USA Today (July 7)
Recent shooting deaths of minorities by police, most recently in Minneapolis, have highlighted the need for significant reforms and better policing. “With a lack of national standards among our nation’s estimated 17,000 police agencies, individual officer and organizational competencies range from outstanding to notoriously bad. There is far too much variation and lack of agreement on what constitutes ‘good’ policing.”
Tags: Deaths, Minneapolis, Minorities, National standards, Officers, Police, Policing, Reforms, Shooting, U.S.
Chicago Tribune (November 26)
“Chicago will not begin to heal until there is accountability and transparency. If there is to be a silver lining in the death of Laquan McDonald, let it be shown through the power of the people who seek change and justice for all.” The release of a one-year old video showing a Chicago police officer shooting a black man 16 times, despite a non-threatening situation, triggered wide spread protests.
Tags: Accountability, Change, Chicago, Justice, Laquan McDonald, Police, Protests, Shooting, Transparency, Video
Chicago Tribune (December 7)
“Complying with police commands doesn’t seem to guarantee you won’t get shot at, choked or killed. At least if you are a black male.” The nation is soul searching after a string killings by police has raised attention to the disturbing reality. “A young black male… is 21 times more likely to be the victim of such a killing than is a young white male.”
Detroit Free Press (December 3, 2013)
Detroit became the biggest municipality—in fact the biggest public entity of any type—to file for bankruptcy in the U.S. after a federal judge approved the city’s application. With estimated debts of $18 billion, the city is hardly functioning. It takes nearly an hour for police to respond to calls, versus about six times longer than the national average. For many, the bankruptcy filing marks the first painful step to a comeback. Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr hopes to achieve improvements in basic services and the removal of 78,000 blighted homes and structures within three years. “That may sound like elementary stuff to people who are used to living in less-dysfunctional cities. In Detroit after decades of distress, however, it’s what dreams are made of.”
Tags: Bankruptcy, Basic services, Blight, Comeback, Debts, Detroit, Distress, Dreams, Dysfunction, Kevyn Orr, Police, U.S.
