Latest news with #BlackDemocrats
Economic Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
Trump wants to fight democrats on crime. They're treading cautiously
With his efforts to take control of law enforcement in Washington, D.C., last week, President Donald Trump has pushed the issue of crime back to the foreground of American politics. In doing so, he's invited a fight with Democrats, who are treading cautiously as they seek to forcefully oppose the federal incursion into the nation's capital, something no president has ever attempted, without getting caught up in a debate over public safety on Trump's terms. Trump and his Republican allies wielded the sharp increase in violent crime in urban areas during the pandemic as a campaign cudgel, winning control of the House in the 2022 midterms. Trump expanded his winning coalition two years later, in part with promises to prevent the rest of America from becoming like the cities he called "unlivable, unsanitary nightmares," deriding the data that showed improvement across the country. While his tactics in Washington are extraordinary, the effort is an actualization of one of his most tried-and-true political arguments: Democrats -- often Black Democrats -- have let lawlessness run rampant in the cities and states they were elected to run. At a moment when Trump's approval ratings even among his supporters are declining, he appears to be laying the groundwork for Republicans to once again weaponize the issue in the midterm elections. Trump has sent National Guard troops to patrol the streets, turned federal law enforcement officers into beat cops and sought to put the local police department fully under his administration's control. And the president has suggested he wants to bring his brand of law and order to Chicago; Baltimore; Oakland, California; and New York, all liberal cities in blue states, while avoiding any mention of high-crime cities in red states, such as Memphis, Tennessee, or St. Louis. Among Democrats, there is widespread agreement that Trump is stoking fear for political gain and exaggerating statistics to justify a power grab. But there is also recognition that the party must acknowledge that concerns about public safety continue to resonate not just with Trump's supporters, but with their own. "We as Democrats should be careful not to cede the issue of public safety to Donald Trump and Republicans," Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the Bronx borough of New York City, said in an interview. "We should own the issue of public safety, because it matters to voters." For his part, Trump made clear last week he sees his moves as a political slam-dunk. "I think crime is maybe 100 to nothing, so I think we may get very well some Democratic support," Trump said Wednesday. Trump made inroads across blue states including New York, New Jersey and California in 2024, alarming Democrats who worried that his messages about crime, immigration and quality of life had appealed to their voters, too. That year, a survey by Pew Research Center found that nearly 6 in 10 adults, including almost half of Democrats, wanted the reduction of crime to be a top priority for American leaders -- a figure that had grown since 2021. The differing approaches the party has taken to Trump over his crackdown in Washington were on display in neighboring Maryland, where a group of lawmakers, including five members of Congress, raised grave concerns for democracy. They framed the president's assertion of federal oversight of the Metropolitan Police Department and his use of the National Guard to patrol the streets as a "soft launch of authoritarianism." By contrast, Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, called the takeover a distraction, echoing party leaders including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. "I see this as performative and nothing more," Moore said in an interview, "because if he wanted to have a serious conversation about violent crime, he should have to pay attention to the work we're doing in the state of Maryland to be able to address the issue." Moore accused Trump of ignoring the fact that the homicide rate in Baltimore is the lowest it has been in 50 years. "That doesn't fit his narrative," Moore said. "This is just a series of ignorant tropes that he continues to lay out." Some Democrats, though, warn that reality is not as important as perception -- something that Trump has long been adept at shaping with his will and his echo chamber. They recall Democrats' ineffective efforts during last year's presidential election to promote statistics showing that the economy was improving -- while Trump and his allies hammered away at the pain people felt over persistently high prices. He won the support of voters with deep economic concerns. "D.C. presents the easiest opportunity for him to make crime an issue when it's not, and politics is perception," said Mike Morey, a Democratic strategist who advised former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in the 2022 race he lost to Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican, largely over the issue of crime. That contest was waged in New York City suburbs where crime was relatively low, but Lawler and his allies repeatedly attacked Maloney using headlines from the city's pandemic crime spike. Public safety is an issue in this fall's contest for mayor of New York City, while Republicans are signaling their intent to raise the matter during next year's race for governor of New York. "We have to be careful not to lean too heavily on statistics, because people form their judgments about public safety based on their own lived experience," Torres said. There are signs that the party is better prepared to ward off Trump's attacks on crime than it was in 2020 and 2022. "What Democrats need to do is keep calling out the lack of reason to do this other than to distract and to assert more power," said Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, who called Trump's actions "authoritarian fascism." Some Democrats have seized the opportunity to talk about their own credentials on public safety in places where violent crime has fallen on their watch, while being careful to acknowledge that a falling crime rate doesn't mean there isn't a problem. "No mayor in the country, myself included, is saying that we solved this issue of violent crime," said Brandon Scott, the mayor of Baltimore, adding that "we have to keep going until we make our cities even safer." In Washington, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, appears well aware that Washington's historically low rate of violent crime hasn't prompted a significant change in people's perception of the issue. (A Washington Post-Schar School poll conducted last year found that 65% of Washingtonians rated crime as an "extremely serious" or a "very serious" problem in the District, up from 56% in 2023, when the crime rate was actually higher.) She initially responded to Trump's takeover last week with a cautious and conciliatory tone. Even as she called it "unsettling and unprecedented," she acknowledged that some residents wanted to see more done to reduce crime. Her tone grew more defiant after the Trump administration sought to tighten its grip over the city police.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Trump wants to fight democrats on crime. They're treading cautiously
With his efforts to take control of law enforcement in Washington, D.C., last week, President Donald Trump has pushed the issue of crime back to the foreground of American politics. In doing so, he's invited a fight with Democrats, who are treading cautiously as they seek to forcefully oppose the federal incursion into the nation's capital, something no president has ever attempted, without getting caught up in a debate over public safety on Trump's terms. Trump and his Republican allies wielded the sharp increase in violent crime in urban areas during the pandemic as a campaign cudgel, winning control of the House in the 2022 midterms. Trump expanded his winning coalition two years later, in part with promises to prevent the rest of America from becoming like the cities he called "unlivable, unsanitary nightmares," deriding the data that showed improvement across the country. While his tactics in Washington are extraordinary, the effort is an actualization of one of his most tried-and-true political arguments: Democrats -- often Black Democrats -- have let lawlessness run rampant in the cities and states they were elected to run. At a moment when Trump's approval ratings even among his supporters are declining, he appears to be laying the groundwork for Republicans to once again weaponize the issue in the midterm elections. Trump has sent National Guard troops to patrol the streets, turned federal law enforcement officers into beat cops and sought to put the local police department fully under his administration's control. And the president has suggested he wants to bring his brand of law and order to Chicago; Baltimore; Oakland, California; and New York, all liberal cities in blue states, while avoiding any mention of high-crime cities in red states, such as Memphis, Tennessee, or St. Louis. Live Events Among Democrats, there is widespread agreement that Trump is stoking fear for political gain and exaggerating statistics to justify a power grab. But there is also recognition that the party must acknowledge that concerns about public safety continue to resonate not just with Trump's supporters, but with their own. "We as Democrats should be careful not to cede the issue of public safety to Donald Trump and Republicans," Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the Bronx borough of New York City, said in an interview. "We should own the issue of public safety, because it matters to voters." For his part, Trump made clear last week he sees his moves as a political slam-dunk. "I think crime is maybe 100 to nothing, so I think we may get very well some Democratic support," Trump said Wednesday. Trump made inroads across blue states including New York, New Jersey and California in 2024, alarming Democrats who worried that his messages about crime, immigration and quality of life had appealed to their voters, too. That year, a survey by Pew Research Center found that nearly 6 in 10 adults, including almost half of Democrats, wanted the reduction of crime to be a top priority for American leaders -- a figure that had grown since 2021. The differing approaches the party has taken to Trump over his crackdown in Washington were on display in neighboring Maryland, where a group of lawmakers, including five members of Congress, raised grave concerns for democracy. They framed the president's assertion of federal oversight of the Metropolitan Police Department and his use of the National Guard to patrol the streets as a "soft launch of authoritarianism." By contrast, Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, called the takeover a distraction, echoing party leaders including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. "I see this as performative and nothing more," Moore said in an interview, "because if he wanted to have a serious conversation about violent crime, he should have to pay attention to the work we're doing in the state of Maryland to be able to address the issue." Moore accused Trump of ignoring the fact that the homicide rate in Baltimore is the lowest it has been in 50 years. "That doesn't fit his narrative," Moore said. "This is just a series of ignorant tropes that he continues to lay out." Some Democrats, though, warn that reality is not as important as perception -- something that Trump has long been adept at shaping with his will and his echo chamber. They recall Democrats' ineffective efforts during last year's presidential election to promote statistics showing that the economy was improving -- while Trump and his allies hammered away at the pain people felt over persistently high prices. He won the support of voters with deep economic concerns. "D.C. presents the easiest opportunity for him to make crime an issue when it's not, and politics is perception," said Mike Morey, a Democratic strategist who advised former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in the 2022 race he lost to Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican, largely over the issue of crime. That contest was waged in New York City suburbs where crime was relatively low, but Lawler and his allies repeatedly attacked Maloney using headlines from the city's pandemic crime spike. Public safety is an issue in this fall's contest for mayor of New York City, while Republicans are signaling their intent to raise the matter during next year's race for governor of New York. "We have to be careful not to lean too heavily on statistics, because people form their judgments about public safety based on their own lived experience," Torres said. There are signs that the party is better prepared to ward off Trump's attacks on crime than it was in 2020 and 2022. "What Democrats need to do is keep calling out the lack of reason to do this other than to distract and to assert more power," said Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, who called Trump's actions "authoritarian fascism." Some Democrats have seized the opportunity to talk about their own credentials on public safety in places where violent crime has fallen on their watch, while being careful to acknowledge that a falling crime rate doesn't mean there isn't a problem. "No mayor in the country, myself included, is saying that we solved this issue of violent crime," said Brandon Scott, the mayor of Baltimore, adding that "we have to keep going until we make our cities even safer." In Washington, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, appears well aware that Washington's historically low rate of violent crime hasn't prompted a significant change in people's perception of the issue. (A Washington Post-Schar School poll conducted last year found that 65% of Washingtonians rated crime as an "extremely serious" or a "very serious" problem in the District, up from 56% in 2023, when the crime rate was actually higher.) She initially responded to Trump's takeover last week with a cautious and conciliatory tone. Even as she called it "unsettling and unprecedented," she acknowledged that some residents wanted to see more done to reduce crime. Her tone grew more defiant after the Trump administration sought to tighten its grip over the city police.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cuomo campaign attorney goes after union that criticized him
NEW YORK — Andrew Cuomo's campaign attorney recently threatened a union that endorsed one of his rivals, issuing a cease-and-desist letter over its criticisms of the frontrunning New York City mayoral candidate, according to a copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO. Longtime election lawyer Martin Connor admonished the Manhattan-based Communications Workers of America Local 1180, alleging its campaign literature made 'false and defamatory claims' against the former governor. The union endorsed Cuomo opponent Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker who stands to draw some votes away from the former governor's base of Black Democrats. A super PAC backing Cuomo has handily outspent Adams — and every other candidate — with $8 million so far, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. Adams is expected to begin airing ads soon, following a $2 million cash infusion from the city's Campaign Finance Board Friday. A filer posted to the union's website — dubbed the 'top 10 reasons' not to support Cuomo — matches the issues outlined in Connor's letter. Among the lawyer's complaints laid out in the May 26 missive: The flier accused the ex-governor of never having been a New York City resident, claimed he settled a Department of Justice probe over sexual harassment allegations, charged his gubernatorial administration with covering up nursing home deaths during Covid and said he allowed a high tax rate on wealthy people to expire. And Connor took issue with the group claiming Cuomo is not a 'friend' of workers. Politically influential unions 32BJ SEIU and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council are among the labor groups backing Cuomo — despite calling for his 2021 resignation. Adams has the backing of the CWA local and District Council 37, the largest public-sector union in the city that boosted her for Council speaker and once employed her chief of staff. Additional assertions in the union's flier — including Cuomo's push for a less generous pension tier, cost-saving labor contracts and the taxpayer money spent to defend him against sexual harassment allegations — were omitted from the letter. Connor threatened to contact elections officials and state Attorney General Letitia James — a Cuomo foe and Adams backer — 'for your deceptive and misleading claims which may interfere with legitimate voters seeking to exercise their franchise free of this sort of misinformation.' Union President Gloria Middleton declined to comment 'under the advice of my attorney.' Adams' campaign also declined to comment. Cuomo's hardball tactics — honed over a half-century of working on campaigns — are well-known and oft-reviled in New York's political world. 'It's no surprise that Adreiene Adams and her supporters are willfully distorting and lying about the governor — they've been doing it the whole campaign,' Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said. 'New Yorkers should not be fed misinformation by people seeking to represent them — they deserve the truth and will be fighting Trumpian misinformation tactics every step of the way using every tool at our disposal.' The letter is an aggressive effort by Cuomo to silence supporters of a rival candidate before the June 24 primary, which polls show he is expected to win. It also underscores how the former governor's campaign is taking a combative posture when countering the scandals that drove him from office four years ago. Cuomo has insisted he did not purposefully hide Covid nursing home fatalities, but his administration was later found to have undercounted the number of people who died in the facilities during the initial months of the pandemic. Cuomo, who has touted his Covid leadership on the campaign trail, is reportedly under a Department of Justice investigation after a Republican-led House panel alleged he lied under oath that he personally edited a state report on the matter. Cuomo has denied lying to Congress, and on Sunday said he and his attorneys have yet to be contacted about the probe. Some of Connor's complaints are valid; others focus on rhetoric that Cuomo's critics frequently hurl at him. Cuomo is a New York City native. He grew up in Queens, though he spent the last two decades living in Westchester County and Albany before moving to Manhattan ahead of his mayoral run. Contrary to the union's flier, the former governor was not party to a DOJ settlement which was reached with his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and he's denied any wrongdoing. The debate over the so-called millionaire's tax is more nuanced. In 2011, Cuomo faced pressure on his left flank to maintain a high tax surcharge set to expire at the end of that year. Cuomo negotiated a compromise that resulted in a lower tax for wealthy people, but at a higher rate if the surcharge had been allowed to expire. Cuomo's critics at the time derided the deal as a giveaway to millionaires. He embraced higher taxes on rich New Yorkers in 2021, citing the financial toll from Covid. Cuomo battled with labor leaders early in his first term as governor. He pressed public-sector unions for cost-saving contracts amid a financial crunch and threatened mass layoffs if the savings weren't achieved. He eventually secured the deals he wanted.
Politico
02-06-2025
- Business
- Politico
Cuomo campaign attorney goes after union that criticized him
NEW YORK — Andrew Cuomo's campaign attorney recently threatened a union that endorsed one of his rivals, issuing a cease-and-desist letter over its criticisms of the frontrunning New York City mayoral candidate, according to a copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO. Longtime election lawyer Martin Connor admonished the Manhattan-based Communications Workers of America Local 1180, alleging its campaign literature made 'false and defamatory claims' against the former governor. The union endorsed Cuomo opponent Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker who stands to draw some votes away from the former governor's base of Black Democrats. A super PAC backing Cuomo has handily outspent Adams — and every other candidate — with $8 million so far, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. Adams is expected to begin airing ads soon, following a $2 million cash infusion from the city's Campaign Finance Board Friday. A filer posted to the union's website — dubbed the 'top 10 reasons' not to support Cuomo — matches the issues outlined in Connor's letter. Among the lawyer's complaints laid out in the May 26 missive: The flier accused the ex-governor of never having been a New York City resident, claimed he settled a Department of Justice probe over sexual harassment allegations, charged his gubernatorial administration with covering up nursing home deaths during Covid and said he allowed a high tax rate on wealthy people to expire. And Connor took issue with the group claiming Cuomo is not a 'friend' of workers. Politically influential unions 32BJ SEIU and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council are among the labor groups backing Cuomo — despite calling for his 2021 resignation. Adams has the backing of the CWA local and District Council 37, the largest public-sector union in the city that boosted her for Council speaker and once employed her chief of staff. Additional assertions in the union's flier — including Cuomo's push for a less generous pension tier, cost-saving labor contracts and the taxpayer money spent to defend him against sexual harassment allegations — were omitted from the letter. Connor threatened to contact elections officials and state Attorney General Letitia James — a Cuomo foe and Adams backer — 'for your deceptive and misleading claims which may interfere with legitimate voters seeking to exercise their franchise free of this sort of misinformation.' Union President Gloria Middleton declined to comment 'under the advice of my attorney.' Adams' campaign also declined to comment. Cuomo's hardball tactics — honed over a half-century of working on campaigns — are well-known and oft-reviled in New York's political world. 'It's no surprise that Adreiene Adams and her supporters are willfully distorting and lying about the governor — they've been doing it the whole campaign,' Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said. 'New Yorkers should not be fed misinformation by people seeking to represent them — they deserve the truth and will be fighting Trumpian misinformation tactics every step of the way using every tool at our disposal.' The letter is an aggressive effort by Cuomo to silence supporters of a rival candidate before the June 24 primary, which polls show he is expected to win. It also underscores how the former governor's campaign is taking a combative posture when countering the scandals that drove him from office four years ago. Cuomo has insisted he did not purposefully hide Covid nursing home fatalities, but his administration was later found to have undercounted the number of people who died in the facilities during the initial months of the pandemic. Cuomo, who has touted his Covid leadership on the campaign trail, is reportedly under a Department of Justice investigation after a Republican-led House panel alleged he lied under oath that he personally edited a state report on the matter. Cuomo has denied lying to Congress, and on Sunday said he and his attorneys have yet to be contacted about the probe. Some of Connor's complaints are valid; others focus on rhetoric that Cuomo's critics frequently hurl at him. Cuomo is a New York City native. He grew up in Queens, though he spent the last two decades living in Westchester County and Albany before moving to Manhattan ahead of his mayoral run. Contrary to the union's flier, the former governor was not party to a DOJ settlement which was reached with his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and he's denied any wrongdoing. The debate over the so-called millionaire's tax is more nuanced. In 2011, Cuomo faced pressure on his left flank to maintain a high tax surcharge set to expire at the end of that year. Cuomo negotiated a compromise that resulted in a lower tax for wealthy people, but at a higher rate if the surcharge had been allowed to expire. Cuomo's critics at the time derided the deal as a giveaway to millionaires. He embraced higher taxes on rich New Yorkers in 2021, citing the financial toll from Covid. Cuomo battled with labor leaders early in his first term as governor. He pressed public-sector unions for cost-saving contracts amid a financial crunch and threatened mass layoffs if the savings weren't achieved. He eventually secured the deals he wanted.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Legislature passes most bills in Gov. Kay Ivey's public safety package
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey speaks at a press conference urging passage of a package of law enforcement bills on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Behind Ivey is Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham. Most of the bills in the package passed the Legislature this year.(Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) In her State of the State address in February, Gov. Kay Ivey called on the Legislature to pass a large public safety package. 'To back the blue, we will provide law enforcement with enhanced legal protections that allow them to carry out their duties courageously and effectively without fear of Monday morning quarterbacking in the courts,' Ivey said. By the end of the 2025 legislative session last week, nearly all of them had been approved. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Ivey on Thursday signed HB 202 a controversial bill sponsored by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, that provides law enforcement with enhanced immunity protections. 'I was very proud to have two former law enforcement agents sponsoring this important bill in the House and the Senate,' Ivey said in a news release regarding the legislation. 'Rep. Rex Reynolds, a former police chief in Huntsville, and Sen. Lance Bell, a former deputy sheriff in St. Clair County, both did an excellent job moving the bill through the legislative process.' Despite support from Ivey and leadership in the chambers, the bill faced significant opposition from Democrats and civil rights groups, who expressed fears the bill would allow law enforcement to act with impunity. In the final Senate debate over the measure on Wednesday, several Black Democrats discussed encounters with law enforcement, the dangers Black Americans often encounter in them and the warnings they give to their children during those encounters. 'Somebody will look at my baby, and because he's six-foot, dreads in his hair — they won't see an honor student,' said Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove. 'I can serve here now because my son helps with my father, who is a disabled vet. But there's somebody that will look at my baby and will decide he is a threat. This bill opens the door for more, not only my baby, but other babies to be at risk in the state of Alabama.' The bill was amended through the process and only received final approval in the last hour of the 2025 regular session Wednesday evening. Bills in the package focused on punishment and incarceration, from enhancing Aniah's Law that creates additional obstacles. Reynolds and other supporters of the immunity bill also argued the measures were needed to improve law enforcement recruitment in the state. Many big city departments, like Birmingham and Montgomery, have reported shortages of staff. Other bills included in the package enhanced penalties for people charged with crimes that involve firearms, allow agencies to revoke parole and electronically monitor people released from incarceration, as well as make it more difficult to release juveniles after arrest. Some bills in the package received bipartisan support, including one that criminalized converting semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic weapons. SB 115: This bill would broaden the existing crime of 'impersonating a peace officer' to include individuals who accept employment as a peace officer while knowing they are ineligible to serve or knowing that their Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission certification has been revoked or suspended. SB 119: This bill would expand the current 'certain persons forbidden' law to include individuals with any prior felony conviction unless they have had their gun rights restored by pardon. It expands Aniah's Law and increases the penalty for shooting into an occupied dwelling, vehicle or other designated space from a Class B felony to a Class A felony. It requires the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles to revoke parole, or a court to revoke probation, when a parolee or probationer has been convicted of unlawful firearm possession and revokes probation or parole when the parolee or probationer is found in possession of a firearm by his or her parole or probation officer. SB 116: This bill would make it a Class C felony for a person to knowingly possess a 'Glock Switch'— a part or combination of parts designed to convert a pistol into a fully automatic machine gun. HB 199: This bill clarifies that the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, or any other state agency, can provide electronic monitoring services to children released by a juvenile court pending disposition of their case, and repeals the 72-hour limitation on confinement of juvenile status offenders who have violated a valid court order. Democrats fully supported the Glock switch bill, which Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, had brought in prior sessions. 'As we always do, we are going to stand up for what we believe in and work in a bipartisan way, but then, when there are things that we oppose, like the immunity bill, we are going to fight back on those,' Ensler said in an interview on Wednesday. Ensler opted to view the package as separate bills instead of one large package that was a compendium of several pieces of legislation. 'Look, I would say in general though, between the Glock Switch bill, between those other restrictions on who can access firearms, and then the ankle monitors … there were some good things that came out of it,' he said. One bill that did not pass was HB 188, sponsored by Rep. Alan Treadaway, R-Morris, to provide scholarships for law enforcement dependents to attend post-secondary education institutions. The legislation won approval from the House in February and got Senate committee approval just over a week later, but did not come to the floor for a vote. HB 202 enhances the standard by which law enforcement may claim immunity from any wrongdoing from actions while performed on duty. Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, managed to add reporting requirements to the bill, but the core of the legislation remains largely intact. Reynolds said in an interview Friday that the legislation 'clarifies a 30-year piece of legislation and allows for 'pause and review' within 45 days so that a Judge of jurisdiction can review and determine if they in fact have immunity under this law.' Civil rights groups remain skeptical that the legislation will enhance public safety. Jerome Dees, policy director at the Southern Poverty Law Center likened the legislation to the federal crime legislation that former President Bill Clinton sponsored in the 1990s that was supported by Republicans and eventually passed into law. 'I think after 30 years' worth of data and multiple Democratic administrations, those policies, those tactics, are not what actually moves the needle on public safety,' Dees said. 'What does work are things like the accountability courts, occupational licensure, that crime is often driven by economic opportunity for folks. What I would have liked to have seen from the administration and the Legislature is a greater focus on creating pathways and opportunities for individuals that they may see as at risk.' A'Niya Robinson, policy director for ACLU of Alabama, said she had questions about creating additional immunity protections for a class of individuals because of their professions. 'There is also a lot of references in the bill to an officer's 'discretionary authority,' and for us, that is very subjective, and of course it varies from officer to officer because part of it is based on their interpretation of the law, which can differ from person to person,' she said. She added that she was encouraged that the legislation included provisions for reporting, adding that it was an important bill in the package and one that only one that the ACLU of Alabama had been tracking. 'I think part of it is that it touches on so many things that matter to us all, as well as so many topics that have been in the news for the past couple of years,' she said. 'There have been a lot of law enforcement-involved shootings in the past couple of years, not just across the country but right here in Alabama. And that hits home for a lot of folks in this state. I think there are a lot of concerns with how law enforcement interacts with Black folks but other communities in this state, for example LGBTQ+ folks, people who have disabilities, and even folks who are in the media.' During debate over the bill on Wednesday, Democrats in both chambers said they wanted to support police officers who exercise restraint, and said they knew what happened if they did not. 'There's a reason that we are the ones speaking on this side of the aisle about this bill,' said Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery. 'Far too often, we are the victims of it.' Alander Rocha contributed to this report. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
