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No one imagined there could be news so big, urgent and alarming to replace the coronavirus\u2019 24\/7 news cycle. But it did on May 25, 2020 when an unarmed black man George Floyd was killed by police. The video of Floyd\u2019s death was so graphic, devoid of humanness when a white police officer knelt on Floyd\u2019s neck for more than eight minutes that something clicked in the minds of millions.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tens of thousands from all walks of life, all colors, joined in solidarity to call for an end to police brutality against America\u2019s black community. From Minneapolis (where George died), east to NYC and Washington, D.C., down south in Atlanta, and out west to L.A. — loud chants, \u201cNo Justice, No Peace,\u201d and \u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d rocked the streets for two weeks.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The protests, so large, uncontrolled, were reminiscent of the turbulent 1960s when the country rallied against the Vietnam War and pushed to pass civil rights legislations. And 50 years later, the work that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. started, remains unfinished. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd in 2020 alone represent the ongoing struggle. Add to this list Rayshard Brooks, another black man fatally shot by police just days after Floyd was buried. Political analysts say it\u2019s unconscionable that at a time of hypersensitivity over police brutality, yet another black unarmed black man is shot and killed<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Has the day of reckoning arrived? — a time for serious policing reforms to be implemented. Activists are demanding change, but also realize Americans of all races must rally together to make it happen.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Raymund Liongson, PhD, former Hawaii Civil Rights Commissioner and retired professor, University of Hawaii-Leeward CC, said \u201cThere is no question about the need for sweeping reforms in policing particularly as it relates to racial and ethnic diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Liongson suggests a few needed reforms could include checks-and-balances of police power, transparency in police investigations, and continuing police training toward de-escalation, racial equality, human dignity, and compassion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOther groups demand \u2018defunding the police,\u2019 and we need to have robust conversations to clarify this reform proposal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan Okamura, a retired professor with the Department of Ethnic Studies at UH-Manoa told the Filipino Chronicle, he agrees that police procedures are necessary as long as people are being killed while in police custody. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGeorge Floyd is just the most recent victim of police brutality against African Americans and joins the continuously growing list of unarmed Black men and women who have recently lost their lives in encounters with the police. Since his killing, changes already have begun with several local governments prohibiting their police departments from using chokeholds when arresting suspects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n But Okamura believes changes to policing is only a start. He says the entire criminal justice system, including the courts and prisons needs to transform its practices and policies to ensure racial justice for people of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Police Reforms Proposed <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The package, called Justice in Policing Act was put together by the Congressional Black Caucus, House Judiciary Committee Democrats and Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Justice in Policing Act establishes a bold, transformative vision of policing in America,\u201d said Representative Karen Bass of California, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. \u201cNever again should the world be subjected to witnessing what we saw on the streets in Minneapolis, the slow murder of an individual by a uniformed police officer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Act is the most expansive federal intervention into law enforcement proposing significant changes. A few of the changes proposed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, prosecutors must prove that an officer \u201cwillfully\u201d violated an individual\u2019s constitutional rights. The change proposed would lower that standard, to actions undertaken with \u201creckless disregard\u201d for the individual\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n What the legislation doesn\u2019t include is the defunding of police departments as many protestors have been calling for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked about the defunding movement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, \u201cWe want to work with our police departments. There are many who take pride in their work, and we want to be able to make sure that the focus is on them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hawaii and policing reform <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As many police departments are being pressured to implement reform, two Honolulu Police Commission members Steven Levinson and Loretta Sheehan resigned. The two have been vocal critics of the system. Levinson said the commission has no power over policy. \u201cWe don\u2019t have any power at all. It\u2019s ultimately up to the chief. The chief has a monopoly over those kinds of powers. That\u2019s the way the city charter\u2019s written.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The mayor nominated two replacements \u2013 former state Attorney General Doug Chin and YMCA President and CEO Michael Broderick, a family court judge. Both nominees support more transparency of HPD, including around officers accused of misconducts and a review of policies on chokeholds and shooting at moving cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think if there\u2019s any lesson that we\u2019ve learned it\u2019s how important transparency matters to be able to hold people accountable,\u201d Chin said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a very difficult time but I know that through everything that has been happening there is what I believe a sea change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The commission has the power to hire, evaluate, and fire the police chief. Some critics say the Commission\u2019s role should be expanded and truly be an independent oversight body over HPD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Police Unions <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As most unions, police unions are designed to protect their members. Activists claim there can be a conflict of interest here between protecting citizens and protecting bad cops. The same standards of unions of protecting members should not apply to police unions because they are entrusted with life and death matters, and where an error or abuse occurs, it could have deadly consequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recognizing a shift in perception of police unions, Richard Trumka, who heads the nation\u2019s largest federation of labor organizations AFLCIO (that includes a few police unions) said its board has adopted a set of recommendations aimed at addressing \u201cAmerica\u2019s long history of racism and police violence against black people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reforms AFL-CIO supports include banning chokeholds, expanding use of body cameras, ending racial profiling, demilitarizing police forces, limiting no-knock warrants, and creating a more community-centric policing culture. The reforms almost mirror the Democrats\u2019 Justice in Policing Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The powerful American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) President Lee Saunders said, \u201cNo union contract is or should be construed as a shield for misconduct or criminal behavior.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Civil rights activists complain that police unions\u2019 political clout (besides their membership) stems from their political endorsements. Candidates for political office from state House members, City Council members to governor actively seek police union endorsements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n This 2020 election cycle, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) has endorsed former media General Manager Rick Blangiardi for Honolulu mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Ewa Beach voter, who wished to remain anonymous, said SHOPO has no business making political endorsements. \u201cAll candidates shouldn\u2019t be seeking SHOPO\u2019s endorsements.\u201d She said Blangiardi, as a news GM should have been sensitive to the current situation around the country and refused the endorsement to set an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know the majority of cops are good cops. But police unions ought to be non-political and have a different way of operating than other unions. SHOPO\u2019s political endorsements corrupt the system. Their primary role should be relegated to pay and benefits bargaining. The idea of the police, basically policing themselves, doesn\u2019t make me feel comfortable. And if a mayor, for example, has been endorsed by SHOPO, that makes it more complicating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n SHOPO represents about 3,500 officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Patricio Abinales, professor at the School of Pacific and Asian Studies, UH-Manoa, supports policing reform. \u201cChokeholds for one should be banned. I do not agree however that that police should be abolished because of this. There is a lot of talk about bad eggs but very little on the good things people in uniform do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Data on police brutality <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Matthew Miller, a violence researcher and professor of health sciences and epidemiology at Northwestern University, co-authored a study on civilians who were shot and killed by police officers between 2014 and 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n He found that of the roughly 1,000 people shot to death by police officers each year, Black Americans were twice as likely to be shot and killed by police officers, compared with their representation in the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Washington Post\u2019s Fatal Force Project found similar results since 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In another study with data taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s National Violent Death Reporting System, Black Americans were three times more likely to be shot and killed by police officers during interactions where the victim appeared to pose little or no threat to officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Systemic Racism<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor Okamura explains the theory of systemic racism was introduced by sociologist Joe Feagin of Texas A&M University in the mid2000s to account for how Whites in America have maintained their large-scale oppression of non-Whites over the centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a system, Feagin, who blames Whites for systemic racism, argues that it consists of four primary components that work together to maintain racial hierarchy and inequality: discriminatory practices of Whites; racial stereotypes and representations by them; resources and power held by Whites; and maintenance of material inequalities by White-controlled institutions, such as universities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy should we care [about the killing of George Floyd]? Because we could have been George Floyd and the brutality on George Floyd dramatized the inhumanity against people of color, indigenous societies, immigrants, women, and marginalized population of which Filipinos in America may fall under. Remaining silent on the killing of Floyd is complicity to the continuing racial hatred and oppression.\u201d <\/p>\u2014Raymund Liongson, PhD <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs I tell my students, in Hawai\u2018i systemic racism is not only sustained by Whites because Japanese Americans also contribute to it, and Filipinos have been subject to systemic racism since their arrival as plantation laborers. At present, it is evident against Filipinos in the institutionalized discrimination they encounter in employment and education, racist stereotyping of them through joke telling, and their persisting lower socioeconomic status, including severe underrepresentation as students and faculty at UH M\u0101noa,\u201d Okamura said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor Liongson agrees that systemic racism goes beyond policing. \u201cIt is demonstrated in many other various ways \u2013 from apathy to discrimination to overt violence like assault and homicide. It seeps into all dimensions of our social lives \u2013 from the educational system to the workplace to our day-to-day affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n He adds, \u201cthe litany of reports on police brutality against black and colored people is more than about few bad apples. It mirrors a system of racial hatred and prejudice that is rooted on the refusal to accept the dignity of people who look differently. Such system has established a rite of violence that has been sadly accepted as a social norm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The meter on discrimination perceptions have moved from 2015 up to the present. In 2015, in the wake of unrest in Ferguson, Mo., just half of Americans said they believed racial discrimination to be a \u201cbig problem,\u201d according to a Monmouth University polling. Compare that to the recent 2020 Monmouth University polling after the death of Floyd, more than 75% of Americans say discrimination is a big problem and 57% understand that African Americans are more likely to suffer from police violence than other demographic groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Race relations: better or worse?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor Okamura agrees that race relations has gotten worse. \u201cWhether one takes a longer historical perspective from the 1960s or a much shorter one since the Trump presidency, race relations in America have clearly worsened. The Sixties, a period of tremendous political and cultural changes, brought forth the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and the Fair Housing Act three years later, all of which prohibited racial discrimination and benefited racial and ethnic minorities. However, well before Trump became president starting with the White backlash in the subsequent decade, these laws were no longer being fully enforced, and changes were initiated that have reduced their efficacy, such as in voting. As the racist-in-chief, Trump has sought to divide America along racial lines and is seeking re-election by blowing his racist dog whistle at his dwindling base of noncollege educated Whites. He has demonstrated no interest in bringing together people of differing race, and his administration has been primarily about making America White again, as is evident in his anti-immigration and anti-immigrant policies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why should we all care of the killing of George Floyd?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy should we care? Because we could have been George Floyd and the brutality on George Floyd dramatized the inhumanity against people of color, indigenous societies, immigrants, women, and marginalized population of which Filipinos in America may fall under. Remaining silent on the killing of Floyd is complicity to the continuing racial hatred and oppression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it as protestors say, \u201csilence is complicity?\u201d Is it time for a united front finally to end abusive policing and systemic racism against the African American community, which ultimately would benefit all people of color?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Edwin Quinabo No one imagined there could be news so big, urgent and alarming…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1917",2560,1917,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C225",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?fit=640%2C479",640,479,true],"large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?fit=640%2C479",640,479,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1536%2C1150",1536,1150,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2048%2C1534",2048,1534,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800",1200,800,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=870%2C570",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C900",600,900,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C600",600,600,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1077%2C715",1077,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=522%2C500",522,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C767",1024,767,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=540%2C285",540,285,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ap_20157199260825-d2592765be450ebd7a41068fd856f3cf6bc581f6-1-scaled.jpg?resize=375%2C250",375,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Cover 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House Majority Steny Hoyer said Democrats are aiming to bring their policing reform packages to the House Floor for a vote during the week of June 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell also does not support defunding of the Honolulu Police Department but actually has plans to increase HPD\u2019s budget. He said some of that money would go to body cams. The mayor also said he supports more transparency at HPD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police commissions are just one limited oversight body. But civil rights activists say police unions are part of the problem of police brutality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data on the use of force by police officers presents difficulties for researchers because law enforcement agencies voluntarily report these statistics, which is why activists say a national data base system must be established. Besides data being voluntary, it is also not impartial because police agencies are reporting on themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social Science academics say while banning neck restraints and other policing reforms help, they do not address structural problems, cultural problems that devalue people of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Hawaii Civil Rights Commissioner, Retired Professor, University of Hawaii-Leeward CC<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Professor Liongson said he was inclined to think race relations in the U.S. has improved because of advances in the 1960s with the Civil Rights movement. He cites reforms in segregation, voting rights, education and work opportunities as examples. \u201cBut discrimination and hate crimes stemming from racial diversity continue to resurface, many of them brutally committed by law enforcers. The discrimination and killings of blacks and people of color are a stark reminder of the wide and oppressive racial divide that is still very much alive in America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professor Liongon said George\u2019s killing highlights the destructiveness of hatred and unregulated power particularly in the hands of those who are supposed to uphold human dignity and preserve human life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n