Mothers advocates for change in Yes! magazine
The Rev. Harriett Walden understands the challenges inherent in trying to fix the police. Co-founder of Seattle-based Mothers for Police Accountability, she is also co-chair of the Community Police Commission, a civilian body established as part of the agreement between the city of Seattle and the U.S. Department of Justice to develop police reform recommendations.
The Minneapolis police killing of Floyd, she says, “broke through the apathy in this country around police violence toward Black people, showing it’s not normal; it’s inhumane for one human to do this to another while wearing a uniform…”
The idea of “defunding scares a lot of people,” she says, but shouldn’t. “Police presence in Black communities has never represented safety.”
We need to create a new structure that will produce a different public safety culture.
Walden says that while police may sometimes de-escalate, many times they can escalate situations, too. “We’re not safer because they come; they come with a presence…,” she says.
