Bend the Arc on Trump Administration Threatening Police Department Consent Decrees

Bend the Arc on Trump Administration Threatening Police Department Consent Decrees

April 04, 2017

Press Contact:

Elliot Levy

Press Contact

202-800-7409

[email protected]

Release Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2017

 

New York – Following reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a review of reform agreements between the Department of Justice and troubled police departments nationwide, Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, released the following statement:

“The latest moves by Jeff Sessions to eliminate police accountability are deeply disturbing. However, they are unsurprising from an Attorney General with a record of opposing civil rights, acting on the orders of a president who has shown outright hostility toward communities of color by threatening them with oppressive, senseless policies such as national stop-and-frisk and by labeling their neighborhoods ‘war zones.’ These reform agreements exist because of the tireless work by the Black Lives Matter movement and its allies to expose and elevate the hundreds of citizens killed by police every year, particularly unarmed people of color. Rolling them back would further escalate the extreme danger that people of color across the country already face in their interactions with law enforcement.

“As Jews, we envision a society where all people are treated with compassion, dignity and respect. When police officers undermine these principles by violating the law or ignoring people’s constitutional rights, they must be held accountable. Our values as Jews and Americans demand that we continue to pursue equal justice for communities of color and oppose the dangerous, counterproductive policing policies of the Trump administration.”