Almost 500 people, most of them from Charlottesville have signed this petition:
We urge you to ban from Charlottesville:
(1) military-style or "warrior" training of police by the U.S. military, any foreign military or police, or any private company,
(2) acquisition by police of any weaponry from the U.S. military;
and to require enhanced training and stronger policies for conflict de-escalation, and limited use of force for law enforcement.
The CBS 19 coverage is here.
The NBC 29 coverage is here.
These steps should be taken to formalize and legally institute these policies no matter how much or how little the Charlottesville police are currently complying with them.
These are important but easy, least-we-can-do, steps toward a better future.
Removing police from Charlottesville schools was also an important step.
Additional steps will be needed as well.
A few weeks back, the National Football League and many media outlets believed flag ceremonies to be more important than protesting police murders of black people, which were at that time referred to as "officer involved deaths." Activism, not intellectual effort, changed that.
More people can perhaps now see the insanity of putting police into children's schools.
More people can now, and since the disaster here three years ago, see the counterproductive nature of militarized policing.
Banning militarized policing now so that it cannot arise in the future will make us all safer.
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