Sonya Massey called police to her home for help, but instead, they took her life. The killing of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman living in Springfield, Illinois, has drawn national attention to the issue of police violence and the lack of action that allows such incidents to continue.
A new column from the Center for American Progress recommends pivotal federal policies to ensure meaningful police accountability and create lasting safety solutions:
Federal action to ensure meaningful police accountability: Congress should pass comprehensive legislation such as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The Biden-Harris administration should also build on the work of the 2022 police reform executive order to ensure its most impactful provisions extend to state and local police.
Federal action to create lasting safety solutions: Federal policymakers should dedicate resources to establishing and proliferating “community responder” programs and other community-based safety models. This can be achieved through dedicated grant programs and the passage of the Mental Health Justice Act. These programs should be anchored by accountable local government infrastructure to manage interventions that prevent crime and deliver safety.
“We have waited far too long for federal policymakers to take meaningful action to curtail police violence. Sonya Massey’s name is now added to the long list of Black people who have been killed by police just for going about their daily lives,” said Rachael Eisenberg, managing director of Rights and Justice at CAP and author of the column. “Federal policymakers must take action now and not permit another preventable atrocity. Sonya Massey deserved better. The American people deserve better.”
Read the column: “Sonya Massey’s Memory Should Spur Federal Action To Meaningfully Change Policing” by Rachael Eisenberg
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Jasmine Razeghi at [email protected].
