Police Prosecution Reformation Petition

The conduct of our police officers must be held to higher standard. After the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor our current standard of how we hold cops accountable is no longer acceptable. Far too long we have seen too many people of Black & Brown descent endure unfair and biased treatment by the very individuals who were sworn under the Constitution of the United States to protect us. Far too long we have put up with illegal detentions, interrogations, assault, and even murder of countless individuals in OUR country. Leaving us to question is liberty and justice really for all? We are nauseated with not only the violence that we see but the lack of real consequences as well. This is the foundation of our petition we send to the United States Congress, specifically the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties & Judiciary Committees.

To quote directly from California’s Constitution regarding the oath for all public officers, “I [insert name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter” (https:// leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml? lawCode=CONS&sectionNum=SEC.%203.&article=XX). One thing that sticks out in part of this oath is they not only do they swear an oath to the Constitution of their state but also to the Constitution of the United States. Of course this means they swear an oath to the amendments, one being the fifth amendment. Part in which states, “nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” (https://constitutionus.com

Reading the above statement we as citizens are guaranteed due process with all criminal proceedings. Which has been severely violated for much too long. It is now we see the state and local governments are unable to handle investigations of the officers they hire to protect and serve their citizens. Knowing this we demand that all investigations regarding a police officer convicted of any type of excessive force or gross misconduct towards a civilian should be investigated not by the State, but by the Federal Government.

This argument is based on that the State Court’s are in conflict of interest when trying a case where the defendant is a police officer. First, when an officer uses excessive force their own colleagues are called to investigate the manner. The police department they serve gather evidence, collect witness statements, and interrogate their own comrade. Looking at the process here alone we see one could accuse the department of implicit bias. How is a detective supposed to perform an investigation to the best of their ability when the defendant is a fellow comrade. Honestly, this alone leaves the men and women in uniform exposed to staying on code or “Blue Code of Silence”. Persuading them not perform their duty to the best of their ability out of fear of retaliation. Next, if enough evidence is gathered the case will go to the State’s Court which is the hardest part of the process.

Former Cook County State’s Attorney, Anita Alvarez made a good point about the difficulty to charge an officer and how the investigation process ends up being much longer while still grand juries decline to indict in most cases. Here is a direct quote from her speaking on this, “You want to make sure that you’re bringing the best case possible. In that particular Washington Post article, they had 54 officers charged within that 10 year period. Only 11 of them have been found guilty. Twenty-one of them have already been found not guilty and some of those were [cases in which there were] videos. I think when you look, it’s difficult to convict police officers. You want to make sure that it’s done correctly.” (https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/ Felsenthal-Files/January-2016/Anita-Alvarez/). While we are discussing Anita Alvarez let us also discuss the consistent appearance of conflicting relationships during these trials. 

When analyzing the court case of Laquan McDonald, shot down by Officer Jason Van Dyke, we see the the difficultly in convicting Van Dyke. On October 20,2014 Laquan was shot 16 times by Van Dyke, but it wasn’t until November 24, 2015(a few days after the video of the shooting was released) that Van Dyke was formally charged with the murder.

To make matters worse the prosecutor Anita Alvarez, was accused of having a “cosy relationship with the Chicago police union” (https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-laquan-mcdonald-shooting-lawsuit-met-0217-20160216-story.html   The relationships that are built between prosecutor and officers are a direct conflict of interest. When the State's Attorney is prosecuting an officer who is the very same person that helps provide evidence for another case will justice really be served?  At the end of the Laquan McDonald trial Van Dyke only received 6 years & 9 months for second degree murder. Also, three officers accused of covering up this case were acquitted by Cook County Judge Domenica Stephenson (https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/timeline-chicago-police-shooting-laquan-mcdonald-64430806 How will civilians respect the law if the Police Officers can so easily violate it without any repercussions. Knowing these facts it is evident the Federal Courts are more equipped to handle these cases.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, has a reputation of getting the job done. They are much more careful in their investigations(regarding the F.B.I’s conviction rate) and can provide an unbiased approach to a public officer vs civilian criminal case in which the officer is the defendant. In Federal Court it is much less likely the prosecution or judge would have relationships with a Unions or Fraternal Orders. Cops can finally come forward without fear of retaliation from their comrades. Families will take comfort in knowing this case is being handled by a completely separate branch of criminal justice system. Overall, police officers being tried in Federal Court allows for actual due process which would result in real consequences.

Police officers must be held to a higher standard than the civilians they serve, and must uphold the oath they swear. That higher standard is the Federal Court system. We have seen the various amounts of abuse of power to which we say, “ENOUGH”. No longer must this go unchecked because with great power comes great responsibility. We demand the United States Congress, specifically the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties & Judiciary Committees introduce a bill giving the Federal Courts the duty of prosecuting police officers exclusively. Our police officers not only serve our communities but our country. The events in the past have shown us the system is broken and MUST be fixed. This is no longer an ask, but a demand for justice and liberty for all. I end with a quote from the great emancipator Frederick Douglass, “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” (https:// www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/frederick-douglass).