By Eric Lagatta, Ohio News Time
Twice in April, protests took place within hours of news that police first fired and killed them. April 12, 27-year-old Miles Jackson At Mount Carmel St. Anne’s medical center, after he fired a gun in the emergency department and when a Columbus police officer fired again 16-year-old Makia Bryant In response to Bryant wielding a knife at a young woman on April 20.
However, while police are quick to respond to shootings, James Win claims that every time a black man is killed, the wounds reopen in the colored community.
Win, co-chairman of the Interreligious BREAD (Building Responsibility, Equality and Dignity), spoke on Tuesday night on stage in front of a flock of cars gathered in the parking lot of the Church of the First God on the refugee road. It was. An annual Nehemiah action event for an organization lobbying for social justice.
Meetings typically take place at the Ohio State Trade Fair in front of up to 3,000 people, but for the past two years, BREAD has adopted Nehemiah actions in line with the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the cars gathered in the parking lot, more than 1,000 people were able to tune in to Youtube’s live stream, allowing others to call conference lines and listen to the radio. A long time ago color community.
It broke, he said, at the age of 23 Henry Green was killed 5 years ago “Jump Out Boys” is a popular name for a plainclothes police officer in the Columbus Police’s gun violence reduction program.
Confidence collapsed when police sprayed demonstrators with chemicals last summer, according to Win. Including elected officersProtested against racism and police atrocities following the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is currently convicted.
Broken during SWAT Deputy Jason Mead of Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Shot dead 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. December 4, and when former Columbus police officer Adam Koy — Currently charged with murder — Win said he shot and killed 47-year-old Andre Hill on December 23.
According to Win, it was broken when a law enforcement leader in Franklin County attended Mr Bled’s rally, admitted the pain caused, and refused to promise to repair the relationship.
Founded in 1996, BREAD is made up of 41 religious congregations in Franklin County, hosting the Nehemiah Action each year, striving to confront civil servants with the changes their members desire in various areas. I will. The event is named after a Hebrew Bible man who organized a large rally to win justice for the people of Jerusalem.
This year, police reform and affordable housing were at the top of the agenda.
After Floyd’s death in May last year, Bled formed a 30-member police reform committee to study ways to improve police activity in Columbus. The committee determined that racial and prejudices existed within the Columbus police station and that anti-bias training and policy changes were inadequate to address what they considered to be systematic racism.
“There is a culture within the police, a culture that has been passed down for years,” Win said in an interview with Dispatch prior to Tuesday’s meeting. “We are influencing and changing the culture of police. We want people to be treated as humans.”
On Tuesday night, pagan leaders announced three proposed solutions to encourage city leaders to hire.
First and foremost, they are seeking a formal reconciliation process, including police admitting the harm that past tactics have done to the colored community, said Cathy Levine, co-president of BREAD. According to this recommendation: A recently published review of the Columbus Police Department that cost the city $ 250,000.
The organization also requires Columbus police to implement active bystanders (ABLE) for law enforcement. This is a police training program on intervention techniques when a colleague’s police officer makes a mistake.Such training is claimed by Levine Andre’s law passed in February Due to the Columbus City Council, if a civilian is injured by police, it could lead to criminal accusations of police officers who did not turn on body cameras or provide first aid.
Finally, BREAD should consider building a crisis response system that would allow trained mental health professionals and social workers to respond to the 119 call that police currently handle on a daily basis. I am urging the leader. Such initiatives appear to have widespread public support, at least according to polls. One study commissioned by the city.
“Many groups have come up with slogans about what to do, but we wanted to understand what we could achieve in this city and county. It starts to make a big difference,” Levine said. Told Dispatch before the meeting. “Changes in policy do not change police culture.”
City Council Chairman Pro Tempoa Elizabeth Brown attended Nehemiah and expressed support for police reform.
“When assessing how to keep everyone in the city safe, trust is an important part of the conversation,” Brown told the crowd. “We have widening inequality over decades. I know that. “
Henry Green’s mother, Adrian Hood, also briefly addressed the crowd.
“My life is never the same, as many people celebrated Mother’s Day last weekend. There will be holes that can’t be filled forever,” Hood said.
BREAD’s pagan leaders also used this year’s Nehemiah Action to tackle the problem of affordable housing at the forefront of the organization’s mission.
After the 2019 Nehemiah Action Event, Franklin County Commissioner promised $ 6.5 million annually to provide affordable housing in the area.
Last year, the housing crisis resurfaced and the coronavirus pandemic left people unemployed and faced the threat of evictions and mortgage defaults.
This year, BREAD leaders are calling for one-third of the city’s $ 184 million US relief program budget to be donated to the Affordable Housing Trust. She didn’t promise to lobby for that particular organization, but councilor Shayla Favor said 30% of those money would be a “housing solution” recommended by the Affordable Housing Alliance and the Community Shelter Board. I agreed to devote it to.
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