More Than A Plaza
About the Issue
Recent grand symbolic gestures aside, the District of Columbia is no exception to the national pattern of violence, injustice, and devaluing of Black life. District leadership has not done enough to address glaring problems of our policing and criminal legal system. In fact, D.C. has an incarceration rate of 1,153 people per 100,000, which is higher than any state. Our child and adult corrections facilities are almost entirely Black. The District has failed to adequately address citizens’ complaints of excessive use of force, abusive and degrading stop-and-frisk tactics, racial profiling, false statements, and other misconduct. This demand identifies strategies to improve policing in the nation’s capital and demands transparency, accountability, and protection.
D.C. Needs more than a plaza to prove black lives matter.
Key Points
#1
Limit search warrants
Require strong evidence, due diligence, and transparency.
#2
End Jump-outs
Disallow pre-textual bases for reasonable articulable suspicion, such as presence in a high-crime neighborhood or apparent nervousness around police officers.
#3
Disarm special police
Pass the Special Police Officer Oversight Amendment Act.
#4
Disallow interrogations of children unless:
The child knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waives their rights through counsel.
Supporting documents
Disarm Special Police
Key takeaways
- Increase the quantity and quality of training required.
- Pass the Special Police Officer Oversight Amendment Act.
- Disallow pursuit beyond property boundaries.
- Justice 4 Zo
- Testimony (Beverly Smith)
- Testimony (Virginia Spatz)
Limit Search Warrants
Key takeaways
- Disallow search warrants for drug activity or based on drug activity alone.
- Require strong evidence, due diligence, and transparency.
- Ban no-knock warrants and limit quick-knock warrants.
- Limit handcuffing, gun-pointing, and searching individuals.
- Testimony (Sabrin Qadi)
End Jump-Outs
Key Takeaways
- Disband existing paramilitary units.
- Prohibit officers from demanding to see a person’s waistband without probable cause.
- Disallow pre-textual bases for reasonable articulable suspicion, such as presence in a high-crime neighborhood or apparent nervousness around police officers.
- Testimony (Diontre Davis)
- Testimony (Jordan Crunkleton and Emily Friedman)
Demanding a More Mature Miranda for Kids
Key Takeaways
Disallow interrogations of children unless:
- The child is advised of their rights by law enforcement;
- The child is given an opportunity to confer with an attorney; and
- The child knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waives their rights through counsel.
- Testimony (Shameka Stanford)
Eliminate Consent Searches
Key Takeaways
Disallow consent searches unless:
- The person is advised of their rights by law enforcement;
- The person is given an opportunity to confer with an attorney; and
- The person knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waives their rights through counsel.
Citation in Lieu of Arrest
Key Takeaways
Disallow full custodial arrests unless:
- The person is likely to immediately continue or resume criminal conduct; or
- Fail to appear for a court a date.
Additional Documents
#DefundMPD
Student Director Katrina Jackson and DC-based videographer Joy Imani produced this video, amplifying the voices of D.C. residents on the issue of funding for the Metropolitan Police Department.
Special thanks to The George Washington University Law School’s Criminal Law Society .