Jacob Tierney
Tribune-Review
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday announced his proposals to implement more training, transparency and oversight of Pennsylvania police departments in response to the killing of George Floyd.
“We must rise to the challenge, because too many people have lost faith in our public safety institutions, and in our institutions in general,” he said.
Floyd, a black man, was killed May 25 when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes as he was handcuffed and laying face down on the street during an arrest. His death has been ruled a murder, with one officer facing homicide and manslaughter charges. Three others are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
The proposals are meant to prevent racist policing and improper use of force, Wolf said.
He plans to create a new position within the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General dedicated to investigating reports of police misconduct.
He recommended the creation of a Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Advisory Commission to review allegations of misconduct and called on municipalities to create their own citizen advisory boards to oversee local police departments.
The state would provide technical assistance to help municipalities create these boards, he said.
“We need to explore greater oversight of law enforcement to root out misconduct and abuse,” he said.
Wolf also announced the creation of a Racial and Ethnic Disparities Subcommittee under the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and called on police academies to review their use of force and implicit bias training.
The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association condemned Wolf’s announcement, calling it an “attack” on state law enforcement.
“What Gov. Wolf is saying today is the Pennsylvania State Police, and all law enforcement in our commonwealth, are no better than those charged with Mr. Floyd’s death,” association President David Kennedy said in a statement. “This was clear when he ignored his own order and marched in Harrisburg this week during a pandemic with people holding signs that read, ‘Blue Lives Murder.’ ”
Wolf said his proposals are not meant as a condemnation of Pennsylvania law enforcement. He said he participated in a protest but did not endorse the message of the sign in question.
“This is not about the police. This is about the broad system of inequities that have sustained racism in Pennsylvania and the United States for decades,” he said. “We have some of the best law enforcement agencies in the nation.”
Wolf said his proposals were based in part on conversations with municipal leaders in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, as well as discussions with members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and recommendations from the national 21st Century Policing Task Force, created in 2015 under President Barack Obama.
State House Democratic whip Jordan Harris released a statement on behalf of the Pennsylvania Police Reform Working Group praising Wolf’s announcement.
“The creation of a deputy inspector general at the state level to root out misconduct, brutality, waste, fraud and abuse within law enforcement agencies is a key first step in this fight,” he said.
The working group is made up of state Democratic lawmakers, Philadelphia council members and several attorneys.
Harris called for legislators to enact broader reforms, including the approval of a bill that would create a confidential database to track complaints against police officers.
“The long history of racial injustices black and brown communities have been subjected to must no longer stand,” he said. “Our communities have had enough, and the time is now to demand action statewide to bring systematic change to Pennsylvania.”