Held by Video Conference was hosted by the american bar association. Its my honor to date to begin the panel, the aba annual meeting quorum on justice in policing a path forward with senator tim scott of South Carolina. Thank you, senator scott so very much. Its a privilege have you join us for this program at the aba annual meeting. Thank you and thank you for your leadership. Without a question americas better because of folks like yourself, strong powerful position to make a difference so thank you for having made investment to make a difference. Thank you, sir. Senator scott what do you see as the role of congress in approving police and Community Relations and bridging the gap of trust particularly with Community Communities of color across our nation . I think Congress Plays a role in that, even a significant role but perhaps the most Important Role is the one of the local level, the mayors in the county, chairman or charwomen, those folks have most direct path towards Police Reform not those of us in congress. I will say come shared this story so at times, ive been stopped by officers 18 times in the last 20 years, seven times in one year as an elected official and all of my 18 stops were either by city, county or state Law Enforcement, never by federal Law Enforcement officers. Literally while we know the president ial election is important this year, another very important one. The truth is your election for your mayor, a lot of citizens dont participate in, election every city council members, those of the folks directly of institutions of power that determine the type of local Law Enforcement you have. We dont vote in those elections, we are actually taking a step back from the one place where Police Reform comes to life immediately in your city. Were going to do all we can and i worked on legislation i think bipartisan legislation. Im having great conversations with the chairwoman of the congressional black caucus, karen bass were looking for a sweet spot in common ground. I spoke in the last couple of days with family members whose brothers died at the hands of Law Enforcement. We want to see something done but the more i spoke with the family of the victims, the more they kept saying that a local issue. It really is in a very big way local issues. Were going to continue applicable because we must but our ability to ban chokehold is on the federal level. We can only encourage behavior by what we do with grant dollars which is an important part but its really less than 5 of the average Department Revenue stream so that support part of the equation. Especially someone who has felt discrimination at the head of Law Enforcement its really important for us to recognize that most of that is a local decision. There have been calls to define the police. When you hear that term, defund the police what does it mean to you and you think its appropriate to examine how resources are distributed to communities . I think its important for us to examine how resources are distributed but the concept of defunding the police is this garys thought ive ever heard as relates to communities of color and the vulnerable communities. I hosted several weeks ago our roundtable discussion with africanamerican leaders about South Carolina and attorney general barr. The one thing, the one consensus was lets not defund the police but talk about a better strategy of having Police Respond and a couple of ideas that came out of the room was consistent with executive order that came out of the administration. One was call response, departments of having Mental Health experts responding to homelessness and Mental Health episodes, respond to issues of addiction. Those places where the Law Enforcement agency should health care, Mental Health care experts as a part of their team win a responding to these unique and specific circumstances that they responded with the type of expertise that is necessary to prevent an escalation of force when possible. I will say this way. You are too young to remember these days but in the 80s we had 6,700,000 additional beds for Mental Health patients that we do today. I think that has a Significant Impact on what were asking our officers to do today. If we could find a way to embed within the response Mental Health experts, we might walk away with a lot of lives saved. Do you think consideration should be given to offer to limit our remove the unity into a byLaw Enforcement enforcement and you believe congress will act to address qualified immunity . I just had conversations begin with family members about the specific issue and when i say family members, family members of deceased who lost their lives advance of Law Enforcement. What i told them was there are two ways to do at that qualifid immunity. One way is is a way for us to provide recourse in restitution to the extent possible for the life that was lost . That im all on board to figure out how to make it more punitive for cities, municipalities, departments, counties and given for states to be responsible for the actions of their officers. At the same time if you want to continue to recruit and attract highly talented very motivated character driven officers you have to protect that officer and their personal possessions from the lawsuits from my perspective to the extent possible. The current threshold we have i would support what also make it easier for families to receive restitution in recourse by making it easier for them to sue cities and departments and or counties or states. How do you see the role in solving the crisis of incompetence and Law Enforcement . Are you confident you can make a difference and how would you go about doing so that we can move to a better place in this country as we need to be . I am a part of the team that can make a difference. I hope i have made a difference. One of the things we dont spend a lot of time talking about and i cant for the life of me figure out why is how do we break the cycle that the too many African American boys who grow up to become in one of had some negative interaction with Law Enforcement and or incarceration. The keys to the from everything ive studied, education and poverty. Some breaking the cycles should be a robust part of ongoing conversation as we look to address the issue of social justice. Of the things that ive been working on for frankly five years, i started this conversation after walter scott on vacation we provide more resources for body cameras because i know personally that had it not been for a miracle of a bystander recording the incident where walter scott was shot in the back five times, shot at eight times, had it not been for the camera none of us wouldve ever secondguessed a Police Report that had been falsified to protect the officer. That is of the situation that we have to overcome as quickly as possible and one of the ways we do that is by putting in as much pressure and force on the system to change but being in a position having lived in that same community, ive taken it as a personal part of the odyssey, this journey i am on to provide more funding for body cameras to work on legislation that has passed the senate like antilynching legislation, to work on opportunity zones, bring more money into the poorest neighborhoods to continue to bring recordbreaking levels of funding for historically black Colleges Universities as ive done for the last two years. Theres a lot of things we can do, a lot of things we should do that is not directly connected to Law Enforcement but it is absolutely connected to the pipeline of justice. If i want to reduce the number of incidents that people of color are having in the Justice System, i need a break that cycle as early as possible. Senator scott, thank you so very much for being with us. We very much appreciate the time you spent with us today. And i will turn it back over to joey jackson who will then discuss further your thoughts as well as their observations regarding policing in america and the path forward. Thank you so very much. Thank you as well. Have a great day. Welcome to justice in policing, a path forward. My name is George Jackson and im an attorney and we have a lot to discuss. We are in very trite and difficult times, those trying a difficult times have been brought about by what weve seen as injustices with our own eyes and theyve occurred primarily with police involving people of color. We are in a situation where i think people have come to the conclusion enough is enough and are looking for paths forward that are right with reform, rife with the issue of equality and policing that is done in a way that treat all people of all races in a very equal way, ina very sound and respectful way. What were seeing across this country are protests everywhere and those protests consist of people huddled for black and brown but they consist of people who are of all colors and to think they goes to the issue of people knowing that what they see is wrong. Knowing what they see is amiss. Knowing what this he needs to be altered, changed, reform. Today as we gather to have this very important discussion it was very appropriate and felt very important that we bring about a Diverse Group of people in this panel that could address the perspective from a court perspective, academic perspective and policing perspective, a political perspective so we can get to the root cause of the issue. Not only what the problem is but discussed solution come discuss moving forward, discussing in this time of opportunity and i will call at a time of opportunity because when we see these issues is a crossroads now. What are we going to do . How are you going to fix it . What measures are going to be put in place so that their people have died at the hands of police who could have legacy and the legacy will be that perhaps future lives lies can be chang, perhaps policing again could be brought to a situation where there could be a gap bridge between communities and please, between police and communities and moving forward can be done and i guess a more compassionate way for in a way that acknowledges and represents that we have to Work Together. We have to Work Together in a way that respects everyones right and respects the rights of black and brown people across this country. Doing so in putting together this panel there was a Dynamic Panel indeed that was brought together from a crosssection as i noted of people who just bring a wealth of knowledge and experience. I will start first of course and just introducing judge susan morgan, a Federal District court judge in louisiana ritual be introducing herself momentarily but no stranger to this issue. Presiding over, having those whom information understand about the process as relates to policing and what the extent of those decrees does come with effectiveness are, what that looks like moving forward until it is a pleasure and privilege to have her here. We also have tracy burch, doctor tracy burch, professor tracy burch and she brings an academic perspective, a perspective of wisdom, a perspective having to teach people and speak to people and to flush out these issues and the classroom. To develop and work with bright minds moving forward which will have perhaps bring meaning, further meaning and dialogue to this discussion of how we fix broken system. We know we have commissioner Michael Harrison here as well, a person who is been in the trenches on this issue, which rose amongst the ranks, who is been a model of excellence, an example on issues of policing, who was formerly in louisiana and then of course is now in baltimore as the Police Commissioner will also be joined later by senator scott and he certainly brings a political perspective to this. The senator working on legislation and reform in many issues hopefully the city will get it together with house to look for to speaking with him as well. Just to get into this panel i would like just for a minute for each panelist to again sambo, introduce themselves and speak to the issue of why this is that an important issue of our day and how we move forward in a better way. Judge, if we could start with you because im smart enough to know he always start with the judge. Take it away. Im a Federal District court judge in new orleans here i have civil practice until 2012 when i was appointed by president obama and about four months later i got assigned to New Orleans Police Department case. Im coming up on eight years working that Consent Decree and ive learned a lot about policing and about Police Reform and i definitely see a road for Consent Decree to play in Police Reform in our country. Its not the only way but it is one way i found to be very effective. Thank you, judge. Professor burch, if we can turn to you. Thank you so much, jelly. I am a professor of Political Science and also a Research Professor at the american bar foundation. One of the major issues that i research is criminal justice and the politically effective criminal justice and participation im working on a project that examines how and when people respond politically when protesting and how they do that. So happy to be here. Were happy you are here. And then of course professor, excuse me, commissioner harrison. Pfizer also because he knows this stuff inside and out but commissioner. Thank you julie. Take you for having. Im honored to be a part of this panel. Especially to be joined by judge morgan why the pleasure of working with for four half years. I got my start with the New Orleans Police Department, spent 28 years and theyre their at in 2014 was asked to take the lead as Police Superintendent but going into the second year of a federally mandated Consent Decree and served the department for an half years. The superintendent they can get through various stages of compliance. I was very blessed to be asked to take the lead for the Baltimore Police department and then moved to baltimore and is in its second year of Consent Decree in 2019. Here i am now participating in my second major city Police Reform under a federal Consent Decree which is about making reform and transforming the department into the department that the citizens have asked for and the city has agreed. Honored to be among your panel. If i could start with you and just having this discussion, commissioner. I know youre on the hot seat. Your reputation really precedes itself. Youve done tremendous things and we are at such a difficult time. When you look at it, i know police are in a tough way to people are blaming a lease for a lot. Were in a difficult place and it just think for my perspective i want to make clear communities need police, police need communities. We know there are those police who may run afoul and may do things which obviously serve as a lightning rod and bring the eye of the entire community as they should. I guess what i would say central looking at a path moving forward how to get our hands around this problem . A Citi Community policing issue . Is that the training issue . Is it a recruitment issue . Whats the issue and how do we make it better . It is all of the above. You pointed it out, it is everything from how we recruit to how we hire, and who we train, how we create policies that support that training that turns into positive police performance. Its Committee Engagement and i like to say, i like to say we are not different from the community. We are apart of the community. In my opinion there is a distinction between police and the command. We are part of the community we serve and everything we do that breaks the trust and breaks the relationship between the police and security were doing it to ourselves. Not just a community where harming ourselves. We are part of that community but it is everything that we do. Every single policy the way we perform, the way we engage, the way we enforce and the way we treat people with dignity and respect and our policy should support that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and with equity. Thats what a Consent Decree is. It is designed in new orleans as it is in baltimore to transform the department to do all of those things so that were looking for the right people with the right temperament and the right will to do this work who will be engaging and endearing antipathetic and compassionate, tough on crime, soft on people. Very well said, commissioner. You bring up the issue of Consent Decrees. Judge morgan if i could pivot to you on the issue as a as a pero knows so much about that issue. Start