Transcripts For KGO ABC7 News 400PM 20240712 : comparemela.c

You are not alone today. Abc7 presents from anger to action, a bay area conversation. And we thank you for joining us for this special edition of abc7 news. Im eric thomas along with kumasi aaron and jobina fortson. And for everyone, it has been a challenging and difficult week. To say the least, eric. Weve all seen the video of george floyd being killed, the marches, the protests and the calls for change. So now the question is whats next. Today, instead of our traditional 4 00 p. M. Newscast, we are talking with a panel of experts in an abc7 listens conversation from anger to action. So over the next hour are having a frank and honest conversation about race, equality and the path forward with a panel of experts and also with questions from you. Yes, exactly, kumasi. This is an important onehour conversation airing on tv, on abc7news. Com, youtube, and facebook. In minneapolis today, mourners paid their respects to george floyd, who was killed after a Minneapolis Police officer planted a knee on to his neck and left there it for more das t ght minutes a week and a streets in south San Francisco. Its just one of hundreds of marches, protests, and rallies across the country that have taken place since golfs death. And whats happening here in the bay area and really across the country is highlighting a very tense and painful history. Abc7 News Reporter Zachary Kiesch says fear and lack of trust arent issues that exactly new for america. Law enforcement from around the country cant get far enough away from the actions of former cop and accused killer derek chauvin. When we do not live up to our core values, we chip away at the very trust weve worked so hard to build. These officers didnt just fail as cops. They fundamentally failed as human beings. There is no training across anywhere in this country, but especially here at the city of miami that teaches someone to take that kind of action. But its not new for america. This country has beenic begi in the south, organized poling was used to keep physical and psychological control over slaves. Its been described as organized terror to prevent revolt, to control movement. Some considered it a civic duty. Others did it for money. Then it was the jim crow laws that were meant to keep the black community in their place. We live in a society that still sees black people as violent, as dangerous, as immoral, as untrustworthy. So when they have interaction was Law Enforcement, we dont get a presumption of innocence. Whats unfolding in minneapolis is initiating new conversations but old issues, reflective of deeply ingrained and institutionalized racism. What youe saying well, we cant do the same things that we always do. We cant rely on the same judicial system. We cant rely on the same decision makers. We have to take justice into our own hands. According to studies, blacks are more likely to get stopped, searched, arrested and killed by police in this country. And some agree there has been progress, be threw is a fundamental difference when it comes to race and interactions with police. There is a certain amount of distrust there shouldnt be these levels of distrust or fear in many situations. So thats relevant in any discussion on race is fear and distrust. Weve got to get past this. In a 2016 pew study, 33 of blacks said police do a good or excellent job of using the right amount of force in each encounter. White americans on the other hand believed that happened 75 of the time. Study policing of black communities, of violence against black americans committed by the police, then you know that this is part of a very long history, and that these are not unrelated. There is so much to discuss with our live panel. Zooming in today, we have malia cohen, california state board of equalization chair and former president of the board of supervisors of San Francisco. Samuel getachew, oakland youth poet laureate, and pall, executive director of the San Francisco department of police accountability. We also have ersie joyner, a retired Oakland Police captain, dr. Massachusetts marshall, codirector of alive and free. And we also have leslie zeitler, who is with the nonprofit Racial Justice organization race forward. You are also part of this conversation too. Go to facebook or youtube to weigh in and interact in todays virtual town hall. Honestly, you guys, im so happy that all of you are here. Im excited about this conversation. And i think we should start it really by unpacking why people are so hurt and so angry. And ill start with you, dr. Marshall, because really, this has been years in the making. And its a lot bigger than what happened with george floyd. My first thought as to why, look at that video. That video is horrible. What happened to Ahmaud Arbery in georgia, to i think his name was Christian Cooper i believe in new york. Those three things happened in a very, you know, short amount of time. And you put that on years and years of history, its not not understandable to me what has happened and how this has hurt so many people and sparked this kind of outrage. Yeah. I talk to kids all the time. Im not surprised. Im not surprised. And ive seen a lot of these, but im not surprised by this. Dr. Marshall, first you and maybe from malia cohen, we have seen other videotaped incidents like this going back to rodney king and other incidents like this. Why is this one so different than those, or is it . You know, thats an interesting question, and i got to tell you, growing up as a kid i watched the boating of rodney king, and then in 2012, Trayvon Martin. I remember watching that shooting and that trial. It was 2012 when i was newly elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors that really moved me, that impassioned me that hey, im in a position the make change, and im in a position to begin to institute and bring about policy as an elected policymaker. And so i believe what people are feeling, what the nation is feeling is a compounded effect of seeing countless people, black men and black women being shot and killed and murdered at the hands of police. And i think we will continue to feel this pressure we will continue to feel this angst, this sadness, this grief until we start to see real systemic change. And you are slowly seeing this change. I do want to acknowledge we are some ways away from where our grandparents marched considering that we do have a right to vote. But even often in recent past, the right to vote act has been under attack. So i think what youre seeing here is really a turning point that will carry us and carry this momentum forward so that we can continue to pull people through and up the racism, the racist talk, the antiblack sentiment thats across this country. I think whats different about this particular moment is youre starting to see more white people, more corporations, more people in elected positions of power as well as those within i think about our military and our Law Enforcement structure that are saying hey, i think we do have a problem here. Well need to reflect and review some of our use of force policies, some of our policies that we have in place, our practices. And this goes across the gamut. This is not just in Law Enforcement, but i think about property. Think about red line, think about the number of Small Businesses and minority businesses that have not been able to get ppp from the federal government. I mean, this is absolutely systemic in what youre seeing is a physical manifestation of this outcry of frustration, hurt and pain. I think thats interesting, buzz weve been hearing this quote a lot the last few days from dr. Martin luther king, a riot is the language of the unheard. And it kind of gives a sense that for a long time this has been ignored, and there is also i feel a bit more of the compounding of people saying there is more focus on how people are speaking out as opposed to the reasons why theyre speaking out. Have you all noticed that kind of tying into this as well . I think we absolutely have. And its when you Start Talking about the different manifestations of the protests versus a rally, versus a walk, versus a riot, like its all coming from the same source, from communities and i say a broad sense of communities that have felt a sense of frustration that are now feeling a sense of instigati instigation, right, that there is an authentic anger and a genuine demand for change. Its both of those two things that are happening right now. And we are at a flash point i think because people are frustrated to the point of taking action because they see these things happening again and again and again and theyre recorded on our television and the conversations that in many communities weve been having these conversations for decades. And now that we have somebody on campus, now that we have were recording these incidents and seeing them and we have a visceral reaction to how could this happen. And then when we see these instances and its not translated into accountability, the level of frustration continues to rise, and this is why were at a point, a crossroads, in fact, where were redefining what does Law Enforcement look like. And this doesnt mean that all Law Enforcement is bad. It just means that some Law Enforcement is bad, and then what do we do . Its just as important that we have Law Enforcement be accountable and have guidelines and accountability to what they cannot do and must not do as much as its important that we demand what they do do. And these conversations are whats taking place now. And i think thats what is behind people that are coming to the streets that are carrying signs and are demanding of communities and of their cities and of their states and of their national government. You can do better, you must do better, and its our job and our responsibility to have these informed conversations so that broader people know and understand the subjective and intransigent decisions that are behind these outcomes were seeing when we must ask why. And then we can answer how we can come up with the solution, because we cant fix what we arent talking about. Thats whats behind the movement that were seeing in this country. I like to also add that not only can we not fix what were not talking about, but were cant fix what were not chniti data on, wt wre not analyzing in addition talking about it. Yeah, i definitely agree that a lot of people have taken their phones out documenting this. And that has made such a big difference in the response that were seeing from people. And i know jobina, were checking people who are listening to this conversation. Theyre checking in with you on social media. What are thehere. We have ronald chu checking in from San Francisco here saying you cannot blame all police for ones actions. We need the police. Reform is not for everybody. All you have to do is obey the law. Now i know there are lots of people that disagree with that. We have someone following up that it is the police. That is a really controversial issue, and i know we have a retired Police Officer on this panel. So we are going to get into that. And we want you to join the conversation. You are a part of this. Abc7 listens town hall 2. Go to facebook. Im looking at it right now, or youtube, to weigh in and interact in todays virtue youll town hall. We havent heard yet from samuel getachew. We havent heard from ersie joyner. But we will. Just sit tight, folks. Well get to them. But right now we ask some bay area people what they felt when they heard about george floyd. Its not just anger. Its an overwhelming sadness. I was hurt, more than anything. Put agony on your neck, thats so disrespectful and thats such a dehumanizing position to be in. My initial reaction was to cry. Sad to me personally as an african american, a marine corps veteran, seeing the country that i protected wont protect me or people that look like me. I was really sad, and it just made me sick. It wasnt like okay, this is how the world is. It has been like this. Theyve been killing black people. Disgust. Pain. It repeatedly happens. It happened to my parents, my grandparents. Were still repeating the same story. I dont have the answer to a 400year problem. I know that there are steps we can take just to bring him to justice by convicting all of those Police Officers involved and then working on fixing the system. Our communities should watch out for us. I feel like if our Community Watch out for our back, we dont need police. Who do we call when we cant call the police and we are scared of the police . I just feel like black people are so fed up with trying to be patient and wait on change. Its like if the government doesnt change, if the president doesnt change anything, im afraid i dont know when this is going to end. To all the black people, its our time to heal. First and foremost, that needs to happen. And honestly, for the white people, its time to do your job. Start speaking up. Yeah, lots of history of Police Brutality out there. Id like to check in now with ere arded caerithe Police Department, ive got a figure people would come up to you after incident likes this, especially after they saw the video and say whats going on . Ersie . First and foremost, i want to offer a much heartfelt thank you to kgo for hosting this very important information. More importantly putting together such a diverse voice on the panel to make sure that peoples voices are heard. But i think before we even get started, we first need to acknowledge the fact that this is not the first time this is happening in black communities, underserved communities. We talk a lot about why this is so fueled and why people are so angry. Thing is the first time someone saw someone lose their life before their eyes. That is the most agonizing nine minutes anyone could watch, no matter whether youre wearing a uniform or not that is something that has grabbed the attention of not just the black community, but the whole United States. One of the things i can tell you in my close to 30 years of serving this community in oakland is when there has been uses of force, things happen throughout the nation, the thing that you hear officers often say is hey, most officers are good, and there is only a few bad apples. I cringe every time i hear that. There are certain professions where you cant have any bad apples. If youve ever tasted a bad apple, youre going to pause every time you pick up a apple. The good apples have to realize the bad apples are attacking their integrity and dignity and the profession they love. I was honored to wear a uniform in the community i grew up in. For where a man or woman leaves their home, their family, their loved ones, puts on a uniform and is willing to lose there life for people they dont know, sometimes for people who dont even like them. So for me, its a very, very proud profession. But with all of that said, i think our conversation needs to move and focus on the next steps, what to do and what true accountability looks like. And to your question, yes, living here in oakland, being a lifelong oakland resident, i can tell you that i cant tell you how many times i fielded a question about what do i think and waiting for people to have justification. Have i none for that. There is no just fayification f what took place. In closing, the only Silver Lining in all of this is that this conversation is starting to be had, and for the first time, the Oakland Police department, the San Jose Police department and the San Francisco Police Department put out a joint letter condemning the acts of those officers. And more importantly, condemning the officers who stood by and watched him do what he did that is something we should build on. Again, it does not minimize what happened to mr. Floyd. But in terms of moving forward, its definitely something we need to take this energy and move this community forward. I agree with the focus on accountability. Because i think that is a focus right now. Its been a focus for a long time. But i think people still feel there is a lack of accountability when police are involved in certain circumstances. Paul, i want to talk to you about that. What do you see that have been barriers to police accountability, and what can people do to hold officers accountable when necessary . I think the information itself about how our Justice System works is a real barrier. This is why when you saw a case that happened in kansas and they addressed this issue and it got resolved, and then you see the same thing happen in mississippi and you wonder how does it happen. We have to start looking at the systemic challenges and try and find systemic solutions. Some of the lowhanging fruit and approaches we have to Start Talking about is how do we empower communities . Communities should be at the table and be able to define what Public Safety looks like for themselves. They should be able to define what safety and what type of policing they want for themselves as well. These are all of the tax dollars. And i would say one of the first biggest steps is talking about the very important issue of civilian oversight. We already know these arent subjective interpretations, these are just facts. That those are best practices for having race neutral outcomes and race neutral tactics is having civilian oversight. There is over 17,000 Law Enforcement agencies in the United States, and there just other 200 civilian oversight agencies. We have to start having the conversation. And those are some of the things that we can do right now from our in front of our televisions with our computer is asking our city, our town, our mayors, our chiefs of police, why dont we have civilian oversight . How c