Street roots., July 22, 2016, Page 11, Image 11

Street Roots • J u ly 22-28, 2016
Commentary
Page 12
It’s time we fundamentally changed how we view policing
offering them LEAD. A large percentage of
LEAD participants (in very white Seattle) are
people of color.
wise friend of mine once gave me
One year later, Multnomah County has set
advice on coping with a paralyzing
aside $800,000 and an additional $200,000 in
sense of helplessness. Gordon said,
private foundation support to establish its
“Find a starting point that seems right to you,
own LEAD program. This is the largest initial
settle on a plan and stick
commitment of public resources for LEAD,
with i t ” He was talking
which is now underway or being considered
about fly-fishing, but it is
in a number of jurisdictions in the U.S. and
advice that has proven its
Canada. My organization, Partnership for
worth over and over
Safety and Justice, has led site visits to
again in my professional
Seattle attended by Multnomah County law
life.
enforcement, including District Attorney Rod
It is never easy to
write about race, violence Underhill and some of his senior deputies, to
observe the LEAD program in action. And, if
and justice. I’ve been
it
hasn’t happened already, the Portland
doing it, in one form or another, for most of
Police Bureau will soon send representatives
my professional life. But, the events in Baton
to Seattle to see how their counterparts in
Rouge, St. Paul, Dallas - and now Baton
the Seattle Police Department work with
Rouge again - are almost overwhelming. My
program participants, community-based
own thinking about racial justice and racial
caseworkers,
prosecuting attorneys, and
violence began with my mother’s attempt to
Seattle’s Public Defender Association in
explain the assassination of Martin Luther
implementing LEAD and its “harm reduction”
King Jr. to me, her not quite 5-year-old mixed-
philosophy to not pull individuals into the
race son. During my adult years, I continued
criminal justice system.
to have an ever closer ringside seat to
So what does all of this have to do with the
observe the continuing legacy of this nation’s
shocking killings in recent weeks or
history of racism and how none of us remains
America’s too long history of violence against
unharmed by its repeating patterns. But I
people of color, especially African Americans?
don’t remember ever feeling such a personal
As I also wrote a year ago, LEAD, like many
sense of despair and helplessness as I have
new ideas, emerged from conflict. For years,
felt with each report of the killings over the
public defenders and the ACLU sued the
past two weeks. So, I’m doing it again:
Seattle Police Department over racial
looking for a starting point.
disparities in drug arrests - enormous
A year ago, I wrote about Seattle’s Law
disparities. At that tim e, th e arrest rate of
E n fo rcem en t A ssiste d D iversion (LEAD )
black people in Seattle for the delivery of
program. («Seattle took the LEAD; Oregon
serious drugs (basically, anything other than
should follow,” Street Roots, July 20, 2015.)
marijuana) was 21 times higher than the
Back then, this is how I described LEAD:
white arrest rate for the same crime. For
Launched in 2011, LEAD diverts people
years, they fought in court and in the press
arrested for violating drug and prostitution
about why that was; in the end, they agreed
laws to supportive services.... LEAD
to disagree and instead try something
participants are diverted immediately (to a
different. The plan they settled on was LEAD.
services-based program) after they are
I believe that the horrific violence we have
arrested — or, in some cases, even before
witnessed over the past two weeks - all of it
they are arrested.... Many participants are
- and over the entire existence of our nation
poor and homeless and have long histories of
can only end when we are willing to change
drug dependence. Almost all have multiple
the system that permits it to happen. Yes, the
past arrests - sometimes by the same officer
killing of African Americans by law
BY A N D Y KO
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
A
Andy Ko is the
executive director of
Partnership for Safety
and Justice which
advances solutions to
crime that ensure
justice, equity,
accountability, and
healing to achieve safe
a n d strong
communities.
H
Did you serve in the
Armed ìmhmbb
enforcement and the targeted killing of police
has to be accounted for by the people who
commit such acts. But I’m not willing to wait
for efforts to end racism to succeed before
society commits to a plan that will prevent
these tragedies from happening over and over
again. I’m too angry, horrified and frustrated
- and maybe have become too cynical. I am
also sick of this feeling of helplessness. I
want something different.
Maybe the communities that have
committed to LEAD are showing us a
different path by fundamentally changing how
they view policing - at least in specific types
of cases. Maybe we
could build on that
XSmptìMl i t '
»o*
to w all lo r el-
the Fdlè of police is torts to end racism to succeed
to enforce laws by
before society commits to a
the application of
plan that w ill prevent these
superior force.
tragedies from happening
Maybe we should
Shifyo force
.
« „
over and over aOain.
minimization, an
approach to policing
championed by former Salt Lake City Police
Chief Chris Burbank, now Director of Law
Enforcement Engagement at the Center for
Policing Equity. Or we could adopt “harm-
reduction policing,” which is advocated by Jim
Pugel, former interim Seattle Police Chief
and one of the founders of LEAD. And maybe
we could eventually take it a step farther. We
could reduce the harm caused to individuals
and communities by the criminal justice
system by eliminating incarceration as the
default response to crime. We could limit the
use of jail and prison cells to situations where
it is necessary, for specified reasons, to
prevent additional harm and where a better
alternative doesn’t exist.
To be completely honest, I still don’t know
what starting point seems right to me. But, I
am sure that what we are doing now is getting
people killed - people riding in cars with
broken tail lights, people selling CDs on the
sidewalk, people in uniforms doing their jobs.
And I am sure that I want something
different.
n e & D l e ’s
r - t ',..,,.«
FARMERS’ MARKET
WEDNESDAYS 2-7PM
Land are experiencing
or at
risk
of
becoming
homeless?
À Á
Transition
Projects
„„Please call 855.425.5544
or visit 650 NW Irving Street
our market, yo
pporting local farmers and commun
.9 SE 21st Ave. btwn Powell & Di
community
y shopping