Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Initiatives in Response to Ferguson Shooting, Urges Greater Action
Washington – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after President Obama announced a series of reforms in response to the police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown and similar shootings across the country:
“Today’s announcement marks a significant incremental step forward in addressing the lack of safeguards that contributed to the death of Michael Brown.
The initial investments in body-worn cameras and community policing, the taskforce to study best practices in 21st century community policing, and greater standardization for how police can acquire military equipment, are important down payments on the systemic reforms needed to address this national crisis.
To be clear, it will take a much greater investment in community policing and an outright ban on profiling to drive the significant changes necessary to reform law enforcement. It will also take deep-seated changes to our court and prison systems to start correcting the biases in policing, sentencing, and incarceration that plague our justice system.
We will continue to partner with the White House, the Department of Justice, and law enforcement agencies at all levels to correct the systemic bias that exists at every juncture of our justice system.”
Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.