AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/policing/page/4/)
A virtual briefing on public safety and policing was held this week that covered the city’s newly passed civilian oversight ordinance and also touched on the alternate response model that calls for more involvement by mental health professionals.
Rev. Ira Acree and David Cherry, co-chair and president of the Leaders Network, say everyone must work together to reform and reimagine policing in our communities.
The march will kick off at 10 a.m. in the 4900 block of West Chicago Avenue. Ald. Emma Mitts, Congressman Danny Davis and Chicago Police Supt. David Brown will lead the march.
Sgt. Jermaine Harris of the Chicago Police Department’s 15th District shared the good news Tuesday at the monthly meeting of West Side faith-based leaders. “No lives were lost to gun violence in Austin,” he said. Harris thanked ministers and others for being out in the community over the three-day weekend, noting, “It does make a difference, us being present.”
At last week’s 29th Ward meeting, Ald. Chris Taliaferro said it was time to move past The Loretto Hospital’s vaccine scandal and not let it overshadow the other work the hospital is doing. He also commented on proposals to reform the Chicago Police Department.
West Side elected officials, the city’s top cop and local residents met virtually this week with the goal of promoting a healthy relationship between police and the communities they serve.
Demonstrators gathered outside the 29th Ward office earlier this week to call for the passage of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance, which would overhaul police oversight. They want Ald. Chris Taliaferro, who heads the Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee, to put the proposal to a vote.
The Leaders Network says “we must remain vigilant for justice” until Chauvin, the former Minnesota police officer convicted Tuesday of killing George Floyd, is sentenced. David Cherry, Rev. Ira Acree, Rev. Cy Fields and Rev. Marshall Hatch say it won’t be until June whether we know if there has been true justice in this case.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the 15th Police District’s faith-based leaders group, Richard Wiser acknowledged that detectives have at times been insensitive in dealing with the families of murder victims. Wiser, commander of the Area Four Detective Division, which includes Austin, pledged the department would do better and asked West Siders for recommendations on how police can do better.
The Leaders Network, a social justice group based on the West Side, sent letters earlier this week to four of Chicago’s U.S. House members demanding there be congressional hearings. The letter was sent to Reps. Danny K. Davis, Chuy García, Bobby Rush and Robin Kelly. Congressman Davis will meet with faith leaders Dec. 31.