Alders Condemn Police Brutality

Alders unanimously voted to condemn police brutality, and to take more concrete legislative actions some time in the future with the goal of making such racially motivated police violence a thing of the past.

Alders took that vote Monday night during their latest bimonthly full board meeting.

As City Hall remains indefinitely closed to the public because of the state of emergency around Covid-19, the alders met online via the Zoom teleconferencing app.

Local legislators voted unanimously in support of a resolution ​“condemning police brutality evidenced in recent incidents across the country and committing to take necessary steps to change the culture to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents and for the benefit of the shared common good.”

The rhetorical gesture comes one day after roughly 1,000 overwhelmingly peaceful anti-police brutality protesters marched along I‑95 Sunday. Hundreds of them made their way to the police station, where a group of 100 rallied until midnight. 

The most immediate catalyst for the New Haven protest, as well as for similar anti-police protests that swept the nation this weekend, was the police killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man in Minneapolis. A viral video revealed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground and pressing his knee against his neck for over eight minutes as Floyd pleaded for his life.

“As a black man living in the United States, I become the primary target of police brutality,” said Amity/Westville Alder and Board of Alders Majority Leader Richard Furlow (pictured) Monday night.

“And until this culture changes throughout our whole country, we will witness more people being attacked, victimized, killed as a result of system racism that is among the rank and file of those we trust with our public safety.”

Furlow said that this resolution ​“is just a first step in acknowledging what is going on.

“We’re looking forward to coming together as a legislative body to begin to push for equality” in partnership with New Haven’s state delegation, community partners, and other members of the public ​“to make New Haven a better place not just for us, but for our children and all residents.”

Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate, Dixwell Alder Jeannette Morrison, and Fair Haven Alder Jose Crespo all agreed in their own comments of support.

“In these dark times, I think we have to make a decision on how we gonna problem solve this way of life in reference to police brutality,” Wingate (pictured) said. He said people need to be protected from police brutality. At the same time, ​“we’ve got to protect and serve those who protect us.”

He called on his colleagues to help New Haven take the lead on forging such a path.

“We have to work together,” said Morrison (pictured). ​“Police brutality: We have zero tolerance for that. But we all are one community: both the police and the community. If we don’t sit down, lock hands together, and embrace one another and make sure that we are protecting one another without hurting each other, then our community will be no longer.”

The only alder to reference a specific legislative and administrative action the board should take around combating police violence was Downtown Alder Abby Roth. She urged her colleagues to work with the mayor to appoint the final remaining members of the Civilian Review Board necessary for that all-civilian police accountability board to finally come into existence. The mayor promised earlier in the day that finalizing the CRB would be a top priority of his as well.

“As someone who’s white, it is not fair that when I walk down the street, I’m treated differently than people who aren’t white,” she said. That cannot continue, she said.

Walker-Myers called for a moment of silence for George Floyd before the alders convened for the evening.

“Everybody wants to be safe,” she said before the end of the night. ​“It doesn’t matter what you look like, where you live. Everybody wants to be safe.”

In order to achieve that more equal, and safe, society, she said, ​“We can’t do it alone. The police can’t do it alone. The mayor can’t do it alone. It’s going to take all of us.”

See below for the full resolution, followed by an email constituent newsletter sent out Sunday night by Downtown/Yale Alder Eli Sabin.

RESOLUTION OF THE NEW HAVEN BOARD OF ALDERS CONDEMNING POLICE BRUTALITY EVIDENCED IN RECENT INCIDENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND COMMITTING TO TAKE NECESSARY STEPS TO CHANGE THE CULTURE TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OF SIMILAR INCIDENTS AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SHARED COMMON GOOD.

WHEREAS: In July 2014, Eric Garner, an African American man suspected of a petty crime was pulled to the ground by New York City police and choked on the pavement as a witness videotaped him crying out, ​“I can’t breathe; and

WHEREAS: on May 25, 2020 George Floyd, another African American man suspected of a petty crime, died on the ground as the result of the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis on his neck, as he cried out, ​“I can’t breathe; and

WHEREAS: these types of incidents have millions of Americans to express their concern about the way unequal treatment by police who statistically stop, arrest, and engage lethal force on minorities at disproportionate rates; and

WHEREAS: in 2015 former President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, provided guidance on this issue and the current federal administration has ignored that guidance which has in part led to protest around the country where Police have opened fire with rubber bullets and tear gas scores of protesters and officers have been injured and a dozen states have activated their National Guards, and Businesses have been looted and burned; and

WHEREAS: there is a need for an end to inconsistent institutional standards and action to eliminate disparate treatment, break the fear, repression and resentment and make change stop the deaths of unarmed non-threatening persons; and

WHEREAS: it is in the common good to changes to the laws that govern police encounters to create one standard throughout the country; and

WHEREAS: to address this some have called for legislation to create a police misconduct registry, mandatory reporting of use-of-force incidents, and banning of racial and religious profiling and requiring racial bias training; and

WHEREAS: The Board of Alders supports improving training and protocols to build and maintain community trust and encourages taking all appropriate steps to achieve these goals at all levels.

Now, Therefore Be It Resolved, By The New Haven Board Of Alders that we stand with those who in condemning the police brutality evidenced in the George Floyd death and other recent incidents across the country and we support taking the necessary steps to change the culture to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents for the benefit of the shared common good.

George Floyd, and our collective responsibility

Dear Neighbor,

George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery should be alive today.

Tamir Rice, Laquan McDonald, and Michael Brown should be alive today.

Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Philando Castile should be alive today.

And so many more.

The protests and demonstrations that have erupted across our country in the last week are only the latest expression of a deep seated and wholly justified outrage born from centuries of racism and oppression. Our nation is permanently scarred by the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, and political, social, and economic systems that continue to further racial inequality in our own time. Police violence against people of color, particularly against Black Americans, is as old as policing itself, and anyone who is surprised by the anger palpable in towns and cities across this country right now has not been paying attention.

I share this anger, and my heart goes out to all Black Americans. I cannot begin to imagine what you must be feeling in this moment, but I want you to know that I stand with you in the fight against police brutality and systemic racism.

The murder of George Floyd has once again exposed an injury that will never fully heal. On a daily basis in our country, Black Americans are discriminated against and robbed of opportunities available to others. It is our responsibility as citizens, and it is my responsibility as an elected official, to do everything we can to end police brutality, reform our criminal justice system, and dismantle racist institutions wherever they are.

My commitment to you is that I will act, contribute, and learn. I hope you will join me.

Act:

1. In January 2019, the New Haven Board of Alders passed a law creating a Civilian Review Board with the power to conduct independent investigations of police misconduct in our community. There have been significant delays in the appointment of members to the Civilian Review Board, and it is not yet operational. I have been in contact with Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, Majority Leader Richard Furlow, and Mayor Justin Elicker regarding the CRB, and I have made it clear that setting up this important police accountability body should be the first part of our city’s reaction to the events of recent weeks.

2. I have asked Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers to form a Systemic Racism Task Force that will study current policies in our city that entrench systemic racism and develop new policies that further equality and provide opportunity to those who have been deprived of it for centuries. A sustained, detailed analysis of the effects of racist laws and policies in our city of 130,000 will be vital to the effort we must undertake to honor the memory of George Floyd and move our community toward a new era of equality.

3. In my role on the Board of Alders and as the Director of the Progressive Caucus in Connecticut’s state legislature, I am committed to fighting for laws and policies that reduce racial inequality in our city and our state. On issues from police accountability to school segregation to access to health care, I will do everything I can to advocate for communities of color who have suffered generations of oppression in this country.

How you can act:

1. Vote, volunteer on campaigns, and show up to public meetings. As much as it may seem in times like this that politics have failed us, I still believe that political mobilization is the most likely path to the change we seek. That is why I hope you will join me in committing to exercise our right to vote in every single election — primary, general, school board, city council — in our lifetimes. I also hope you will consider getting involved in the future by volunteering for political causes or campaigns and by showing up to communicate your views to local, state, and federal officials. Whichever racist policies or incidents you might be angry about now or in the future, I promise you that you will find the fingerprints of elected officials nearby. Police officers who commit acts of brutality are hired by politicians. Prosecutors who decide not to hold them accountable are either politicians themselves or are appointed by politicians. Segregated schools were made that way by laws written by politicians. Prisons overflowing with men and women of color were filled by laws written by politicians. If you are not yet registered to vote, please visit www.vote.org and do so immediately. You can also sign up here to get notified about upcoming elections.

2. Fill out the census. Please visit 2020census.gov and respond with your New Haven address. This action will help direct state and federal resources into our community and ensure New Haven receives the representation it deserves in Connecticut’s state legislature and in Congress. A guide to Census response can be found here.

3. Remain engaged. The struggle to replace the systems that led to George Floyd’s death will not end this week, this month, or this year. As former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in 2016, the arc of history may bend toward justice, ​“but it only bends toward justice because people pull it towards justice. It doesn’t happen on its own.” If you are outraged about what Derek Chauvin did to George Floyd, try to channel that outrage whenever you see racist policies or incidents in your life. Recall how you feel now about racial inequality when you decide where to work, which schools to send your kids to, and which organizations to support. The murder of George Floyd should be a call to action for all of us to do what we can to tear down the racist systems in our lives.

4. Show solidarity. Attending protests, signing petitions, and sharing information about systemic racism and police brutality with friends and family are valuable ways to make a difference.

Contribute:

Dollars matter. Here are a few organizations in Minneapolis and in New Haven that deserve your support right now.

Black Visions Collective

Reclaim the Block

Rebuild Lake Street

New Haven Legal Assistance Association

New Haven Rising

CT Bail Fund


Learn:

There is so much injustice in our society. Educating ourselves about it is the first step toward finding and implementing solutions. Below are a number of newspaper and magazine articles related to issues of systemic racism and inequality, some national and some local. These stories represent just a few flames in the massive fire of racial disparity, but please take a look.

The Case for Reparations, The Atlantic

Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City, New York Times Magazine

Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true, New York Times Magazine

Legacy, Athlete, and Donor Preferences Disproportionately Benefit White Applicants, per Analysis, Harvard Crimson

Charles Blow: At Yale, Police Detained My Son, New York Times

Disparities in Hispanic and black death rates much worse than previously reported, CT Mirror

Separated by Design: How Some of America’s Richest Towns Fight Affordable Housing, CT Mirror

Two districts, two very different plans for students while school is out indefinitely, CT Mirror

2 Segregated Schools, 2 Reactions, New Haven Independent

If you’re the book-reading sort:

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X and Alex Haley

The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein

The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander

Evicted, by Matthew Desmond

* * *

As our community and our country grapple with both a pandemic and another necessary national conversation about racial oppression and police brutality, I hope you will join me in standing up for justice and equality. I also hope that you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy during this difficult moment. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions about city government, anything I wrote above, the articles and books listed, or any other concerns. You can always contact me via email at [email protected] or by text or call at 203 – 980-0335.

Sincerely,
Alder Eli Sabin
Ward 1, New Haven