Update: Published in the Maryland Independent under Letters to the Editor.
In 1963, while standing in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” Since then those unspeakable horrors have relentlessly continued to be visited upon men of color. The latest heartbreaking outrage is the murder of George Floyd by four police officers in Minnesota.
I offer my heartfelt condolences to Mr. Floyd’s family, loved ones and friends. I know, however, that condolences are not enough. Neither is outrage. We have all been outraged and sent our sincere condolences to far too many victims already: Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Kelly Thomas, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald, Philando Castile, Terence Crutcher, Antwon Rose II, O’Shae Terry. The list keeps growing —but it does not have to. To stop this list from getting longer, to stop the dreadful brutality, all of us, today, right now, must couple our sincere outrage and sympathies with purposed, solution-focused action. With action we can achieve the change we want and need. The action must come from leaders and citizens alike. It is everyone’s responsibility.
As a leader here in Charles County, I want to tell you about actions I am taking to hopefully be a part of the solution to this curable national problem. To begin, I am calling upon the recently formed Charles County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to immediately schedule forums or meetings to allow community organizations and citizens to present their solution-focused, actionable proposals designed to eliminate police brutality. We must first devise an action plan before we can execute it.
I am also calling for a Charles County Civilian Review Board that will review allegations of abuse and brutality by police officers. Please understand this is not a criticism of our local police agencies. My long-time advocacy of such a body stems from the recognition that no matter how “good” a police agency is, for the community to believe accountability is possible, the system of review must be designed to be impartial and transparent. A civilian review body, like those operating in many jurisdictions throughout the land, provides that structure.
Also, I have reached out to the police agencies operating in Charles County to review protocols and procedures for the investigation and prosecutorial review of brutality allegations. Likewise, I am reviewing with my prosecutorial colleagues across the State legislative proposals that will improve accountability.
Sadly, for the umpteenth time, Americans have had to take to the streets to demand accountability and justice for another soul killed by the police. Now is the time for the unjustifiable killing of black men to stop. Our lives matter too.
To make the killings stop all of us must engage in persistent, consistent, and permanent action. In short, we must follow through. If we do, we can ensure that George Floyd’s death continuously has meaning. Let his death not be in vain. Instead, let his death mark the day when we, as one nation, under God, began the eradication of police brutality so one day soon we can —at least on this point — “be satisfied.”