Community Policing, Lessons Learned From Ferguson

Floor Speech

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Thank you, Representative Horsford, and to all the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who are here tonight to contribute to this conversation regarding an issue that is oh so prevalent in our communities and has been there for generations.

I just want to say to the President of the United States that I am extremely grateful for his vision in creating an initiative called My Brother's Keeper. My Brother's Keeper hopefully will address some of the issues that our young boys of color face.

I want to say that there is so much friction between police and black boys. That friction has been there for generations, almost since slavery. And it is a conversation that black parents have to have with their young boys as soon as they probably get a driver's license. They have to talk to them about dealing with the police. And I want to say, in my hometown of Miami-Dade County, I founded a program called the 5000 Role Models of Excellence 22 years ago.

We must realize that everyone just doesn't have a parent, they just don't have a responsible parent that can have that conversation with them. So we recruit mentors across this Nation to deal with these young men and try to teach them how to deal with some of the issues that impact especially boys of color but more specifically when it comes to the police black boys. The pamphlet starts out by saying if the police stop you, freeze, don't move, unless you are told to do so. Never run from the police. Always remain calm. Think, cooperate, speak clearly, ask questions if you have to, and it goes on and on.

It is sad that we have to do this. We are not trying to break the spirits of young black boys, but we are trying to keep them alive.

This is how the pamphlet looks. And it was really orchestrated by our State attorney, our public defender, and the Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police. And they put it together and put it in all of the schools for all of the children and members of the school's police to teach these children how to respond if the police ever stop them.

I have a real concern with Michael Brown's case, and that concern is with the State attorney. I really have a real concern that the grand jury may not get all of the evidence that they need. My father served on the grand jury for many years. I do know that the State attorney has so much sway over the grand jury.

My heart broke even worse than it did when he was killed, when we realized that the State attorney would be the one that would send the case to the grand jury that would oversee the case. He had a history that no one wants to have.

His father was a police officer, and he was killed by a Black youth. If that is not enough to recuse yourself from the case in general, to my colleagues, I cannot understand what else could be the case.

You remember Trayvon Martin, who came from my district. He was killed. The first thing that happened was the State attorney didn't want to recuse himself, but the Governor removed him, so I am really counting on Governor Nixon tonight to remove the State attorney, to remove the prosecutor from this case because, otherwise, Michael Brown may not get a fair trial, and he deserves justice under the law.

Thank you so much for this opportunity. I will continue to pray for his family because this is not a good time in America for young Black boys. They are watching. They are paying attention to this case. People all across the world are watching what is going to happen in Ferguson. I am afraid of what will happen if the verdict or if the police, Wilson, is not even indicted.

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