Editor’s note: The following is a press release from the City of Bloomington. Bloom has republished it here with minor edits for style and clarity.
A new resident-led task force has been named to review and make recommendations about law enforcement in Bloomington and Monroe County. The Future of Policing Task Force is being established as part of the City’s commitment to the reduction of racial inequities and continuous improvement of outcomes for all residents, as outlined in Mayor John Hamilton’s 2020 Recover Forward initiative and the City’s Plan to Advance Racial Equity.
The Future of Policing Task Force will actively work to develop a vision for policing that is:
Image credit: Meta Stange/WDET
Public safety veteran Dr. Cedric Alexander says thorough police reform is critical to American public safety.
Six years ago, President Obama’s 21st Century Policing Task Force wrote a report detailing the necessary components of police reform. Since then, preventive methods like body cameras have been implemented to hold officers accountable. However, even with these changes, last summer’s protests made it clear there is still a need for wide-spread reform in policing.
“Public safety, quite frankly, is not just law enforcement. It’s not safe if there is lead in the water pipes. It’s not safe if people don’t have housing. It’s not safe if there aren’t employment opportunities.” Dr. Cedric Alexander
Chico State’s Policing Task Force hosted a meeting on Tuesday at approximately 5:30 p.m. Shortly after, the Zoom bombing began.
“It started out with kid’s noises, random noises,” said Alexander Smith, a Chico State student who witnessed the Zoom bombing.
The noises then progressed to pornographic material. Suddenly, the chat was bombarded with hate speech that included the N-word.
According to Smith, the Zoom bomb lasted approximately eight minutes before the meeting ended.
“A couple of students said they were being Zoom bombed,” Smith said. “The coordinators kinda fumbled in dealing with the Zoom bombing while it was occuring.”
MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER After passing the American Rescue Plan last week, House Democrats took swift action on several priorities important to