health assistance.

Black mayors are putting this into practice. Last year, in June, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued executive orders requiring officers to use de-escalation techniques before they use fatal force. Officers must also intervene if fellow officers use excessive force. […]

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QUOTATION

“[O]ffenses like disorderly conduct, obstruction, and resisting arrest are easily alleged, they effectively give police the power to arrest based on violations of their own sense of authority.”
          ~~Alexandra Natapoff, Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal (

BLAST FROM THE PAST

On this date at Daily Kos in 2006—Extend Debate on Alito:

t seems clear to me that the significance of Alito’s views on executive power, access to the courts, civil liberties, the right to privacy, the federal Commerce power, and a myriad of other issues, is only now coming into proper focus. More time is needed for the Senate to properly carry out its Constitutional function of advice and consent.

An appointment to the Supreme Court is for a lifetime. Samuel Alito is 55 years old and, like Justice O’Connor, is likely to sit on the Court for a quarter century if confirmed.

Given the stakes, an additional period of consideration and debate seems appropriate. The length of this additional period need not necessarily be long nor the debate protracted. It seems to me that with a fairly brief period of consideration, the members of the Senate can chart a course for appropriate action regarding Judge Alito.

Thus, I urge the Senate, and in particular the Senators of the Democratic Caucus, to consider moving for extended debate to further consider the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.