Local, federal and community leaders discuss comprehensive approaches to public safety
By Washington Post Live
June 28, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
Vanita Gupta, Art Acevedo, Keith Ellison, Michael S. Harrison & DeRay Mckesson join Washington Post Live on Tuesday, June 28. (Video: The Washington Post)
The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.
In the past two years, homicide numbers have soared across the United States though they remain below the historical highs of earlier decades. Mass shootings across the country have left Americans on edge. Join Washington Post Live for conversations with a cross-section of local law enforcement, federal government and community leaders about how they are responding while also working to strengthen police accountability and improve public trust.
“The decision is absolutely devastating… We are going to look at every available tool using all of the tools that we have… But the reality is… our tools are not the same as Congress’s and Congress’s ability to pass the law.” – Vanita Gupta (Video: Washington Post Live)
“The Supreme Court has just made our city less safe. It’s an outrageous decision in my opinion… I will admit the Supreme Court has had me reeling over the last few days, but this one is one of those that’s particularly dangerous for our town.” – Keith Ellison (Video: Washington Post Live)
“Minneapolis just paid out $70 million dollars in civil rights cases. New York paid out about $175 million, how much did L.A. pay out? How much did Chicago pay out? This is all stuff that could go to business development, schools, dealing with the homeless, it could deal with anything… Police brutality is expensive. It’s bad for business and I’m telling you, we need a national consensus that it can be stopped.” – Keith Ellison (Video: Washington Post Live)
“If this is struck down in Maryland, we will not have the legal authority to even make the approach when we see somebody illegally carrying a gun because it will no longer be illegal. Therefore we won’t be able to distinguish the law-abiding citizen from the would-be criminal or criminal offender who is illegally carrying a firearm, which by the way is the precursor to all shooting events.” – Michael Harrison (Video: Washington Post Live)
“We’re turning the country into, it’s a free-for-all for weapons. Not to mention the fact that now, permit-less carry, despite policing saying no, despite the cops, the police saying no, labor saying no, we’re allowing people, doesn’t matter who they are… just go get a gun and walk around. And so, I think it’s going to make a bad situation worse.” ¬– Art Acevedo (Video: Washington Post Live)
“Building trust would be great if you weren’t killing people, weren’t shooting people, weren’t arresting people willy-nilly… People often called us dramatic. People saw George Floyd and we were like, ‘Yeah, that happens more than you think,’ and people were like, ‘Oh, you guys aren’t being dramatic.’… and I’m always interested when the police are like nervous about stuff because it’s like, the number one killer of the police is COVID today and that’s because they are anti-vaxxers, and then the second is suicide. Community is not, we’re not attacking the police.” – DeRay Mckesson (Video: Washington Post Live)
Event Photos
Share
View Photos
(Kaz Sasahara/For The Washington Post)
Vanita Gupta
Associate Attorney General, Justice Department
Art Acevedo
Former Chief of Police in Austin, Houston and Miami
Keith Ellison
Minnesota Attorney General
Michael S. Harrison
Baltimore Police Commissioner
DeRay Mckesson
Co-Founder & Executive Director, Campaign Zero
Content from Council on Criminal Justice
The following content is produced and paid for by a Washington Post Live event sponsor. The Washington Post newsroom is not involved in the production of this content.
More Peace, More Justice
(Video: Washington Post Live)
In a segment presented by the Council on Criminal Justice, members of its Violent Crime Working Group and Task Force on Policing discuss how different constituencies can unite behind solutions that advance safety and fairness as the nation grapples with an increase in violent crime.
Chico Tillmon
Executive Director, READI Chicago
Member, CCJ Violent Crime Working Group
Linda Harllee Harper
Director, Gun Violence Prevention, Office of the City Administrator, Washington D.C.