NEW YORK, NY – In an opinion article published by the New York Times this past week (Opinion | The Police Killing of Sonya Massey Argues for Alternatives to Reform – The New York Times (nytimes.com)), Tahir Duckett, a civil rights lawyer and activist, discussed the killing of Sonya Massey and argues for alternatives to police reform by means of community alternative response programs.
Duckett noted Massey’s murder on July 6, when she called 911 to report an intruder, came when Sheriff Deputy Sean Grayson and another officer knocked on her door, and Grayson quickly drew his gun and shot her in the head. Grayson was fired and charged with first-degree murder.
Duckett wrote the death of George Floyd in 2020 caused public outrage and called for police reform.
Although there were limited reforms at the state and local level, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, Duckett added, was not approved at the federal level and many experts agree the act would not do much to reduce rates of police violence.
Although there has been more willingness to prosecute officers who use unjustifiable force, still more than 1,100 people were shot and killed by police officers in the last year, and the killing of Massey is a cold reminder of how little has changed since 2020, the opinion article states.
Duckett argues police violence often occurs because police are asked to fill an impossibly wide range of duties, from clearing homeless encampments to monitoring the status of vehicle headlights.
And, added Duckett, this results in police serving in many roles they may not be suited for and tens of millions of U.S. residents coming in contact with police each year.
Duckett maintains serious investing in programs that take work off the plate of law enforcement would result in more effective law enforcement and fewer police abuses, especially as 20 percent of police killings involve someone in mental distress.
Duckett noted cities that have adopted alternative response programs, where unarmed civilians in crisis teams are dispatched to respond to the needs of residents experiencing homelessness, addiction, and behavioral health crises, have been successful.
These programs, Duckett added, rely on several strategies such as “outreach to high-risk individuals to offer services, focused interventions to prevent retaliatory violence, mediation, and cognitive behavioral therapy to prevent violence before it happens.”
Duckett insists no teams have reported any major injuries, which has been a large point of public concern and alternative response programs have been further met with enthusiastic responses from police officers and chiefs on the reduction of calls from their dashboard.
However, these programs face limitations due to few working around the clock and all only responding to a fraction of calls, the opinion article states.
Duckett argues that rather than defunding the police, there should be funding for promising community-led innovations.
Duckett said the Biden administration’s investment in community violence intervention and alternative responses may be yielding results as the U.S. is currently in one of the steepest declines in homicide rates in the nation’s recorded history.
Although these investments have been met with bipartisan support in Congress, House Republicans have recently proposed to decrease funding for the community violence intervention initiative, the Op-Ed notes.
But Duckett argues this is a clear step in the wrong direction because the federal government spends tens of billions on policing each year; it should also allocate investments into community violence intervention and alternative response.
Duckett concluded, “Until we narrow the scope of what police officers can do, we’ll continue to see officers bring violence into situations that don’t require it.”
