President Obama discussed initiatives he’s put in place to change the tense dynamic between “many communities of color” and the police on the one year anniversary of teenager Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Mo.
“I convened a task force on community policing to find commonsense steps that can help us drive down crime and build up trust and cooperation between communities and police, who put their lives on the line every single day to help keep us safe. And I’ve met personally with rank and file officers to hear their ideas,” said Obama in his weekly address.
Obama said that since May, this task force has made 59 recommendations on “everything from how we can make better use of data and technology, to how we train police officers, to how law enforcement engages with our schools. And we’ve been working with communities across America to put these ideas into action.”
“Dozens of police departments are now sharing more data with the public, including on citations, stops and searches, and shootings involving law enforcement,” Obama said. “We’ve brought together leaders from across the country to explore alternatives to incarceration. The Justice Department has begun pilot programs to help police use body cameras and collect data on the use of force.”
However, a year after the disputed narrative surrounding black teenager Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a white police officer, most St. Louis-area police officers still aren’t wearing body cameras. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said this week that the department doesn’t have funding for body cameras for all of its nearly 900 officers.
Obama also said that the issues raised by the deaths in Ferguson, “Cleveland, Staten Island, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and other communities” won’t “be solved by policing alone.”
“We simply can’t ask our police to contain and control issues that the rest of us aren’t willing to address — as a society,” said Obama. “That starts with reforming a criminal justice system that too often is a pipeline from inadequate schools to overcrowded jails, wreaking havoc on communities and families all across the country.”
Obama called on Congress to reform sentencing laws for non-violent offenders and on Americans to “invest in our children and our communities so that more young people see a better path for their lives.” This includes money for “early childhood education, job training, [and] pathways to college,” according to Obama.
Obama urged Americans to deal “honestly with issues of race, poverty, and class that leave too many communities feeling isolated and segregated from greater opportunity.”
