NY Attorney General James Takes Step Toward Police De-Escalation
May 24, 2021
New York Attorney General Letitia James has introduced a bill to address the “elephant in the room” of police shooting unarmed people of color when other methods could be used instead–hopefully, with less fatal consequences. As the body counts increase across the nation and too many people of color are dying from police related shootings, this is a constructive step toward enacting a law to preserve life.
“For far too long, police officers in this country have been able to evade accountability for the unjustified use of excessive and lethal force,” James said in a statement. “The Police Accountability Act will make critical and necessary changes to the law, providing clear and legitimate standards for when the use of force is acceptable and enacting real consequences for when an officer crosses that line.”
“At a time of racial reckoning in this country, it’s important that we reform the laws and that we provide justice for all individuals who feel that their lives do not matter,” James said.
Attorney General James is obviously encouraging police departments to use alternatives and not always pull their firearm to address every situation (a hammer isn’t need to change a light bulb). Officers must be taught to properly assess a situation and de-escalation must be a starting point, with deadly force being a last resort–never should deadly force be the starting point.
Over the past year there has been many instances where the suspect is under control by the police officers and/or running away from the officers and yet still get shot to death. This is very unsettling for the family of the suspect and for the people who feel this is a recurring event in their neighborhoods, particularly in black and brown communities.
The centerpiece of the legislation would change the use-of-force law “from one of simple necessity to one of absolute last resort,” James’ office said in a press release.
This sounds very reasonable and is obviously the existing thought process for police officers (whether consciously or not) working in neighbors with a very high median income and/or where the races/ethic groups in the community is proportionally reflected in the local police force. As such, since it is already in practice in wealthier communities and communities where officers don’t automatically resort to shooting a suspect; thus, it can be done in poorer communities and elsewhere.
It is commendable that NY Attorney General James is addressing this national problem here in New York. It can no longer be ignored. People are dying for just being black, brown, and or just for being different. Just a few online searches can turn up several incidents of BIPOC carrying a phone walking, driving, or just idly standing by, yet who end up getting shot by police. This should not happen. The elephant in the room cannot be ignored any more. This has to stop!
SOURCES
CNBC, K.B. (2021 May 21). Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/ny-ag-james-unveils-bill-to-limit-cops-use-of-force.html
FoxNews, B.S. (2021 May 22). Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-york-ag-endorses-dem-backed-bill-on-police-use-of-force-union-leader-fires-back
MSN, S.B. (2021 May 22). Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/new-york-ag-introduces-bill-to-tighten-police-use-of-force-law/ar-AAKfrsa
NY AG (2021 May 21). Retrieved from https://ag.ny.gov/
Louisiana State Police fatal beaten of Ronald Greene
May 23, 2021
Edited by Dawntey Jensen (“DJ”)
Another unarmed black man is beaten by the Louisiana State Police (LSP), and ends up dead, at the hand of cops—cops who swore to protect and serve. This is starting to appear like some sadistic game of whack-a-mole where you get one charged and several more “incidents” gets uncoverd. More specifically it confirms what some have purported as a “few bad apples” is more accurately indicative that there are entire bad trees, of bad apples.
It is appalling that federal laws aren’t in place to protect the public from such egregious actions by aggressive lunatics, parading as police officers. If police officers were held accountable—really held accountable with criminal sentences and civil lawsuits directly impacting their freedom and finances—I guarantee you there would be far fewer of these “bad trees, of bad apples”. The time is now for America to provide justice for all.
Greene was a barber and was said to have failed to pull over for an unspecified traffic violation shortly after midnight on May 10, 2019, about 30 miles south of the Arkansas state line. There were conflicting stories told to Mr. Greene’s family. Unambiguously, the family said the LSP stated Mr. Greene died from hitting a tree; however, in the photo below no front-end damage was present on his vehicle.
The body-cam video shows officers beating Mr. Greene, tased him repeatedly, and dragged him face-down in the prone position. The injuries sustained by Mr. Greene are posted on the NAACP’s Baton Rougue Facebook page (Warning: the photos are disturbing). Despite how the officers story contradicted the body-cam video, the condition of Mr. Greene’s car, as well as the condition of Mr. Greene’s body, the Union Parish Coroner Renee Smith told AP last year his death was ruled accidental and attributed to cardiac arrest.
SOURCES:
CNN, A. V. (2021, May 21). Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/20/us/ronald-greene-what-we-know/index.html
NBC News. (2021, may 19). Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/i-m-scared-newly-released-video-shows-deadly-2019-arrest-n1267977
Winner of Pulitzer and MacArthur Fellowship Denied Tenure by UNC: What Exactly Does a Girl Have to Do?
May 21, 2021
Edited by Dawntey Jensen (“DJ”)
Shocked and astonished are two of the words that came to my mind. Nikole Hannah-Jones a writer for the New York Times, awarded the MacArthur Fellowship in 2017, and awarded a Pulitzer in 2020. How is it possible that a person with this resume would be denied tenure from the University of North Carolina?
Many are concluding that Ms. Hannah-Jones’ 1619 Project has angered conservatives. Maybe, but what is the “typical” trek (for the moment, not factoring in one who is also a Pulitzer prize winner) for tenure?
Based on many online sources I discovered the typical tenure process for a tenure applicant at a university has three main components (beyondphdcoaching, 2021) as follows:
- The applicant must have a role at the university that accepts tenure. This is usually discussed when the applicant is hired. The position is classified as being on the “tenure-track”. Based on UNC’s website this would be the Associate Professor (UNC, n.d.) position and the if awarded the applicant would become a Professor.
- The applicant submits an application to be considered for tenure. This involves pulling together a portfolio of material (the acceptable types of material is determined by the discipline of the applicant) to justify an offer of tenure. The material should demonstrate the applicant’s accomplishments and how it can attract positive attention to the university.
- Once the application has been submitted the applicant will be reviewed by the tenure review committee. Each committee member then decides, yay or nay, whether or not to offer the applicant tenure.
Ms. Hannah-Jones appears to meet, if not exceed, these basic requirements. UNC online policy if an applicant is rejected tenure states:
Decisions not to promote [from Associate Professor to Professor] must have supporting reasons, including reports of external reviewers (UNC, n.d.).
Thus, a denial of awarding tenure to Ms. Hannah-Jones appears to be more political rather than an assessment of her body of work in its entirety. It will be very interesting to see UNC’s supported “reasons, including reports of external reviewers” to deny Ms. Hannah-Jones’ tenure.
Equally interesting is how this denial will affect the young minds (especially women and people of color) currently enrolled and enrolling to UNC with an interest in Journalism. Is UNC sending a message that no matter what your accomplishments are you can still be denied if the “boys” don’t like what you say. What a disappoint on the part of UNC!
Shame on you UNC, shame on you!
SOURCES
beyondphdcoaching. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.beyondphdcoaching.com/academic-career/academic-tenure/
NYT. (2017, October 13). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/insider/nikole-hannah-jones-macarthur-grant.html
NYT. (2021, May 19). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/business/media/nikole-hannah-jones-unc.html
pulitizer.org. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category/212
UNC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://academicpersonnel.unc.edu/policies-and-procedures/faculty-appointments/