Posted on 08/15/2015 11:18:02 AM PDT by markomalley
President Obama discussed initiatives he's put in place to change the tense dynamic between "many communities of color" and the police on the one year anniversary of teenager Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Mo.
"I convened a task force on community policing to find commonsense steps that can help us drive down crime and build up trust and cooperation between communities and police, who put their lives on the line every single day to help keep us safe. And I've met personally with rank and file officers to hear their ideas," said Obama in his weekly address.
Obama said that since May, this task force has made 59 recommendations on "everything from how we can make better use of data and technology, to how we train police officers, to how law enforcement engages with our schools. And we've been working with communities across America to put these ideas into action."
"Dozens of police departments are now sharing more data with the public, including on citations, stops and searches, and shootings involving law enforcement," Obama said. "We've brought together leaders from across the country to explore alternatives to incarceration. The Justice Department has begun pilot programs to help police use body cameras and collect data on the use of force."
However, a year after the disputed narrative surrounding black teenager Michael Brown's death at the hands of a white police officer, most St. Louis-area police officers still aren't wearing body cameras. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said this week that the department doesn't have funding for body cameras for all of its nearly 900 officers.
Obama also said that the issues raised by the deaths in Ferguson, "Cleveland, Staten Island, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and other communities" won't "be solved by policing alone."
"We simply can't ask our police to contain and control issues that the rest of us aren't willing to address — as a society," said Obama. "That starts with reforming a criminal justice system that too often is a pipeline from inadequate schools to overcrowded jails, wreaking havoc on communities and families all across the country."
Obama called on Congress to reform sentencing laws for non-violent offenders and on Americans to "invest in our children and our communities so that more young people see a better path for their lives." This includes money for "early childhood education, job training, [and] pathways to college," according to Obama.
Obama urged Americans to deal "honestly with issues of race, poverty, and class that leave too many communities feeling isolated and segregated from greater opportunity."
I almsost forgot that A_hole is still the president.
Black faces instead of brown shirts. Look at the way the #BlackLivesMatter idiots acted at Sanders’ speech, and threaten to act at Trump meetings.
More divisiveness.
Nothing this man says is ever about all of us.
The man’s racist against both sides of his “DNA”. The ultimate misanthrope, sad to say—at least within US purview.
Why not change the urban culture by leading with positive messagages of how we are all in this together instead of fueling racial hatred?
“Communities of Color”?
Gimme a break.
The problem is the black community.
Asians are doing just fine... Cubans in Miama aren’t having problems... No complaints from people who migrated from India... or American Indians.
Nope.
It’s the black community and illegals Obama... so cut the crap about ‘communities of color’...
Because racial hatred and mistrust are what keeps blacks on the democrat plantation...
Shouted Yeb down as well.
Waiting to see how Trump’s security is prepared to handle and what will have to say to the protesters.
funny isn't it that they aren't addressing the REAL problem.....ferals running wild committing crimes everywhere they go....
I notice that the national news leads with stories about some poor white cop being accused of killing and "innocent" black thug but when 4 of those people attack and beat up and rob a white federal officier in Orlando, mum's the word....
its always quiet when the white officers get killed or beaten, or if its a Catholic church burned to the ground...
“I convened a task force on community policing to find commonsense steps that can help us drive down crime and build up trust and cooperation ... I’ve met personally with rank and file officers to hear their ideas ... yada yada yada blah blah blah”
One thing you know for sure about Obama: If his lips are moving, he’s wreaking havoc with the truth.
However, there have been hints he might attempt a third term, especially if H goes down, or Trump goes 3rd party.
What about my neighborhood of color (white)? I haven’t see cops more that a few times in the last 15 years.
“I almsost forgot that A_hole is still the president.”
Ya, me too.
Rainbow communities?
Nationalizing the police is creating an army and then Posse Posse Comitatus takes over. National police forces are the tools of dictators of third world countries.
And not one recommendation to ban beer summits or addressing the fact that there are major problems within the black family or the biggie that He Himself stirred up these problems.
***[Nationalize the Police]***
We were warned of this back in 1970.
Now it is here.
“Nationalize the Police...”
Hello, Obuma national police force commander. Please don’t get too close to the lake because there’s big gators living there.
Yes, sir. All that’s left of Obuma’s national police commander is his Che beret. The gators just ate him up when he slipped on the muddy bank and fell in the lake. Send our regrets to the family.
How about a pilot program in Chicago to prove concept?
The obvious question: Are there any examples of this utopian communities of color policing nirvana in existence? Or arre all supposed to believe the 'experts' suddenly found a solution to crime that has alluded mankind since the beginning?
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