20200824-002a : Democratic Policing Reform — original pdf

Recommendation

COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Human Rights Commission Recommendation Number 20200824-002a: Recommendation to Require the Mayor of Austin Appoint a Democratically Elected Chief of Police WHEREAS, the current structure of policing has been well-documented to be a problematic and racist institution which was initially organized as slave patrols; and, WHEREAS, One of the most common feedback comments this commission is offered by the community is the restructuring of policing and community safety; and, WHEREAS, The City Council of Austin has recently reallocated funds for the police in an effort to redress community needs; and, WHEREAS, The current Chief of Police is complicit in the violation of Austin Residents’ Human Rights according to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Articles 18, 19, 20); and, WHEREAS, The right to freely chosen leadership is enshrined in Article 21 of The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and, WHEREAS, There is no logical, sound argument made to justify that the federal executor of laws is democratically elected and the local executor is not; and, WHEREAS, Austin Police Department, like many others, has a known reputation for unfair and racially biased practices, which has been verified by a recent report demonstrating for a number of years the only people the police killed were Black or Brown; and, WHEREAS, The current appointment process lends a distorted amount of power to representatives.