Montgomery Mayor, Police Chief to Review Policing Policies

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed has released a statement to say that he and Police Chief Ernest Finley will be reviewing policing practices. Nationally, there have been cries for police reform in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reed and Finley say the Montgomery Police Department will join the #8CantWait project.

“I along with Chief Ernest Finley believe a review of our policing practices is necessary to improve the trust between the City of Montgomery’s Police Department and the community we serve,” Mayor Reed said. “The recent events throughout our nation and calls for reform have motivated us to identify more restrictive use of force policies that we will be proud of, so that minimal use of force techniques can be more widely implemented.”

“We believe while we are already using many of the policies of the #8CantWait campaign, more can be done to dramatically reduce incidents of lethal force used against members of our community. Too often throughout history, black men and women have disproportionately been the victims of heinous acts of violence at the hands of law enforcement. This must end now.”

The #8CantWait project says its goal is to bring immediate change to police departments. It says research shows restricting the use of force can reduce killings by police and save lives.

The eight policy changes proposed by #8Can’tWait – Graphic from 8Can’tWait.org

It calls on police departments to: ban chokeholds and strangleholds; require de-escalation; require warning before shooting; require exhausting all alternatives before shooting; call for intervention; ban shooting at moving vehicles; require the use of force continuum and require comprehensive reporting.

The mayor’s statement says the policies put forth by the initiative call on police nationwide to prioritize and respect the inherent life, liberty, dignity and worth of all individuals.

Law enforcement agencies across the nation who adopt these measures pledge to prioritize the preservation of human, minimize physical harm, reduce reliance on use of force and conduct duties without prejudice.