In Support of…Ad-Hoc Police Policy Committee Recommendations to City of Eugene {Part 2}

On April 12, the Register-Guard published a summary of recommendations for changes in Eugene policing created by the city’s Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policy (AHCPP). The full report of recommendations was presented to the City Council on April 30.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policy was formed in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the resulting unprecedented nation-wide protests demanding an end to wide-spread systemic police brutality. It is made up of members representing communities of color and other marginalized populations that are most harmed by police brutality rooted in white supremacy and systemic racism.

We urge all Springfield-Eugene SURJ members to familiarize yourselves, engage with, and wholeheartedly support these recommendations.

We need the police to be held accountable by the civilians they are sworn to protect. We need to expose and dismantle the double standards of current policing, which targets BIPOC and other marginalized communities. We need the police to receive assistance from professionals trained to deal with situations police are not trained to handle.

We need to understand public safety as fundamental guardianship rather than worst-case scenarios requiring militarization. We need communities to be supported by public safety systems, rather than intimidated and occupied by police. We need to fund invaluable local resources like CAHOOTS, which has gained nationwide attention because of its success in de-escalation, and we need to try in other ways creating networks of support for community safety for all.

We can do this, with the leadership of those who have been most devastated by systemic police abuses.

Safety for one group should not be at the expense of safety for another group. All will be harmed if all are not protected by an equitable system of community care. No less than an opportunity to develop a meaningful social contract is at stake.

This is a time of historic change for true justice and community care. Be a part of this movement, locally, state-wide, and nationally. Begin your work right at home, in your own town. And on the national level, support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Justice is long over-due.

Article authored by Carter, LTE/Messaging Committee