Clay Applauds Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Policing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 19, 2014                      

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STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029

Clay Applauds Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Policing

Urges Panel to Review Use of Force, Address Diversity Gap, Recommend Independent Investigations &

Prosecutions of Fatal Police Shootings

WASHINGTON. DC –Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri praised yesterday's White House announcement of the formation of an urgent presidential task force on 21st Century policing.  The task force, which will be chaired by Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey and former Assistant U.S. Attorney General Laurie Robinson, will conduct hearings in Washington and across the nation to engage citizens in honest and sometimes difficult conversations about how to reconnect local law enforcement to the communities they serve, and how to make best policing practices the norm in more departments.  They are to report back to the President in 75 days.

“I want to thank President Obama for forming this urgent task force to address the root causes of mistrust, the use of excessive force, a lack of diversity and a failure of accountability that occurs in far too many local police departments,”said the Congressman. “And I’m especially proud that the President has appointed Brittany Packnett, one of my outstanding former congressional staffers, to serve on this panel.”

Mr. Clay added, “If we’re serious about bridging the gulf of mistrust that exists in far too many communities between local police and the citizens that they are sworn to protect, then this task force must have the courage to drill down to the root causes of why persons of color are often subjected to excessive force by police.  My hope is that the panel will also examine whether in the case of a fatal police shooting, the investigation should immediately be transferred for independent review and possible prosecution. That would be a giant step towards restoring credibility and transparency in communities who too often fear the very officers who should be providing them with a sense of peace and security.”

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