Police face a 'crisis of trust' with Black motorists. One state's surprising policy may help.

Simone Weichselbaum Emily R. Siegel Andrew Blankstein

October 07, 2021 |

NBC News |

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Response Location: United States, Virginia

A new Virginia law restricts when the police can stop motorists, limiting the chances for inequitable law enforcement. Barred from stopping vehicles based on minor infractions like a broken taillight, police in the first four months under the new law sharply reduced their stops of Black motorists. Police say such stops are a key tactic for getting guns, drugs, and dangerous people off the streets. But they also can be racially motivated, disproportionately punish people of color, and lead to violent confrontations. Many states and cities are considering dialing back traffic enforcement for these reasons.

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Dozens of states have tried to end qualified immunity. Police officers and unions helped beat nearly every bill.

Kimberly Kindy

October 07, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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Response Location: United States, Colorado

Fifteen months after Colorado became the first state to strip law enforcement officers of their legal immunity from civil lawsuits for misconduct on the job, only one lawsuit has been filed over a notorious incident and no real evidence has materialized that police department staffing will be gutted by resignations or recruiting problems. The 2020 social justice protest movement inspired dozens of proposed laws to end the practice called qualified immunity. All but Colorado's bill failed, based on dire warnings from police unions. The Colorado law exposes officers to damages up to $25,000.

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Dallas PD Expands Controversial, Though Successful, Mental Health Response Program

Hayley Zhao

October 06, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

Dallas' Rapid Integrated Group Healthcare Team dispatches clinicians and social workers with police to 911 calls for mental health crises. Within two days, the team follows up to make sure people received the services they need. In its first three years, the area of the city using the program saw 60% fewer arrests and 20% fewer emergency-room visits among people in mental health crises. Critics argue that the presence of police can needlessly escalate such crises, but the city is sticking with the co-responder model and spending millions to expand the program.

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Tucson police chief says mental health workers in 911 center would ensure callers get the right response

Caitlin Schmidt

October 05, 2021 |

Arizona Daily Star |

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Response Location: United States, Mesa, Arizona

In 2019, Mesa police began diverting calls about suicide threats to a crisis line, where trained mental health professionals could provide counseling or dispatch a mobile crisis unit. Then they placed mental health professionals side by side with police dispatchers to triage 911 calls on the spot. Police now handle many fewer suicide-related crises, saving the city money and giving people more appropriate care. In Tucson, a mobile crisis team operates more independently from police. After two social workers were abducted at gunpoint by a man in crisis, the police chief argued to adopt the Mesa model.

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Austin wants to be a model of modern policing, but the future remains unclear

Tony Plohetski

October 04, 2021 |

KVUE-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Austin, Texas

After years of inaction on police reform measures, Austin city leaders raced to restructure and cut resources from the city's police department after the 2020 nationwide social justice protests followed close on the heels of another in a series of controversial police shootings in Austin. By freezing hiring of new officers and shifting $140 million to other agencies, the city was among the biggest cities making the earliest, boldest moves to reform policing. A year later, a severe shortage of patrol officers and rising violence has sparked a new round of debate about where the city goes from here.

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Learning when to be hands-off

Jodi Hausen

September 30, 2021 |

Boulder Weekly |

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Response Location: United States, Boulder County, Colorado

Although several Colorado law enforcement agencies have trained officers on how to de-escalate interactions with people in a crisis, including people with disabilities, the state in 2022 will become the latest to mandate such training for all law enforcement officers. The training is backed by a study that suggests it helps police better recognize and understand the reactions that people with disabilities might have under stress in a confrontation with police. Trained officers in Boulder last year successfully ended one potentially violent incident without serious inury.

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Parson acknowledges new gun law needs to be revisited after police say it ties their hands

Lauren Trager

September 28, 2021 |

KMOV-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Missouri

A new Missouri law, the Second Amendment Preservation Act, restricts the ability of local law enforcement officials to collaborate with federal officials in enforcing gun laws and investigating gun crimes. The law, which legislators meant as a statement of gun-rights principles, would fine police officers who violate it. Many local law enforcement officers withdrew from federal-local gun crime task forces and have otherwise stopped working with their federal counterparts. One department stopped submitting data to the federal ballistics database. Police say the law interferes with legitimate police work.

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'They Saw Me And Thought The Worst'

Richard A. Webster

September 24, 2021 |

New Orleans Public Radio (WWNO) |

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Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

Comparing police accountability in Jefferson Parish, La. to neighboring New Orleans reveals a stark contrast because of federally imposed reforms in New Orleans. Jefferson's sheriff's office, one of the nation's largest police agencies not using body cameras, has a weak internal investigation process and lack of transparency for its use of force, which is influenced by race. New Orleans had similar problems until a Justice Department report led to a package of reforms that have helped reduce the use of force and increased accountability and transparency.

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Maybe Cops Shouldn't Handle Domestic Violence Calls

Melissa Jeltsen

September 22, 2021 |

The Cut |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Moab, Utah

The case of Gabby Petito illustrates how decades-old laws meant to make police take domestic violence more seriously can backfire on the people who most need protection. Mandatory-arrest laws require police responding to a domestic-violence complaint to determine who is the primary aggressor, as a prelude to an arrest. In Petito's case, as in many, Moab, Utah, police deemed her the aggressor based on a cursory investigation, and possibly based on ingrained biases against women. This does nothing to get at the root of the problem and get people the help they need.

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What the Rest of America Can Learn From Colorado

Russell Berman

September 22, 2021 |

The Atlantic |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Aurora, Colorado

In the wake of 2020's social-justice protests and a controversial killing by Aurora police of a man in their custody, Colorado legislators passed the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, the first police-reform law of its kind in the nation. The law mandates several reforms aimed at improving transparency and accountability, including prompt release of body-cam videos and allowing people to sue police officers for violating their rights. The law has resulted already in a crackdown on misconduct in Aurora. What's less clear is whether it can change the culture of policing.

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