We’ve collected some news articles from around the country to give you a feel for the extent of the national discussion about policing. If you haven’t listened to Will’s podcast with a 10-point plan for police unions, you can find it here.
The largest labor coalition in King County is giving the Seattle Police Officers Guild an ultimatum: acknowledge and address racism in law enforcement and in their union or risk being kicked out of the group.
In a vote Thursday, executive members of the King County Labor Coalition — a sort of union of unions — passed a resolution laying out tasks for the police guild, which represents over 1,000 rank-and-file officers.
Continue at Crosscut
SAN ANTONIO, TX — Mayor Ron Nirenberg told hundreds of people protesting the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis for a sixth day that he alone is accountable for helping “people feel safe” in San Antonio.
Protesters began the day at San Antonio’s Public Safety Headquarters on Thursday afternoon, equipped with walking shoes, masks, and homemade signs to protest the death of Floyd, a black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25.
Continue at Rivard Report
After five days of protests seeking justice for George Floyd and other black men who have died at the hands of law officers, San Antonio demonstrators took their quest to the City Council on Thursday, demanding the council “defund” the San Antonio Police Department.
The slogan “defund police” has cropped up across the country as protests against police brutality have intensified. Floyd died in the custody of a Minneapolis police officer who has been charged with murder in Floyd’s death.
Continue at The San Antonio Express-News
CHICAGO, IL —
After one of the most volatile mass protests in the city’s recent memory sparked by the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, Chicago police are investigating at least one officer for covering up his badge number and name tag.
Images and video circulating on social media show police officers who appear to have either taped over the name tags on their uniforms and badge star numbers or removed them entirely. In a statement to the The Chicago Reporter Wednesday evening, the Chicago Police Department condemned the practice.
Continue at The Chicago Sun-Times
“We come this day to say, ‘No more. Enough is enough. We demand justice.’”
That was Thursday’s message from Rev. David Peoples, pastor of the Jabez Missionary Baptist Church and vice president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Peoples was among a group of faith leaders who marched Thursday to deliver racial justice demands to Lexington government officials.
Continue at MSN.com
COLUMBIA, MO — Columbia police union leaders said Thursday anyone applying for a police officer job these days was doing so at great risk. Members of the Columbia Police Officers Association said never before have public servants been the target of so much undeserved hate and condemnation.
Columbia police union leaders saw fewer people wanting to be a police officer as George Floyd protests continued to grow across the country. They said recruitment was down because officers faced cell phone cameras, deadly weapons and possible assaults.
Continue at KRCGTV.com
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, schools across the United States have been soul–searching over their complicity in enabling systemic, police-inflicted violence. Just this week, after years of local activism, the Minneapolis Public Schools board voted to terminate its contract with the Minneapolis Police Department, ending its in-school installation of police officers known as school resource officers, or SROs.
This is welcome news to critics of the school-to-prison pipeline, for the mere presence of SROs can change the course of a teenager’s life. One study in Connecticut, for instance, found that black and especially Latinx students were far more likely to be arrested and funneled into the criminal justice system—as opposed to simply being disciplined in school—when there was an SRO. Other reports have documented excessive uses of physical force by SROs. These officers have also become symbols of safety in school shootings, and some have faced off against gunmen and saved lives. Students of color nevertheless have continued to feel uniquely unsafe under their watch.
Continue at Slate.com
The number of female firefighters across the United States has grown over the past years but remains far from representative of the 51% of the
California’s state police for the second year in a row will enjoy a salary bump that far exceeds the raises Gov. Gavin Newsom has offered
TRUMBULL — The town council took a step that members hope will help retain police officers Monday, unanimously approving a plan to bring back pensions for the
