Washington State Police Reform
The Washington State Legislature has passed sweeping police reform laws as community policing policies and practices have been placed under scrutiny. A handful of police reform bills were passed during the 2021 legislative session and beginning on July 25.The law aims to reduce use-of-force usage by police and limit the amount of physical force necessary. […]
No Progress on National Police Reform Since George Floyd’s Murder
It has been one year since George Floyd’s murder by a police officer and little progress has been made in national police reform. President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress are facing increasing pressure this week from Black civil rights leaders who say federal lawmakers have made little progress with police reform. Activists say they […]
Washington State Signs Multiple Police Reform Bills into Law
Washington state Governor, Jay Inslee, signed a dozen police reforms bills into law on Tuesday, May 18th. The legislature passed the police accountability measures in response to sweeping calls, nationally and locally, to reform policing following the killings of Black Americans like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In Washington, the death of Manuel Ellis at […]
An Increase in Criminalized Loitering Laws Leading to Increased Shootings of People with Disabilities
Bennie Edwards, a 60-year-old homeless Black man in Oklahoma City, was killed by the police on Friday night. He was reported as creating a disturbance in-front of a store and police were called. After confronting Bennie, police fatally shot him. More of this story here. According to a report by the National Law Center on […]
Police Reform for Washington State
The Washington state Legislature is proposing a sweeping police reform package that would include a de-escalation process, an independent investigative body for use of deadly force and a ban on certain police tactics. Along with pandemic relief, police reform and racial justice are top priorities this session, Senate majority leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said in […]
Hate crimes against people with disabilities
(United Kingdom) The report, Getting Away with Murder, was published 12 years ago and highlighted the extend of disability hate crime. Since the report, there has been no radical change and hate crimes against people with disabilities have been steadily increasing. In England’s criminal justice system disabled victims are still not taken seriously and are […]
Marcus Alert Bill that expands crisis responses for mental health emergencies passes house
(Virginia) A bill recently passed the Virginia house and senate that would affect mental health awareness responses. The bill will create the Marcus alert system which is named after Marcus-David Peters who was shot and killed in 2018 during an encounter with Richmond police. Since two different bills were passed between the house and senate, […]