Resolution 970 – Calling for an End to the Killing and Mistreatment of Black People at the Hands of Law Enforcement

Resolution 966 merged with Resolution 970.

WHEREAS the U.S.A. has never healed from the wounds it caused itself by the institution of slavery and down through the decades and the centuries, this failure to heal has led to continued human suffering, in the form of outward violence and insidious discrimination against Black people, and this continued circumstance leads to the degradation of us all, whether we are victims, perpetrators, or allegedly innocent bystanders.

WHEREAS, the visible sign of this racial animus and discrimination descended from slavery is found embedded in our law enforcement agencies and is manifested by the brutal and frequently deadly treatment of Black people, including harassment, arbitrary arrests, injury, and physical abuse at the hands of law enforcement.  People of good intent everywhere stand in implacable opposition to the mistreatment and killing of Black people at the hands of law enforcement, as manifest in Pillar 1 of the WSDCC Platform.

WHEREAS to bring an end to this heart-breaking violence, we must at a minimum and without hesitation do the following:

  1. Establish a separate unit of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice which, in the absence of swift and just action by state or local authorities, will be tasked with the investigation and criminal prosecution of any law enforcement personnel found to have deprived a Black person of their civil rights through violence, including violence resulting in death.  This division would also be charged with the investigation and prosecution of any person found to have deprived any law enforcement agent of their civil rights through violence, including violence resulting in death.
  2. Establish in every community in this country which has a police department or other law enforcement agency a Citizens’ Advisory Council on Law Enforcement and Community.  In addition to its broad responsibility to advice government and law enforcement agencies, this Council would conduct an ongoing, periodic Public Forum on Law Enforcement and the Community.  Any of the Council’s recommendations not adopted by the law enforcement agency would be sent to the community’s executive and to its legislative body for their action.
  3. Appropriate federal funds to sponsor the retraining of all law enforcement agents on Non-violence and de-escalation techniques in interactions with the public.
  4. Conduct psychological testing of all prospective employees of law enforcement agencies, aimed at identifying and rejecting as candidates any active racist, white nationalist, or other persons who could pose an unnecessary threat of violence, particularly to Black people.  Make the test part of the annual evaluation of law enforcement agents.  Make the test required when an agent is involved in a complaint of excess force or violence.
  5. End “qualified immunity” for law enforcement.
  6. Change budgeting for police power as stated in the WSDCC Platform and some of law enforcement’s former budget would be redirected to addressing many of those issues which result in members of the community committing crimes in the first place, and
  7. Condition Federal funding of law enforcement agencies upon the adoption and enforcement of the following policies: a) termination of officers found to be guilty of serious, unnecessary violence, b) banning of chokeholds and other moves resulting in the blocking of airways, c) banning of “no-knock” searches, with or without warrants, and d) cooperation, through the supplying of information, with a new Federal registry of police misconduct and use of force.  This would include the refusal to hire anyone who appears on that registry for misconduct or is otherwise found to have such a record.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, call for the end of the killing and mistreatment of Black people, including harassment, arbitrary arrests, injury, and physical abuse at the hands of law enforcement, 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the WSDCC support and call for the principles set forth here to be formally adopted.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the WSDCC will forward a copy of this Resolution will be sent to Washington State’s congressional delegation, to Washington State legislators, and to the chief executive and chief law enforcement officer of each county in the State of Washington.

————————————————————————————————————————————– Submitted by the Mason County Democrats Central Committee 7/8/20, for consideration at the Washington State Democratic Central Committee for consideration at the September 2020 meeting.

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Sandy Giachino, Chair

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