Norton Says Ferguson Needs Community Not Militarized Policing

Press Release

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said the Department of Justice (DOJ) can do more than the needed federal investigation that is already underway. She said that the Department's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) should be offered to Ferguson, Missouri to help address what appears to be a long-standing breakdown in the relationship between the community and the police in Ferguson, well before the shooting of Michael Brown. The COPS program, administered by DOJ, provides guidance and federal funds to local jurisdictions to advance community policing, which includes linking community organizations and residents with law enforcement, training law enforcement officers in community policing techniques, and facilitating the establishment of community-oriented policing as an organization-wide philosophy.

"Spotty looting in a suburban community produced armored trucks, military combat weapons, and police dressed to kill, who resembled the personnel we see in Afghanistan," Norton said. "To make matters worse, there appeared to be no civilian control of the police by the appropriate elected officials. Where were the locally elected administration and the Governor while the police took control of the streets? The result was a perfect storm of too much policing and too little civilian control. It was a no-brainer: If you want to increase tension in an urban setting, send in armored personnel carriers. Once community policing was used last night by Captain Ronald S. Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol, the situation turned around. It was like a controlled experiment, a virtual before and after demonstration of failed versus effective policing."

The Congresswoman said once the investigation has been completed, the DOJ's COPS program could be effective in helping local and county police rebuild the trust they have lost from the residents.

Norton also noted that District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier has become well-known nationwide for successful community policing in the District of Columbia -- from establishing a culture of relationship-building with the city's diverse communities to treating residents with respect and dignity. In January of 2012, Lanier presented her methods to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and noted that, since taking charge of the police force, the District's homicide rate had decreased 42 percent over three years and that anonymous tips increased six-fold. Norton said that law enforcement officials in Ferguson could learn something about community policing from Chief Lanier.

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