����vlog

SINCE GEORGE FLOYD’S MURDER. HIS DEATH LED TO PROTESTS ACROSS THE NATION AND AROUND THE WORLD AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY. HAVE WE SEEN CHANGE SINCE THEN? RASHAWN RAY IS A SENIOR FELLOW AT THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, AND HE’S THE LEAD RESEARCHER ON THE REPORT. THE STATE OF POLICE REFORM MEASURING PROGRESS IN EACH STATE. IT’S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU WITH ME. THANKS FOR JOINING ME. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IN BROAD STROKES WHERE WE ARE WHEN IT COMES TO RACE RELATIONS WITH THE POLICE IN THIS COUNTRY? I WOULD SAY RACE RELATIONS ARE FRACTURED AND CONTINUE TO BE IN THE UNITED STATES. OVER 1000 PEOPLE ARE KILLED BY POLICE IN THE U.S. EVERY SINGLE YEAR. THAT RATE HAS NOT CHANGED OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, AND IT DOES NOT SEEM LIKE THAT. THAT WILL BE SLOWING DOWN ANYTIME SOON. YOUR FOCUS, CERTAINLY IN YOUR RESEARCH IS THE STATE. WHY? WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF THE STATE THAT YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET FROM THE FEDS AND FROM VERY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS? YEAH, I MEAN, THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT. THE THING THAT I THINK PEOPLE MISS IS THAT THERE ARE OVER 18,000 POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. THEY ARE ALL HIGHLY DECENTRALIZED. WHEN YOU LOOK ON THE LOCAL LEVEL, AN ANALYSIS WE’VE DONE SHOWED THAT THERE IS HUGE VARIATION IN THE PASSAGE OF POLICIES. WHEN WE STARTED LOOKING AT WHAT WAS HAPPENING AT THE STATE LEVEL, THOSE POLICIES TRICKLED DOWN TO THE LOCAL LEVEL, LIKE WE SEE IN TENNESSEE, WHERE THE CITY OF MEMPHIS PASSED LEGISLATION AFTER TYREE NICHOLS WAS WAS KILLED. THOSE POLICIES WERE MEANT TO ACTUALLY HOLD POLICE OFFICERS ACCOUNTABLE. THE STATE CAME IN AND OVERRODE THOSE POLICIES, AND WE THEN STARTED TO SEE ACROSS THE STATE HOW A STATE LEGISLATURE, LIKE IN MY HOME STATE OF TENNESSEE, THAT IS PRIMARILY REPUBLICAN LED, CAN THEN DICTATE WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE FROM MEMPHIS TO KNOXVILLE. ARE THERE SPECIFIC AREAS OF POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTED AND FAILED OR ATTEMPTED AND PASSED? YEAH, MOST DEFINITELY. THERE IS ONE BIG MOVEMENT AS IT RELATES TO CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BOARDS, AND THEY REVIEW CASES AND ACTUALLY MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OR TO THE MUNICIPALITY. THIS IS TAKING OFF ACROSS THE BOARD, BUT THERE ARE HUGE DIFFERENTIALS BY STATES. AND OFTENTIMES THAT IS DICTATED BY WHETHER OR NOT A STATE LEGISLATURE IS REPUBLICAN LED OR DEMOCRATIC LED. AND THE OTHER THING WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF MOVEMENT AS IT RELATES TO BODY WORN CAMERAS. THEY ARE NOT A PANACEA, BUT THEY MATTER JUST AS MUCH FOR POLICE OFFICERS AS THEY DO FOR CIVILIANS, BECAUSE THEY OFTENTIMES SHOW WHAT POLICE OFFICERS EXPERIENCE. OF COURSE, WE KNOW IMPLICIT BIAS TRAININGS WERE BIG. THAT’S LARGELY BEEN REMOVED TO THE SIDE. BUT WHAT IS BIG THAT I THINK MATTERS A LOT IS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR POLICE OFFICERS. OVER 80% REPORT EXPERIENCING CHRONIC STRESS. THEY EXPERIENCE AND SEE THINGS THAT MOST HUMANS DO NOT. SO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR POLICE OFFICERS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS TAKEN OFF IN A BIG WAY. CORRESPONDINGLY, MENTAL HEALTH CO-RESPONDER PROGRAMS FOR THE COMMUNITY HAS ALSO TAKEN OFF, WHERE YOU PAIR UP POLICE OFFICERS WITH MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS. I ACTUALLY DID AN EVALUATION IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, WHICH IS THE FIRST STATE TO TAKE MENTAL HEALTH CO-RESPONDER PROGRAMS ACROSS THE STATE, AND MY ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT USE OF FORCE WAS VERY LOW, THAT ARRESTS WERE VERY LOW, NO ONE WAS KILLED, AND THE RACIAL GAP THAT WE TYPICALLY SEE IN POLICE USE OF FORCE WENT AWAY. ARE YOU SURPRISED AT ALL THAT THE DOJ NOW HAS BASICALLY GIVEN UP EFFORTS ON ANY KIND OF SETTLEMENT IN LOUISVILLE? AND CERTAINLY IN MINNEAPOLIS? YEAH, NO, I’M NOT SURPRISED BECAUSE THIS IS THE SAME THING THAT THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DID. THEY HALTED DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INVESTIGATIONS AND CONSENT DECREES. AND I THINK PEOPLE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE PART OF WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS THAT TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK, NOT ONLY FINANCIALLY, BUT ALSO IN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR THE FACT THAT SOME POLICE OFFICERS NOW UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION CAN FEEL EVEN MORE BOLDENED TO ACT, KNOWING THAT THEY WON’T HAVE ANY ACCOUNTABILITY. THE ANALYSIS I’VE DONE HAS SHOWED THAT OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD, OVER $3 BILLION HAS BEEN PAID OUT IN CIVILIAN SETTLEMENTS FOR POLICE MISCONDUCT. IMAGINE IF THAT MONEY WAS SPENT FOR SCHOOLS FOR RENT REDUCTION. WE WOULD ACTUALLY SEE CHANGES IN THE MAKEUP OF CRIME AND THE WAY THAT PEOPLE ARE INTERACTING IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES. RASHAWN RAY FROM THE BROOKIN