47abc
January 6, 2021
DELAWARE – Delaware’s Law Enforcement Accountability Task Force released its preliminary interim report. The task force is broken into four categories. Those include Use of Force and Imminent Danger, Workforce Development, Community Policing and Engagement, and Transparency and Accountability.
Delaware State Representative Ruth Briggs King said during Tuesday’s LEATF meeting she’s happy to see progress being made. Rep. Briggs King also said she is already thinking ahead to how the task force can be even better. “There is an awful lot of overlap. So the idea is that we should be able to line these things up and then really make some targeted recommendations. But I do thank everyone,” said Rep. Ruth Briggs King.
47abc
December 23, 2020
DELAWARE – The Delaware General Assembly is set to start back up virtually in less than three weeks and many say they’re ready to hit the ground running.
“So we’ve all been waiting anxiously to return on January 12th,” says Rep. Ruth Briggs-King.
When the 151st Delaware General Assembly begins virtually, lawmakers say there will be plenty of housekeeping items to accomplish and they’re also expecting some tax changes.
“We expect to see some work on additional tax brackets, tax increases. Of course we’re going to see a push for a reassessment statewide of property taxes as a result of the settlement with the state and certain parties for the education funding,” says Sen. Brian Pettyjohn.
Don Flood December 14, 2020
On May 19, three Republican Sussex County legislators, Rep. Ruth Briggs King and Sens. Brian Pettyjohn and David Wilson, asked U.S. Attorney General William Barr to investigate actions by Gov. John Carney that they said impacted “the civil and constitutional rights of all citizens of these United States.”
They were referring, of course, to state of emergency rules issued to fight the coronavirus.
Parts of their letter, however well intended, haven’t aged well. One section concerned Carney’s order to wear face masks in public spaces. “There is no rational relation or nexus between the public health concerns and the wearing of said masks,” they wrote. “This provision deprives citizens of liberty interests.”
47abc
December 14, 2020
DELAWARE – A new juvenile justice reform bill is on the table in Delaware, set be considered in the upcoming legislative session, but not everyone is on board with the proposed changes.
“We are all better than the worst mistakes we’ve ever made in our lives,” says Mike Brickner, the executive director of the ACLU of Delaware.
Brickner says the ACLU of Delaware supports House Bill 26. The legislation addresses juvenile justice reform and was introduced Friday. “We want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to help that person turn their life around,” says Brickner.