[Peace-discuss] CUCPJ statement opposing militarization of police, the MRAP, etc. - would AWARE agree to sign this?

[Stuart Levy via Peace-discuss]

CUCPJ has prepared a statement (attached and pasted below) in opposition 
to the ongoing militarization of police, urging specific actions - 
disassociating with the "1033" program that distributes military 
hardware to police, dismantling the massive MRAP tank acquired by the 
County, insisting on public discussion and policies-for-use before any 
equipment could be acquired, etc.

Would AWARE like to sign on to this statement?   As Durl Kruse writes 
below, they're hoping to present it to city and county officials with as 
many organizations in support as possible.

I think this would be a good thing for us to do.   And if possible, some 
of us should be there ourselves as the statement is presented in various 
venues.   We could try to speak to it, as well.

     Stuart

====================


Champaign Citizens for Peace and Justice, CUCPJ, is concerned about the 
growing militarization of local police departments; in particular the 
participation of area local law enforcement agencies in the Federal 
Government's 1033 Program.  They have recently acquired a Mine-Resistant 
Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle and dozens of military style assault 
rifles as reported in the news (see statement references).

CUCPJ has prepared a statement, ?Halt Police Militarization in CU?, 
(attached below) to address this concern, and is inviting local 
organizations to join this effort.  We are asking your organization to 
agree to have their name added to the statement.  Our goal is to have 
over a dozen organizations sign the statement within the next several weeks.

Once we hear back from everyone, we intend to present the statement 
along with signatories to our local officials at the county board and 
city councils.

If you have any questions or would like someone from CUCPJ to discuss 
this issue in person with your organization, just let us know.

Thank you and /hope to hear from you soon/,

On Behalf of CUCPJ,

Durl Kruse
===================================================

(The text of the statement is here - see the attached Word file for a 
prettier version)

*Halt Police Militarization in CU*

We are a coalition of concerned Champaign County residents working to 
demilitarize our local police. Since Ferguson, the public has become 
aware of the trend toward police militarization, especially how it 
impacts the African American community. The Federal Government's 1033 
Program, providing police with excess military equipment, has been 
exposed in the media. Through this program M-16 assault rifles have been 
given to our local police, and, most alarmingly, a Mine-Resistant 
Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle has been acquired by the Champaign 
County Sheriff's Office. We have several recommendations:


  *

    We urge elected officials to instruct our law enforcement agencies
    to withdraw from the 1033 Program.

  *

    We call on Sheriff Dan Walsh to decommission the MRAP.

  *

    We are concerned about the lack of accountability in past
    acquisitions of military equipment and weapons.

  *

    We ask that in the future, there be a process of public consultation
    before local law enforcement acquires this dangerous equipment.

  *

    We ask that police develop clear policies for how these items will
    be used before being acquired.

  *

    We insist that such weapons are not used against minors (especially
    in schools), peaceful protesters, and in serving routine warrants of
    arrest.


For more read:

_"An Asset for Area Law Enforcement, Military Gear Has Its Critics, 
Too." 
<http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2014-09-21/asset-area-law-enforcement-military-gear-has-its-critics-too.html>_ 
/News-Gazette/ (Sept. 21, 2014).

_"The Banality of Police Militarization: How Champaign-Urbana Acquired 
Its MRAP." 
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25792-the-banality-of-police-militarization-how-champaign-urbana-acquired-its-mrap>_ 
/Truthout /(Aug. 26, 2014).

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20141021/fabd2a58/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: cucpj coalition police demilitarizaiton statement.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 50176 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20141021/fabd2a58/attachment-0001.doc>