U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday night in Atlanta that protests stemming from Ferguson, Missouri, are “born out of tragedy” but present the nation with a “unique opportunity” to address relationships between police forces and minority communities.
“The issues raised in Missouri are not unique to that state or that small city. We are dealing with concerns that are truly national in scope and that threaten the entire nation,” Holder said.
“Broadly speaking, without mutual understanding between citizens, whose rights must be respected, and law enforcement officers — who make tremendous and often-unheralded personal sacrifices every day to preserve public safety — there can be no meaningful progress,” Holder said. “Our police officers cannot be seen as an occupying force disconnected from the communities they serve. Bonds that have been broken must be restored. Bonds that never existed must now be created.”
Midway through Holder’s speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church, a group of protesters disrupted the ceremony chanting, “It is our duty to fight for our freedom! We have nothing to lose but our chains!”
Holder took the outburst in stride, proclaiming, “I ain’t mad at cha.”
“What we saw was a genuine expression of concern and involvement,” Holder said.
A woman who identified herself as Queen K — who also helped organize Friday’s rally at Underground Atlanta — said she wanted to hear Holder talk about punishment and indictments of police officers who violate human rights.
“When you have SWAT teams … burning buildings, it becomes a bigger issue than police officers,” she said. “This is a government issue.”
Holder spoke at Ebenezer as part of a tour ordered by President Barack Obama to talk about how police interact with their communities and how to improve relations in the wake of unrest in Ferguson.
In early August, Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, was shot and killed by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson, who is white. The killing sparked impassioned demonstrations in the St. Louis suburb. And when a grand jury voted last week not to indict Wilson on any charges, another round of violent protests erupted and several businesses were burned to the ground.
Protests and marches were also held throughout the country, including Atlanta.
Wilson resigned Saturday from the Ferguson Police Department. Holder, meanwhile, said federal investigations into allegations of unconstitutional policing practices by the Ferguson police remain ongoing.
“As these investigations proceed, I want to assure the American people that they will continue to be conducted both thoroughly and in a timely manner, following the facts and the law wherever they may lead,” the attorney general said.
At times Monday night, the event at Ebenezer resembled an old-fashioned revival, with speakers turning 30-second statements into extended sermons. The crowd, some of whom had been waiting since 5 p.m., didn’t seem to mind.
Bernice King, CEO of the King Center and the civil rights icon’s youngest child, preached that a new generation of nonviolent activists have made a difference in keeping the focus on Ferguson.
“I am applauding and standing here as a rep of the King legacy to say congrats and thank you to a new generation … in this freedom movement,” King said.
Earlier Monday, as Obama announced plans to sign an executive order calling for a de-escalation of militarized police departments, the president said he will ask Congress for $263 million in part to equip local police with body cameras.
Obama’s executive order on the use of military-style equipment, which was used aggressively during the initial Ferguson uprisings, would better track the weapons and gear flowing from the federal government to local police departments around the nation.
“It raised a broader issue as to whether we are militarizing domestic law enforcement unnecessarily, and is the federal government facilitating that,” Obama said.
The president also created a task force on “21st century policing” that will “examine how to promote effective crime reduction while building public trust.”
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and Laurie Robinson, a George Mason University professor and a former assistant attorney, will co-chair the commission, Holder said.
In announcing that he was going to start a pilot program with the Atlanta Police Department to equip officers with cameras, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said “police departments should look like the community.”
“I believe the best way to deal with tragedy and sorrow is to listen to the parents. Just the other day, Michael Brown’s father said, ‘I don’t want my son’s death to be in vain,’” Reed said. “Just across the street is an eternal flame. We know how to keep a dream alive in Atlanta and we know how to take dreams and make them concrete and real.”
Atlanta was the first stop on Holder’s community policing tour.
Holder and U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates met with local leaders, including Reed and Atlanta Police Chief George Turner, for a town hall discussion dubbed “The Community Speaks.” Martin Luther King Jr.’s sister, Christine King Farris, and Bernice King sat with Holder during the briefing, along with Ebenezer’s pastor, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, and Turner.
“We wanted to start in Atlanta where there has been so much progress,” Holder said. “Where the community has faith in the police department.”
Yet following the private meeting with local leaders, something ironic happened when Holder spoke to the overflowing crowd inside the church at 8 p.m.
A young man who identified himself as a Morehouse College sophomore told the attorney general that he was arrested unlawfully during last week’s Atlanta protests.
He asked the AG to listen to his story and launch an investigation into the Atlanta Police Department.
Holder walked out with the young man.
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