In May of last year, George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota by a police member, Derek Chauvin, starting the Black Lives Matter protests around the nation as an end to police brutality. This Tuesday, Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges for the murder of Floyd.
Floyd, among other African American people, have been subjected to brutality, but others have not seen justice.
There are several ways we can help support police reform in Idaho. The combination of education, communication and action creates a loud voice when it comes to pushing for something so life changing.
The first thing to do is to educate yourself and others, starting with weapons safety courses and familiarizing yourself with local protocols for an active shooter situation. Knowing these skills can help ensure knowing what to do with a weapon and when someone else has one.
Broadening your knowledge of how weapons handlers usually act can help you pick out those who aren’t acting normally. There are several available courses for weapons safety in Idaho, ranging from learning how to be safe with a hunting rifle to how to be safe with a handgun.
Owning a gun and not knowing how to use it properly is like owning a car and not knowing how to drive. We require extensive education to make sure people can drive without hurting themselves or others, and owning a gun should be the same way.
Other ways to educate yourself includes being aware of your local protocols for active shooters. At UI, the quick reference guide for an active shooter event gives information on what an active shooter is, what to do when law enforcement arrives, information to provide to 911 operators and three general options for how to react to an active shooter.
The next step of supporting change is to communicate with local and state leaders to ensure they know about the situations and that the people they are representing want change. Contacting them by phone, email or snail mail are all good ways to let them know what their state wants.
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, has shown support for “examining current laws and policing procedures to prevent what happened to Mr. Floyd from happening in the future,” but opposes the defunding of police departments pushed by activists.
The last thing we can do right now is to take action or help others take action. Organizations like Campaign Zero, a non-profit which supports the analysis of policing practices nationwide, gather and perform research on different ways to accomplish effective police reform. You can donate to their cause or propose a new policy solution.
Police reform is important and necessary to save America’s minorities from the violence they’ve faced. The Palouse is not immune to these issues, nor are we separate from them. We need to do our part, in whatever ways we can, to help build a better America.
-Editorial Board
Amy Ash Pohl, nee’ smith
Police should Not be doing armed traffic stops and domestic violence, unless a weapon is involved, and mental health arrests. Those are all best left to others trained in those social and cultural actions