10 action steps towards racial justice for Police Departments during the trial of Derek Chauvin

By Lakayana Drury, Founder and Executive Director of Word is Bond

The trial of Derek Chauvin offers law enforcement agencies the opportunity to lean-in to the fight for racial justice and answer the call of communities across the country for accountability and equity. Here are 10 action steps law enforcement agencies can take as the trial begins, which can improve their support of, and engagement with, the Black communities and they serve.

1. Acknowledge the pain of the community: The first step agencies must take during the trial of Derek Chauvin is to acknowledge the grief and trauma Black people are feeling. The trial will prompt renewed feelings of grief, mourning, anguish, and trauma. Black people across the country will be reminded of their distrust of law enforcement and the overall hostile nature of being Black in the United States. To say Black people have experienced great violence and pain at the hands of the State and local communities is an understatement. Agencies must set a tone of empathy and understanding. This should be integrated into every fold of the agency’s positioning. This includes social media engagement, messages to the public, messages to the media, and importantly, messages to your staff. This brings up point number two.

2. Set the tone within the agency: The tone for how your agency will position itself during the trial of Derek Chauvin begins with the command staff. Operate as if Derek Chauvin was an officer in your agency because that’s how it feels to Black people in our country. Derek Chauvin could be any officer that approaches us on the street just as much as we could be George Floyd. The Chief should set the tone for the entire agency, particularly for officers on the street who will be engaging with community members who will be re-experiencing the trauma from George Floyd’s murder. The Chief should deliver agency-wide communications which can be reiterated during roll calls about what they expect from officers and the approach officers should take when out on patrol. This cannot start and end on where your agency stands concerning the murder of George Floyd. The murder of George Floyd should disgust everyone and condemning his murder cannot be the endpoint of an agency’s communication. Agencies need to go further by condemning white supremacy, take ownership for how we got to 2021, and communicate a clear plan with their community for how they plan to change their policies and practices and lead to better community engagement. This brings us to points three and four.

3. Name white supremacy: White supremacy is a real and present danger. It’s not just about KKK robes, it’s about a system that upholds white domination at the expense of people of color, particularly Black people. Very few agencies have taken the step to call out and publicly stand against white supremacy. Naming white supremacy is the first step in communicating to the public that your agency is taking it seriously and will set a strong tone within your agency. Draft an official statement on white supremacy and post it internally and externally. Make your messaging abundantly clear: zero-tolerance for white supremacy and racism in your agency. Your stand against white supremacy cannot just be a statement. Commit your agency to being a learning organization with ongoing education on the history of the communities you serve, the history of policing, especially regarding race, and the history of racism in our country.

4. Understand how we got here and own it: Black people have been traumatized by law enforcement agencies as well as persons acting as law enforcement for centuries continuing to this day. This doesn’t mean you are to blame for all of it, but it does mean you are responsible for rectifying the harm. Understanding this reality will help officers understand how Black people view law enforcement today and how to best approach their work. Avoid brushing the legacy of law enforcement off as history or falsely assuming that your agency is not part of that harm. Understanding that each agency has caused harm is the firmest foundation to building empathy with grieving communities and setting the stage for true trust and engagement. Own the harm that was and is being caused and make a plan to improve from there. Failure to understand this history or indifference about its effects today will alienate Black communities and create a divide between your officers and the vulnerable communities.

5. Stop asking for community input and start acting on it: There has been an outpouring of community voice across the country for the changes Black communities and others would like to see from agencies over the past nine months since George Floyd was murdered. This is in addition to the decades of recommendations, proposals, and suggestions that activists and community members have demanded of law enforcement agencies which have fallen on largely deaf ears. The failure to listen is directly tied to the massive protests we saw last summer. Your agency doesn’t need to host another listening session, town hall, or convene another community committee. There are entire websites and research projects full of actions police departments can take. Agencies should review this trove of community feedback and proposals, decide with the community on which ones are most urgent and applicable, and make a meaningful plan of action right away. Operating from the mindset that you are already behind on this work will give your agency the expediency to meet the calls of the community which demand immediate action.

6. Don’t make this about you: One of the biggest pitfalls of police offices and agencies is taking the calls for racial justice personally and in turn, making it about them. Staff should be coached in the appropriate ways to respond to feedback from the community. Avoid statements from staff such as “Our job is hard” or “We wish the community would recognize there are good officers in our department” or “Every day our officers are subjected to mean and horrible insults and threats.” All of those may be true, but this moment is not about you. This trial is about George Floyd, his family, and the pain of grieving communities. Don’t make this about the agency. Officer wellness is important and agencies should take appropriate measures to ensure the mental fitness and support of their officers. But when they are out in communities, each officer’s job is to serve the community; they are not entitled to, nor should they expect or demand that grieving communities recognize the difficulties of their job.

7. Hiring Black police officers starts with caring about Black people: Many agencies desire to hire a more diverse police force. This trial will have a big impact on whether community members will want to join your agency. If you communicate hostile, indifferent, or tone-deaf messaging and actions during the trial the road to a more diverse force will be harder. If your agency can communicate a messaging strategy that understands the history of racism within the agency and communicates a message of empathy and zero-tolerance for racism, you will open up interest in your agency down the road. Resist the urge to pander to Black and other communities of color with glitzy statements, video montages, and or pictures of your officers of color. These will come off as hollow and insincere. Messaging like that outlined in step three will go much further. If you want a diverse police force, create an agency that people of color will want to work for by communicating clearly and strongly on the issues that matter to them. Your agency must genuinely care about the issues and well-being of communities of color if you want to see a significant representation of their members within your ranks. This leads to point number eight.

8. Identify areas of racial profiling and fix them: Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they don’t lie. If the messaging your agency communicates on racial justice doesn’t match the data of your agency, you won’t get very far in building trust with Black communities. Go through your data of traffic stops, arrests, stops, searches, use of force, etc. Identify data that shows disproportionate results and create plans to fix them. We understand some communities experience higher rates of crime but this cannot be a blank check to stop, search, and arrest targeted community members. Utilize trainings to improve officer engagement in the community including trauma-informed care, cultural sensitivity, and best practices on community policing. Agencies must utilize the full set of resources at their disposal, find alternative services to policing where it makes sense, partner with community and civic organizations to share resources, and end policies and programs that drive racially disproportionate outcomes. 

9. Commit to public accountability: The trial of Derek Chauvin is a test of police accountability. Most Black people do not believe they have or will get justice in our current justice system. They also believe, and there is a painful history to support it, that those who commit racialized violence against Black people are rarely held accountable for their actions. Agencies have an opportunity to use this moment to strengthen their accountability systems and to hold their staff accountable. Agencies that fail to hold their officers accountable for their actions lose trust, credibility, and respect in Black communities that already fundamentally mistrust law enforcement (See Sir Robert Peel's Principles of Law Enforcement for further guidance). Committing to public accountability includes supporting the creation of community police oversight boards, strengthening discipline policies within the agencies, and closing loopholes in police union contracts that allow officers who have been fired to be rehired. Public accountability doesn’t mean agencies have to give up all of their power, it means that communities can demand and have a right to play an integral role in the law enforcement agencies that serve their community 

10. Black Lives Matter. Say it. Commit to it. Act on it: The over-policing, harassment, stopping, searching, beating, and killing of Black people must end immediately. Businesses, schools, community organizations, and community members across the country are affirming Black lives matter. There have been very few law enforcement agencies willing to make this statement and it is a striking silence. Too often agencies point to organizations or individuals as the reason they can’t support the statement Black lives matter. While the phrase has been politicized and tied to various organizations, the phrase literally means Black lives matter. It is a phrase used in the same way we show support for Breast Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, or Mother’s Day. Publicly affirming Black lives matter will send a powerful message to the community as to where your agencies stand. Follow this up with policies, practices, and culture changes that show your commitment. Black lives matter is a statement that can be embodied through actions, policies, and practices. We say Black lives matter, not because we believe they matter more than other lives, but because when we see George Floyd, we question whether this country truly cares about our lives and liberty.

Three things to avoid

1. Staying silent.

2. Failing to realize the impact the trial has on the community you serve.

3. Engaging in heavy-handed responses towards protests.