Issue Position: Police Accountability

Issue Position

Across the country, and here in Nebraska, people are speaking with one voice to say: Black Lives Matter. For far too long police all across the country have operated with no accountability. Racial profiling through stop and frisk and disproportionate enforcement of traffic infractions have lead to a generation of Black men and women being hauled into the criminal justice system for things a white cohort would never even be stopped for let alone cited or arrested. Instances of excessive force go unreported and unpunished. Omaha is not an exception to this. The problem is systemic, and the police have proven incapable of holding themselves accountable. So we need to pass laws to demand accountability. If police departments are not able to rid themselves of violent, racist cops then we need an independent agency with subpoena power that is able to do so. We have to end qualified immunity so that police who violate constitutional rights can be held accountable in civil court. We need public records of police complaints, and mandatory reporting of any use of force so we know who the bad cops are and we can fire them.

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