If this format does not work for you, see the link to our letter here:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qqIEZcP_4bkVDaSnDgoR7N6SLPS00B5tgMmrzV0vpYM/edit?usp=sharing

 

Dear Mayor Scott,

Police Chief Humphrey

Governor Hutchinson,

Senator Cotton and Senator Boozman, 

Congressman Hill, Congressman Womack, Congressman Westerman, and Congressman Crawford,

 

We, the People of Little Rock, of Arkansas, and of the United States feel compelled, as your constituents, to make our feelings and intentions known. 

While we value the hard work you are doing for our city and country, and we appreciate the service of our city and state employees, we humbly request that you review the suggested additional services and requests in this letter with an open mind.

We, the People, understand and acknowledge our country’s divisive past, where Black people have grappled with systemic and institutional racism even after the end of the American Civil Rights Movement over four decades ago. We are saddened by, but have acknowledged, the role our city and state have played in this history of racial discrimination, from the historical injustices against the Little Rock Nine to the disruption of local communities of color via the construction of I-630. Harassment on the basis of color also impacts our local politicians, such as Ryan Davis and Vickie Flowers, when they were recently shot at and harassed simply for being in a neighborhood during an evening dedicated to celebrating their political endeavours with the community, after which several police drew weapons on the political figures. Discrimination is made even worse combined with the many other hardships constituents face, such as socioeconomic disadvantage and the medical crisis brought on by COVID-19.

We value our leaders, first responders, and other public servants. We acknowledge the many men and women who do their job well with little or no recognition, and we applaud them. Tragically, in Little Rock and throughout the country, we have seen police engage in questionable tactics with little provocation for decades. We bear witness to the violence and aggression targeted toward peaceful protests of the death of Mr. George Floyd and others; these tactics often far exceed an appropriate use of force. We continue to see statistics that show racial and ethnic disparities in who is more likely to experience police aggression. 

With regard to recent protests, in many cases, the tactics meant to disperse and subdue protesters instead escalate the situation to an unreasonable degree. Such tactics have been employed by Arkansas State Police in Little Rock, most notably with the use of tear gas on multiple nights of peaceful protest. While we recognize that our leaders must keep their constituents and employees safe and that should be a top priority, we find the use of these tactics often causes harm in ways that are highly objectionable and fundamentally opposed to the American ideals of free speech and assembly. Further, we acknowledge the difference between peaceful protesters, who are exercising their First Amendment right within the confines of the law, and rioters who commit crimes, and ask that more protection and respect be displayed to those who are exhibiting peace.

With all of this in mind, we plead for consideration and implementation of the following services and ideas on a local, state, and federal level, as well as a rigorous evaluation of similar services already in existence, in order to provide for equal opportunity, and equal safety, among people of color, minorities, and the police.

• The subsequent order to Arkansas State Police and police authorities to only use tear gas and rubber bullets as a last resort if protests turn violent and/or pose a serious bodily risk to either officers or bystanders. When violent behavior stops and/or the serious bodily risk is no longer present, we ask that the use of tear gas and rubber bullets stops. The use of tear gas, a chemical weapon that causes severe eye and respiratory pain, skin irritation, bleeding, and even blindness, on civilians is a war crime. Therefore, we ask that this technique no longer be used merely to disperse people who are lingering or as an attempt to deter possible illicit acts, but as a last resort protective measure. We also ask that measures other than force be used when possible. 
• The creation of a state-acknowledged working group to address minority/authority interactions across the state.
• A meeting between our state’s and country’s leaders and members of the Blackout Movement, who wish to lobby for legislative and policy change.
• The creation of a third party external organization that investigates every claim of police brutality in the United States, so as to avoid internal bias, along with the ending of internal investigations of misconduct within a department, unless these internal investigations are also held in conjunction with external members.
• The establishment of an anonymous federal hotline that allows police officers to report crimes or mismanagement within their units to avoid internal persecution. We also ask that official policies be created to protect internal whistleblowers, such as not requiring them to be identified publicly and maintaining their confidentiality within the agency. 
• The establishment of a law that makes it a hate crime for a citizen to call the police solely on the premise of another person’s race or ethnicity.
• Extensive additional evidence-based training related to race, culture, de-escalation, problem-solving, and techniques to maintain procedural justice. We ask that such training be provided to all armed law enforcement, both during the academy and periodically through in-service training, to decrease the likelihood that officers will deploy unnecessary force. We ask that such training be provided by a diverse group that includes recognized/awarded officers, topical experts, and outside stakeholders.
• Public access to police department policies, especially those related to use of force. 
• Greater use of public forums between the police and the public.
• A link posted directly and prominently on police department websites to report complaints against police.
• That the Chief of Police (or Sheriff, or Director of State Police) play a direct role in reviewing complaints against police.
• The forfeiting of local control of a police body camera-- instead, the officer’s body camera is turned on at the station when they clock in, and turned off when they clock out, with the exception of restroom and lunch breaks.
• Making complaints against officers and misconduct public throughout the entirety of police officers’ careers. We ask that the nature of these complaints also be made public, while keeping the identity and status of the reporter anonymous.
• The implementation of racial bias testing and psychological evaluations for police officers.
• Police departments should make use of early intervention programs to identify “problem officers”.
• We appreciate that the Little Rock Police Department currently has established a Citizen’s Review Board, and we ask that membership on this board be broadened to include more people of diverse backgrounds (e.g., people of diverse race, ethnicity, sex, age, and socioeconomic status, particularly).
• Decrease of the cost of the Arkansas Bar exam, 
  
  • The cost of this exam ($500) is significantly higher than many other states’ exams in an area with higher poverty. This cost discourages not only many black people/POC but people from all races who wish to protect our justice system from taking the bar exam.

In support of the NAACP, we also reiterate their published goals here:  

• A ban on the use of knee holds and choke holds as acceptable practices for police officers. 
• The Use of Force Continuum for any police department in the country must ensure that there are at least 6 levels of steps, with clear rules on escalation.
• Each State’s Open Records Act must ensure officer misconduct information and disciplinary histories are not shielded from the public. Recertification credentials may also be denied for police officers if determined that their use of deadly force was unwarranted by federal guidelines.
• Implementation of Citizen’s Review Boards in municipalities to hold police departments accountable and build public confidence.

 

We, the People hope that the actions taken by our leaders will show their solidarity with us. Through this peaceful, civil act of formulating this letter to all of you, we intend to honor the life of Mr. George Floyd and the countless others who have died at the hands of police, while preventing further pointless deaths such as his own, while also holding those who enforce the law to the same standard as those that they are intended to protect.

Mr. Floyd’s death, along with the deaths of others, will not be in vain, and we hope that we can make a difference alongside you, our political leaders, to ensure that this tragedy will never happen again.

We thank you, our leaders, for all of your efforts in the last few months during these challenging and unprecedented times. We appreciate the steps you have taken so far to reduce the many strains to our economy, medical communities, and political system. 

We thank you for taking the time to read this letter. 

We the People,

Armando Arellano | Little Rock, AR 

Max Campbell | Little Rock, AR

Ra’phael Davis | Newport, AR

Trisha Rhodes, PhD | North Little Rock, AR

Whitney Row | Little Rock, AR

Katie Zakrzewski | North Little Rock, AR