WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell(FL-26), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, participated in a hearing to examine the crisis of racial profiling and police brutality, highlight a local South Florida instance of police brutality from March 2019, and discuss the need to implement civilian oversight boards.
Mucarsel-Powell’s remarks, as prepared, are below:
Thank you, Chairman Nadler.
I want to start with a video that shows the problems our country is currently facing. This event took place in Miami. The women in the video were worried and called the police for safety and protection. Instead, they were met with force.
Conduct like this is never acceptable.
The officer in this video later lied about what happened on the police report and is now facing charges of misconduct and battery.
These women were threatened with a firearm. And when the police arrived, the situation was very tense. But that is no reason to subject someone to excessive force because of the color of their skin.
The sad reality is that people of color live with and face these prejudices throughout their lives. The discrimination they face has been engrained in our culture since the very founding of our country.
We have to confront this crisis head on.
We have to eliminate the injustices that black men and women and communities of color face everywhere: in our government and our society, from the healthcare system, to the education system, to the criminal justice system and the way they have been treated by police for decades.
I can say from experience that this is not representative of every police officer. Law enforcement in Miami and my district are making changes – they are trying – and I commend the officers who work to serve the people honorably.
But racism is systemic, and we must hold our police accountable and demand transparency.
To do that, we have to engage with the community through civilian oversight. Civilian oversight boards build bridges between police and communities, by giving the people a voice in the policies that affect them. They ensure officer accountability through fair and open investigation. Over time, they build trust.
But civilian oversight has to be done correctly. Oversight Boards must be independent.
They must have subpoena power. They must have the authority to conduct investigations into police misconduct.
And most importantly, civilian oversight boards have to represent the diversity in the community. Its seats should be filled not with political appointees, but with local citizens and the leaders of local organizations focused on community policing and accountability.
I am proud that the Justice in Policing Act promotes civilian oversight and allows federal funding to go toward building Civilian Review Boards. I believe that this is one answer to protecting our communities and rebuilding the trust with police.
Mucarsel-Powell’s testimony is available here.
A link to the video presented by Mucarsel-Powell illustrating an event of police misconduct on March 2019 is available here.
