#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Judge bars Andrew Brown Jr. video release; Seats lost in Census; Hate crime charges in Arbery case

Episode Date: April 29, 2021

4.28.21 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: NC judge bars Andrew Brown, Jr. bodycam video release; Congressional seats lost in the 2020 Census; Police abuse in Georgia, California, and Colorado; A federal grand jury has indicted the three men charged for the death of Ahmaud Arbery on hate crimes.Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered#RolandMartinUnfiltered is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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He is going to speak tonight in his first speech to a joint session of Congress. We will carry it live, have pre and post debate, and be joined by a number of elected officials, including Congresswoman Yvette Clark of New York. Folks, in the case of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, a judge has refused to publicly release body camera video showing North Carolina Sheriff's deputies shooting and killing Andrew Brown Jr. We'll show you exactly what we were able to get yesterday from the city and talk to one of the family attorneys. Congressional seats have been lost as a result of 2020 census. Some states have picked them up. Some states have lost them.

We'll talk to Congresswoman Yvette Clark of New York, explain New York losing one of the seats and what that could mean for black power. One of the issues that President Biden will talk about tonight is police accountability as well as race equity. We'll talk with an official with the National Urban League, and they have released a report that deals with some of the issues that need to be addressed. Plus, we have reports of police abuse in Georgia, California, and Colorado. Folks, all that and more right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. It's time to bring the funk. Let's go. Puttin' it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin'

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You know he's Roll, he's real, the best you know He's Roland Martin Martin All right, folks, glad to have you here today for this special edition of Roland Martin Unfiltered. Normally we are live at 6 p.m. Eastern, but because President Joe Biden will be speaking to a joint session of Congress, we chose to go live at 7. Then, of course, we'll be carrying his speech at 8, 9 p.m. And so we'll have a pre-discussion prior to that plus post.

Let's talk about Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where today a North Carolina judge denied the media's request to release the four body cam videos in the case of Andrew Brown Jr. But Judge Jeffrey Foster did rule the videos from multiple body cameras and footage from one dashboard camera must be shown to Brown's family within the next 10 days. The court is going to find that with regard to the media's request for release, that the media is not a party contemplated under 132-1.4 for release. But if they were, and it was appropriate to release to them, the court undertook the analysis under GE with regard to release of recordings and finds that there is evidence that the release would advance a compelling public interest. There is evidence that the recording contains information that is otherwise confidential

or exempt from disclosure or release under state or federal law. The court finds that the petitioner is not a person requesting or seeking to obtain evidence to determine legal issues in a current potential court proceeding. The court finds number four that it would reveal information regarding a person that is of a highly sensitive and personal nature. Number five that the release may harm the reputation or jeopardize the safety of a person. Number six, that the release would create a serious threat to the fair and partial and orderly administration of justice. And number seven, that confidentiality is necessary at this point to protect an active internal and criminal investigation or potential internal criminal investigation.

The court therefore finds that good cause does not exist for granting the petition of the media petitioners, and therefore that petition is respectfully denied by the court. That is my ruling. I'm going to prepare an order to that effect, and that will be prepared sometime this week, and I'll get that out to you in a formal written format at that time. All right. With regard to 21CVS261, the petition of the Pasquotank Sheriff's Department to release records to Khalil Farabee, who is the adult son of the deceased Mr. Brown. The court's going to find as follows that this matters properly before the court on the petition to release.

To the extent that notice was required, notice was given with Mr. Williams agreeing to hear the matter on behalf of his clients, but reserving his objection for lack of notice. The court has jurisdiction in this matter pursuant to GS 132-1.4a and all subparts. After hearing the arguments for the petition and the response from the district attorney for this judicial district and counsel for the respondents of all interested parties, the court finds as follows. One, that the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Department is a custodial law enforcement agency, as that term is defined in the statute.

Number two, that Khalil Fairby is a personal representative under 132-1.4 C4, and he's a proper person to whom the subject videos may be disclosed, the court considering the factors enumerated in subsection D of the statute. Number four, that the court additionally considers the release of the video. In addition to disclosure, which the court finds is appropriate, I've also considered release under the statute using the same eight criteria the court finds that number one the release does is a compelling public interest number two that the recording contains information that is otherwise

confidential or exempt from disclosure or release under state or federal law number three the person requesting release is seeking to obtain evidence to determine legal issues in a current or potential court proceeding. But number four, the court finds that release would reveal information regarding a person that is of a highly sensitive personal nature. The court finds, number five, that the release may harm the reputation or jeopardize the safety of a person by release. Number six that the release at this time would create a serious threat to the fair and partial and orderly

administration of justice. Number seven confidentiality is necessary to protect either an active internal criminal investigation or a potential internal criminal investigation. Uh, Based on those findings, compending completion of the investigation and any decision regarding the prosecution of the potential defendant, the court orders as follows. That the five body camera videos be disclosed to Khalil Farabee and his immediate family within one degree of kinship and one attorney licensed to practice law in the state of North Carolina. That is disclosure. That the video be held from release for a period of no

less than 30 days and no more than 45 days and that that will allow to allow completion of any investigation being undertaken by the SBI and by the district attorney's office in this county. Number three that the state is to notify the court when such investigation is completed and the court in its discretion will consider at that time further release of the video based on the factors as they exist at that time. The disclosure of the video based on the factors as they exist at that time. Uh, the disclosure of the video shall occur within 10 days in the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Department is ordered to blur or redact all facial and identifying features of the officers shown prior to disclosure. That means

facial features, name tags, any identifying information of those offers officers prior to disclosure. The court in its final order in this matter will specify the time frames within which the video may be disclosed. In viewing the video, there were certain portions of the video that were conversations between officers, between subpoenas. I'm going to evaluate those videos, determine which portions are appropriate for release and for disclosure, I'm sorry, and then we'll provide that in my order so that the videos can be properly prepared to be disclosed to the family. All that to be accomplished within the next 10 days. Judge Foster will reconsider whether to release the videos in 30 to 45 days after the

state bureau of investigation completes its investigation and a charging decision is made. Also during the hearing, DA Andrew Womble claimed the video showed Brown hitting officers with his car. Also, the FBI is launching a civil rights probe into the death of Andrew Brown Jr. Joining us right now is one of the attorneys for the family, Harry Daniels. He joins us right now. Harry, this is very interesting what took place today. We live streamed the hearing, and I swear the DA sounded more like the defense attorney for the officers as opposed to an impartial person whose job is to get justice regardless of who is involved. Roland, you're 100% right. I have the same impression that this attorney is supposed to be the ambassador of justice. He sounded like the defense attorney.

I have never in all my years of practicing law saw anything that I saw today. The county attorney stands up, make a half effort. The disc attorney gets up and he goes for almost 30 minutes as though he's the defense attorney. And the potential defense attorney for the officers,

they kind of join in together against the county. Never seen that in my life. The judge said they must show this video to the family within 10 days. Is that 10 business days or 10 total days? And when does the clock start? Is it tomorrow? Well, in court, it's 10 total days. Courts don't have 10 business days.

From 10 days, it can run through the weekend. It doesn't matter, 10 days is 10 days. So that means, so who decides they get to see the video? The Sheriff's Department or the District Attorney? No, pursuant to the statute, if you are a personal representative based on the statute, you get to see the video. So we have identifiable personal representatives pursuant to the statute. And those individuals will have the opportunity to see the video.

Right. No, no, no. I'm saying is, but who shows the video? Is the DA's office or is the sheriff's department? The sheriff's office. So so today is it. So today is the 28th, so they must, based upon that deadline, the family must see these videos by May 8th. That's correct. The judge said you have to look at some further redactions as it relates to maybe communication, identifying people's name, and or obviously faces and name tags. But you've got to remember, it's a video of these individuals driving up on a truck like a mob squad. So people already know who they are based on that video. And we're talking about a city of 17,000 people, and, of course, in the county as well.

And so let's look now. When the judge said that 30 to 45 days in terms of then it should be made a release to the public. So now we're talking about that video may very well not be, not come out until either the end of May or mid-June. 10 days, 45. So the 10 days is when the family gets to see it. I'm talking about when it may very well get released to the public. Yeah, that's correct. That's correct. It may be end of June, maybe July.

And so there's no guarantee with that based on what a judge stated before in his order. The governor has called for a special prosecutor. Can you explain to our viewers and listeners exactly what the North Carolina statute is? Because I was talking to Reverend Dr. William J. Barber when I was down there as well as today. And he said that the D.A. has to ask the A.G. to take it over. The A.G. simply can't, doesn't have the authority to take it over. That's correct. Actually, I talked to Attorney General Josh Stein a couple of days back, and he expressed to me that in North Carolina, the district attorney has original jurisdiction,

and the attorney general cannot take it over just because. The attorney general more than likely will appoint a special prosecutor in order to do so, but in North Carolina, the DA has jurisdiction, and they have to be requested by the DA in order for that to happen. So that is correct. Are you and the other lawyers, are you asking this district attorney, Andrew Womble, to recuse himself and for him to invite in the state attorney general to take over this case? We need an independent prosecution away from Pasquotank County. You're talking about deputy sheriffs involved in what we believe to be an unjustified shooting. You have the district attorney, in fact, is a prosecutorial prosecuting officer using the

situation role and you will have judges in that county recuse themselves or they will send a case to another county because they're so closely knitted and related to that particular county. So yes, we're asking for an independent prosecutor appointed by the governor, appointed by the state. In terms of the next step, obviously the protests continue. My understanding that a group of pastors, they are planning to have a march on Sunday. The funeral is a funeral for Andrew Brown Jr., still slated to take place on Monday. Yes, it is. It's still slated to take place on Monday.

Monday, I believe, 12 o'clock. And one thing, Martin, I mean, Roland, I want to say that I listened to this district attorney talks about a car, you know, Andrew, a car making contact to one of the deputies while he was backing up. Well, Roland, he was backing up and the officer was trying to reach, open the door. Officer's going to make contact. And then he went forward and made contact again. What you did not hear is that Andrew Brown used that car as a weapon, contact weapon, two different things, two different things. So let me get that very clear. And for this public to understand, Andrew Brown was shot in the back of his head while he was driving away. Bullets riddled his

car in the rear while he was driving away, driving away. Point blank, that's the facts. The autopsy shows the bullet wounds in the back of his head. That's the facts. So this narrative, this cherry picking that this DA is doing, I don't know if he's trying to taint the jury, but that's his whole thing, that he didn't want to taint the investigation,

he didn't want to taint the jury. But the only person that was tainting the investigation and tainting the jury today was the alleged district attorney, Andrew Wommel. Here's a question. investigation obtained the jury today was the alleged district attorney uh andrew woman here's the court who actually is running the investigation we don't know i mean as far as investigation they say the sbi is running investigation the fbi is in now for a probe uh as well so you may have earned investigations one thing i would tell you that the the county officials in pasco One thing I would tell you that the county officials in Pasquotank County, as it relates to the county, the sheriff and the district attorney,

they are incompetent. The argument that I saw today from the district attorney, it was appalling and disgusting. Then the position he took to try to admonish one of the members of our legal teams based on the video that she was given. The 20 seconds redaction is appalling. It's appalling. He should have never done that, and we are in defense of her. She's truthful.

She has character, and she's very professional. She has no reason to lie, to agitate. Ms. Lasseter is a fine lawyer, point blank period. A fine attorney. So we don't know right now. We don't know if the district attorney is leading the investigation, if the state bureau of investigation is leading it. Is somebody going to come out and lay claim to so we people know exactly who's doing what. When I was at the home of Andrew

Brown Jr. where he lives, we showed the video yesterday. I interviewed the landlord. Two investigators with the SBI stopped by there to try to see if there were video cameras that were on the inside and those cameras were removed. And so again, what's crazy is who do you point to? Who's actually the folks to talk to? There's been no public statement. No one has come out to say we are in charge of this investigation. If you have any information, contact us. You know, you know, Roland, you know, Roland, what the FBI actually stated today in court,

that they had no objections to the release of this video. If they are the investigatory body and they have no objection, why does the district attorney have objections? Hold on, hold on, hold on. So in court today, the State Bureau of Investigation says they don't object to the video. The sheriff don't object, and the State Bureau of Investigation had no objection. They made no representation, but they didn't object.

They had no objection to the release of the video. If the investigatory body, the investigation, has no problem objecting, why the hell is the district attorney having a problem getting this video released out to the public? And to add to the point about these cameras that were located at Mr. Brown's house, well, the FBI is in charge of the investigation. The FBI said we didn't get any cameras. The landlord said, yeah, it was cameras there. So the question is rolling. Who took the camera?

And in fact, yeah, I talked to that landlord yesterday. And what he told me was he said there were two cameras. That was a ring camera. And that was a second camera. He said those cameras have been removed. He does not know who took the cameras and who possesses the cameras. Correct, correct. And the SBI investigation, they're very interested in those cameras. I'm not making any suggestions on anybody else, but the only people who was on the scene at that time in security scene was a Pascoe Tank County Sheriff's Office. So where's the

cameras? Where's the cameras? Where's those cameras? They couldn't take the seated cameras because the seated maintained and custodial possession. Those cameras were released. They didn't take the cell phone footage after the fact when they drugged Mr. Brown out of the car after they had shot him dead. But anything in close proximity,

it's not there. The body cams, the dash cam, now we have the ring, the doorbell cam, and the other camera. The body cam, the dash cam, now we have the doorbell cam and the other camera. It's missing because the doorbell cam and the ring cam is not in possession or footage by law enforcement. If that camera is in the possession of the county,

they must turn it over immediately because it's subject to the Public Open Records Act. Right, and how in the world can the Sheriff's Department be investigating those sales? That's why there's so many different questions here that need to be answered. Harry Daniels, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks, Roland. Folks, yesterday we were in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and we got possession of you.

Harry, just you just heard Harry mentioned the video. We could not play it yesterday. We had to bring it back here. Now we're able to play the video. We could not play it yesterday. We had to bring it back here. Now we're able to play the video. Now, remember yesterday I showed you that camera that was actually pointed. It was two cameras, one pointed in different, they were pointed different directions. This is the video from the Elizabeth City Police Department. Listen to the audio on here as well. Guys, go ahead and play it. the problem so look this is the first piece of video that we've actually been able to see. This is the problem with the video. As you see, the camera picks up the traffic that is coming on the main road. The problem, guys, start the video over.

The problem that you have here with this video. So I want y'all to start it over. I want y'all to start it over, okay? I want you to start it over. Start it over. Go from the top. Start it over, please. Go back to the top. Okay. No, no, no. Go back to the beginning. I'll tell you when to play it. Guys, go back to the beginning. I'll

tell you when to play it. So what you see is, okay, again, stop. Okay. and what you see here, you see this this Ford sheriff's truck. All right. Carrying what appears to be six or seven officers. I know there's one driving. Not sure if there's another person in the passenger seat. Now, roll it, then stop it. Stop. stop. So you see right there, this now is the side profile of the vehicle. And now there is a portion of this, there's a gap that is missing. It's a short gap that is missing in this video. You see now, play it, then stop it. Stop. So you see the officer, if there's any way we can bump in on that video, I would appreciate it. But the bottom line is you see the tailgate is open. You see several officers, several deputy sheriffs on the back of that truck. The problem is how that camera

is positioned. You're going to see, now roll the video and then stop it. Stop. So that's where we were yesterday. Okay. They are approaching that driveway while I was broadcasting the show, roll it, then stop it. Okay. Right there. So the problem is this here, you do not, that camera does is not a wide angle lens. It is, it is only capturing the intersection in both directions. It's not actually capturing what happens once they get out of the vehicle. Now, turn the audio seeing is, let it keep rolling. And so you're seeing a vehicle that was a white police car that pulled up behind him. That's another police car, a police truck that is actually blocking the intersection. And so that's what you're seeing here.

Turn the audio up please. I can make up all the hats! You know, just to be able to stand out. We're gonna have to go. We're gonna have to go. Hey! We're gonna have to go. We're gonna have to go. We're gonna have to go. We're gonna have to go. We're gonna have to go.

We're gonna have to go. We're gonna have to go. We're gonna have to go. We're gonna have to go. Storbritannia... I want you to keep video rolling, please. The Bar Association Political Action Committee, Robert Petillo, Executive Director, Rainbow Push Coalition, Peaches Tree Street Project, Monique Presley, Legal Analyst and Crisis Manager. Again, keep the video rolling, please. I want you to keep it rolling. So I want to start.

I want to start with you, Robert. Looking at this, again, part of the problem is we are not able to see in that top right-hand corner exactly what took place. Based upon what the family attorney said, the officers came out. Now, folks, did the video pause? Did it freeze? Because I still hear audio. Okay, so not sure why it's on a freeze frame here. But, Robert, just your assessment of what we know and don't know right now. Well, it was great to hear from Harry Daniels, who I've worked with before. I think Bakari Sellers is also working on the case.

So it's an outstanding legal team representing the family. But what we saw was a legal lynch mob. We saw them riding on the back of the pickup trucks like something out of Mississippi burning and then attack this man. Look at the amount of police presence for what ostensibly was a drug warrant, not for Osama bin Laden, not for the Unabomber, but for a drug warrant. You're seeing trucks and vehicles to capture this individual. Additionally, let's look at what the independent autopsy has shown us. You have

at least three to four bullet wounds into the arm and then a shot to the back of the head, nearly execution style. Even given the testimony or the statements by the district attorney's office taken in the light most reasonable or that puts the prosecution, or more so that puts the officers in the best light, they are alleging that they were touched by the vehicle, not that anyone was injured or run over, but they made contact with the vehicle, and that justified a bullet hole to the back of the head. None of this is making sense. I think the judge is showing due discretion in waiting to release the body cam footage.

The reason being is I wouldn't want this to go all the way to trial, let's say. And then they say, well, because the body cam image in the police squad car footage was released so early that somehow that tainted the jury. Somehow that makes it more difficult for the prosecution later on down the line to prosecute the case. So I do believe the judge made the right ruling in that case. But we do have additional questions. We all know anybody who has a ring doorbell knows that records to a cloud, not to the device. So where is the video footage from from the cloud that was recorded on that doorbell?

And when will all this information be released both to the family and to the public? This is a tragic case. And it's another instance where, thank God, there's video evidence, because otherwise we would only have the testimony of the police officers. And we have seen for decades now that the police officers are always believed over the decedent. Monique, this is the autopsy image that was released on yesterday. And you see right here where they show where the bullet went to the back of his head. And then they released this here. We can zoom in tighter. That'd be great. I want to I want to show this right here. So keep going, keep going. And they show where he was hit multiple times in his right arm as well. The thing that is is so perplexing to me was so perplexing to me, Monique, is that we don't know literally who the hell is leading the investigation.

Is it the D.A.? Is it the Sheriff's Department? Is it the State Bureau of Investigation? Who to go to? They're not talking. I have seen a spokesperson come out. You heard Harry Daniels say the State Bureau of Investigation said they got no problem with the body cam footage being released. But the D.A DA is fighting it. What the hell? I'm certain there's three different investigations going on. So the district attorney is collecting data, evidence, whatever he needs to consider to make his decision. But we don't know that.

But here's the problem. We heard him today in court. We heard him say in court that he is asking for it to be held until his investigation is concluded and

he has made a charging decision. So he has an investigation going. So he has an investigation going. So he has an investigation going. The SBI has one, and apparently the sheriff's has one. There's an internal investigation, yes. But the issue here is who is the lead agency because who's collecting the evidence? Is the sheriff's department the evidence? Is the Sheriff's Department collecting evidence?

Again, if the attorneys and the landlord, when I talk to them, who says, I don't know who came and got the camera, who has what? Right. They work in conjunction with each other. And I'm sure that most everything that needed to be collected from the scene,

that that happened the same day or evening of the shooting. It's concerning that the landlord doesn't know who has the cameras because that shouldn't have been done without informing him who was taking them, what government body was taking them and pursuant to what. So that's an issue. And if there's somebody else who received that notice, then that person would have that information because they can't just do it without informing what they're doing. And in terms of who's leading, the lead for this legal defense today was the DA, but the DA is never primary in terms of an investigation. That would be a law enforcement arm that then turns over its information. And the DA can, at the same time, have its own investigators who are seeking information. But usually there's an internal investigation and this external one,

and the DA is going to look at all of that information and make a decision. Scott, can you make any sense to all of this? Because, frankly, it's confusing to the family attorneys, confusing to the family, people in Elizabeth City as well, and us too. Well, I think Monique is right about the structure and the procedures in regard to these investments. I was about to say, Scott, I thought I was making sense. Yes, you were. Yeah, but the reason you asked the question the way I did is to give Scott an opportunity to talk. So pipe down.

So pipe down and let me ask the question the way I do as a host so Scott can now get involved in the conversation. Because this is his show. Right. So what that means, Monique, is shut the hell up. See? I didn't say that. I didn't want to have to go there, but damn. Can I ask the question so Scott can now answer?

You always tell him. You always tell him, Scott, not to interrupt you. Can you not interrupt him? Scott, please continue. That was a good interruption. In any event. Scott, go. Monique is right about the procedure of posture and the structure of these investigations. I did read in a recent report that for the SBA to get to the table to be in court or to be assisting,

they have to be invited by either the DA or the county. And I believe that invitation came from the DA. And so the SBA that has some sense of independence, some sense of independence is certainly there. And I would presume safely that they're going to be a big part of the investigation or the lead investigators for the DA. That's safe to assume. Secondly, I know who has those cameras,

the door and the ring bell, and those two cameras and nobody knows where they are. I know. They left with the people who shot Andrew Brown, by the way. They didn't leave those cameras there because when they cleaned up the scene, they took those. Those cameras are gone.

I hope I'm wrong, but if I was in their position, the shooter's position, I would have taken the cameras and basically gotten rid of them. But we'll see. This is a 17,000-person community, if you will. The judges know the DAs, the DAs know the police. It's an incestuous relationship and they have a cluster F here because I can tell you under Tennessee v. Garner, and I say this on your show all the time,

it is unlawful for the police to shoot a nonviolent fleeing felon. It's been the law since 1987 or 1986. It's a Supreme Court decision. Go read it. It fits this mold. And touching the police with your car because your intent is to get away because you fear for your safety,

i.e. he's not the police, but he is the victim now, right? Shooting into a car that is trying to get away with no one shooting back at you. What training did South Carolina Sheriff's Office get to say that was safe? In fact, shooting into a moving car surrounded by police officers has gotta be one of the most unsafe things you can do. In fact, that your own police officers or sheriff officers could be shot through friendly fire. So it makes absolutely no sense. And then considering that they're not releasing this video, the two things I wanna say real quick, the judge's order, I thought there were two

interesting things. One, the judge found that releasing it would put these officers public safety at risk. And he's probably right about that because the kill shot to the back of the head, whether it was execution style or whether it was shooting at the back of the car through that back window and caught him in the back of the head really doesn't make any difference. And then secondly, what the court said was

that it was going to review a second set of videos with the police, the sheriff, and their supervisors and what they were talking about that night after the shooting. Now, I must tell you, that's a piece of evidence going to get in the court if this case is ever litigated criminally or civilly. But why would you want to review that unless you were trying to protect the prosecution or rather yet protect the officers who were involved, if you will? We call that getting your story straight after you either have your drop gun or not in most cases, or what's our story going to be here?

I guarantee you that second piece about that conversation with the supervisors is something you really do want to hear about, but that probably won't see the light of day unless there's litigation. It is really clear here, Robert, that again, as far as I'm looking at this here, how the DA is operating when you look at, and the collection of evidence is critically important because you don't want stuff tempered with. We know for a fact, we know for a fact that when Laquan McDonald was shot and killed, that Chicago cops went to the nearby Burger King, walked in,

requested to see that footage, and they erased they erased the footage that was on that Burger King camera. And so again, having that I mean, the city controlled that particular view, but you've got neighbors who may have had ring cameras. The ring camera in that particular

home as well could easily show it. And so then the question is, who has that? Who controls that? And so that's why people down there are not trusting of his district attorney. And the pressure is going to be throttled up to get him to recuse himself, to allow the state attorney general come in, so the people and the family can believe there's going to be a credible investigation. You're absolutely correct. And I think part of what we, the reason this election was so important was now we have a competent Department of Justice. They just announced today that they're going to be investigating the Maude Arbery shooting as a hate crime to investigate these things from a federal level. When we had Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr there, there was no

federal backstop to go back upon. But turning to just this issue of the neighbor's ring video doorbell, I do think we need to find out, one, who took the camera, because the doorbell should actually have a video of the person taking the camera down as part of this anti-tampering aspect of it. You can also contact the doorbell maker who has a GPS tracker inside of it and see exactly where the thing is located at right now. Again, it does not have a hard drive or memory chip in it. It's recorded to a cloud. So there should be a cloud recording of everything that happened, whether they have the physical camera or not. So those are things that are going to be coming out of the net several days. All in all, it looks like a terrible situation for the police. And it's going to be interesting to see what type of

defense they mount or if they simply are trying to sort out which officers will be charged with what at this point in time. But in general, this sort of killing is indefensible under any police protocols. My eldest sister was a police officer in Charlottesburg County there in North Carolina for nearly 30 years. They do have a history of police brutality of excessive force cases in that area. And it's important that we take a look back at many of the other cases that have a similar factual background, but existed in an area where there were not cameras at to find out who else needs to be provided justice in this case. I think we are at the beginning of this, not at the middle or at the end. And more evidence will be coming down the pipe.

And the reality here, Monique, in terms of the questions, the questions that keep persisting, the folks there say they're going to continue the protest to keep the pressure on and their plans underway, calling for national figures to come in to exert the level of pressure to ratchet up. At the news conference yesterday, Attorney Bakari Sellers talked about also the issues with the North Carolina law because the reality is they don't actually have to go to court to get a judge to compel them to release it.

So you have sort of this hodgepodge, if you will, where they can release it. They don't have to release it. And he says that the law should be changed in that state that compels law enforcement 40 at least no more than 48 hours after a police involved shooting for body camera footage to be released. You look at what happened in Columbus. They got that video out in less than 12 hours. And that limited in many ways, a lot of the speculation that people had about that particular shooting as well. The way that the law is set up in North Carolina, and that's why the part that concerned me the most about today's hearing,

was the judge going through and deciding unnecessarily and making a decision on some of those elements, even though he had already decided that the press didn't have standing to try to get the video. He went ahead and said, but I do find this, I do find this, I do find this. That's coding. That's precursor. Because it could turn out that it's never made publicly available based on the way that that law is set up. Even if the district attorney, if the district attorney decided not to charge, but also decided that there was a continuing and ongoing safety matter for those officers, it may never get publicly seen. And that defies entirely the

reason that we have the body cam footage in the first place. And it is an insult to a family to show them a video with faces blurred where they don't even know who killed their own family member. At a minimum, you should be getting that information not from the grapevine, not from somebody else's video who was a citizen. You should be given the respect that is due you and be given that information. Scott, everyone kept saying when we were there, transparency, transparency, transparency. And the fact that you have a sheriff's department that wants to do more, then you have a DA who, first of all, when the shooting took place, I talked to Reverend Spearman, who heads the North Carolina State Conference, the NAACP.

When he called his office, they said the DA was going to be gone for five days and couldn't be reached. And he said, what the hell are you talking about? This major shooting and he can't be reached? And then, of course, on Monday, he announces he's running for another office. But he found time to actually make that particular announcement as well. The sense that I get from there, folks do not trust this DA, and they believe that he should recuse himself. But the bottom line is he can only make that decision. They can't force him to recuse himself. He has to make that call, and he clearly is resisting those calls so far.

Do you trust him just based on your limited information? Hell no. And the circumstances? No, I don't trust anybody who's afraid to talk, who's afraid to speak. And I got a serious problem when the Sheriff's Department is showing the video, even at 20 seconds to the family, and no one from the DA's office was present, and they're in the same building. Exactly.

Exactly. And this DA, remember after they met with the police officers, the family's legal team, including Bakari sellers afterwards, the press conference, which got really heated. Well, apparently it got heated in this initial meeting and it's the DA who told Bakari. No, no, no, no, no press conference, which got really heated, well, apparently it got heated in this initial meeting.

And it's the D.A. who told Bakari. No, no, no, no, no, no. That was the county attorney. So that was the county attorney. So the county attorney, that's why I was crazy. Sheriff's Department was there. You have a county attorney who's hired by the county. He was present and he was the one who cussed at Bakari.

But I specifically asked at the news conference, was anyone from the DA's office present? They said no. And I'm going, are you serious? Yeah. Wow. So the biggest problem with the DA is the DA early on, because, again, it's Elizabeth City. The DA has a very, very cozy relationship

with the police and the sheriff. They deal with each other every day. They prosecute cases together. It's a hand-to-glove relationship. And the DA sees his role as protecting the police. He did in court. He didn't show up for that initial meeting with the lawyers. And on a day-to-day basis, they are interacting, and they need each other to prosecute crime. Now, with that in mind, it begs for a special prosecutor.

Now, the governor has called for a special prosecutor or an independent prosecutor. It'll be interesting to see how much political sway the governor of South Carolina is prepared to invoke, or rather North Carolina, to invoke in order to force this DA to agree to a special prosecutor or an independent prosecutor, because that's the only way it's going to take it. Remember, the DA is running for another office. And so politics eventually are going to overwhelm how this case gets investigated, who gets prosecuted, does the video get out.

Look for the governor, hopefully, to take a strong hand in this and politically force the local officials' hand. But you need an independent prosecutor. I want to bring in Congressman Yvette Clark. We're going to talk to her about something else, but I I want to bring in an independent prosecutor. I want to bring in Congresswoman Yvette Clark. We're going to talk to her about something else, but I do want to bring her in because this case that's taking place right now in Elizabeth city, North Carolina just says,

and it says why the George Floyd justice act is so important. The, the effort is on right now. Congresswoman Karen Bass is driving this on the house side. You have senators, Corey Booker and Tim Scott on and Senator Dick Durbin on the Senate side. And this, the need for police reform when it comes to events, situations like this is critically important. Absolutely. Roland, you know, the cases keep coming. And the circumstances under which Black people have to live in policing in our nation has reached an all-time low. And so

we have got to pass the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. There's no getting around it. It's in our faces, it's in our Ballywick. The Biden administration is 100% on board. And I think the American people are fed up with having to be traumatized again and again with respect to these, what I call state sponsored killings by police officers that are hired to protect and to serve and then the cover up the ways in which they have distorted the truth. I mean, even with George Floyd's case, had there not been video, you know, what was first reported, nothing could have been further from the truth. So we want to encourage everyone, continue to keep the pressure on the United States Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Police accountability is going to be one of the issues that is going to come up tonight in the address to Congress by President Joe Biden. Absolutely. I have no doubt that that will be the case. That's front of mind. I mean, again, right on the heels of George Floyd's assassination murder. We've seen at least seven others either killed or just physically accosted, humiliated, as in the case of the Army lieutenant in Virginia. And so I think that the level of consciousness around renegade policing in this nation is at an all-time high and must be addressed.

One of the other issues that will also come out and I want you to speak to is this whole notion of race equity. This, President Biden made this a part of the portfolio of Susan Rice to deal with the issue of race equity. President Biden made this a part of the portfolio of Susan Rice to deal with the issue of race equity. And the reality is the federal government has some significant leverage, if you will, when it comes to contracts, when it comes to how it can drive this issue. And the federal government can serve, frankly, as a leader to also lead to changes. What's happening in corporate America on Capitol Hill, you and others can call corporate leaders to Washington, D.C. to testify in hearings.

And so that that idea of race equity also has to be front and center if we're going to move this nation forward. Absolutely. You said, you know, what everyone, when I say everyone in the Democratic caucus has been talking about ever since the beginning of the bare by the pandemic, by all of the injustices, particularly in policing leading into the pandemic, leading through this pandemic, the health care toll, the lives, the livelihoods, what we saw with respect to the Trump administration's essentially just marginalizing and bringing harm to these very communities by his supremacist policies. All of that, I think, has generated a movement where the understanding is broadly held, regardless of race, regardless of ethnicity or gender, that there has to be equity in this country. That's the only way that we are going to be able to move forward as a just, a fair society. And everyone's read, well, in the Democratic caucus, I'll say that again, we're ready.

We're focused on an equity agenda. And that even translates into the districts that we all represent. We booked you to talk about the census. So one of the things that we did was we were highly critical of Young and Rubicam for how they doled out dollars to get the word out when it came to the census. When Congressman Stephen Horsford, who led the CBC census task force, was on here. I said to him, the CBC should demand an audit of exactly where all the money was spent, who it went to, what specific media entities, because we're now seeing the result. Your state, New York, has lost a seat in Congress because they were 89 votes shy. We're now seeing Illinois is going to be losing a particular seat in Congress.

Northeastern states are going to be losing seats. Big games will be taking place in Florida, in Texas. Well, the reality is this here. That could very well shift the balance of power. Democrats only have a three-seat majority in the Congress before the death of Congressman Alcee Hastings in Florida. And so the undercounting of African-Americans and Latinos is of huge concern. And clearly the Trump folk did not give a damn. The red state governors didn't give a damn. But I still believe this is where the CBC should be saying, we want hearings and investigation of where the money was spent,

was it properly spent, and did we get the best we could get with the millions of dollars that were allocated to achieve a strong census number? Well, let me say that, first of all, losing an entire congressional seat because 89 people did not respond or their response arrived too late to be counted in the census is particularly egregious. That's a disenfranchisement of a state delegation, and by extension, the people of the state of New York, for 89 responses. There are many questions that we have to ask in unpacking what happened in the 2020 census. And I think that, you know, we have committee on the Hill that are primed and pumped to be able to go into that. At the end of the day, we had an administration that telegraphed very early on

that they wanted to disrupt the 2020 census, aided with, course the outbreak of a once in a century pandemic you know it was a perfect storm for undercounting communities that have been hard to count from the outset because these were the same communities that were devastated by COVID-19. These are the same communities that were targeted with rhetoric around putting a citizenship question on the form, even prior to the pandemic. These are the same communities that had their postal service dismantled and then had an administration move the deadline by which all people had to respond.

I'm just so through with the way in which we had against insurmountable odds to deliver on this census. And I wanna first of all say how grateful I am to the folks on the ground. The community did everything they could with one hand tied, or some would say both hands tied behind their back, including our media to get everyone to respond to the 2020 census.

But we had some really insurmountable odds. I want to thank, you know, all of our organizations who understood how critical this was. But, I mean, I think that there were a whole host of things that stood in our way in getting a fair and accurate count in 2020. And New York State is going to be paying a price for that. All right, then. Congresswoman Yvette Clark, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you for having me.

All right. Got to go to break. We come back. We'll talk with our panel about some of those issues. And also, the feds today indicting the three men involved in the death of Ahmaud Arbery on civil rights charges. That is next on Roland Martin Unfiltered. He's delivering three million shots a day, 200 million doses so far, 150 million stimulus checks delivered, a million jobs created, more jobs in the first two months than any administration in history. Plans to rebuild America's roads and bridges and create two million more jobs funded by corporations paying their fair

share. President Biden getting America back on track. The Democratic National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. Hi, I'm Kim Burrell. Hi, I'm Carl Painting. Hey, everybody, this is Sherri Shepherd. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, some good news came out of Georgia today when the Department of Justice announced that they are bringing civil rights charges. First of all, they announced a federal grand jury has indicted the three men charged for the death of Ahmaud Arbery on hate crimes charges. Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and William Roddy Bryan have been charged with one count of interference with rights and one count of attempted kidnapping.

Travis and Gregory McMichael were also charged with one count each of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm, doing and in relation to a crime of violence. Travis was also charged with discharging a firearm, doing and in relation to a crime of violence. Travis was also charged with discharging a firearm doing and in relation to a crime of violence. The three men chased and shot Arbery while he was jogging last year. This is a big deal there, Robert, that particular decision there. One of the things that former Attorney General Eric Holder often complained about was the limited ability of the Department of Justice to pursue federal civil rights charges against folks in actions that was mainly with police. This is different. Well, you know, I think this is why we have to understand the crucial importance

of elections and the crucial importance of having an empowered Attorney General. Many of our civil rights laws, which are on the books right now, are laws that were put in place in the 1960s, and it's very difficult often to prosecute, primarily because police departments and individuals have had a half century to figure out how to escape these countermeasures. We have to continue to monitor these things, and while Democrats have a majority in the Congress, we have to work on strengthening these civil rights

protections and strengthening the Department of Justice's ability to investigate cases of this nature and prosecute them because what we saw often during the Obama administration was Holder or Loretta Lynch will want to investigate but it simply put did not have the statutory power or authority to do so so we have to start start pushing for those sorts of gains right now, because what we have seen when you have someone like Jeff Sessions or Bill Barr or some of these other conservative attorney generals in place, they try to use that same laws to discriminate against African-Americans as opposed to their original intent.

Monique? Merrick Garland is going to prove to be an effective, serious-minded, and forward-moving attorney general, and I expect to see more and more of what we've seen just in the past week. Scott? Yeah, you know, let's not forget that these are still really, really tough cases. And so for the AG or DOJ to bring these charges, you got two things that work. You got some great set of facts with them running through the neighborhood. And I believe I've read reports where the subsequent conversations of using racist terms post-shooting are also a really strong fact. And then lastly, you don't have the police shooting someone under color of law, which is a really, really high standard.

Still a tough case because you've got to show that the complete basis for the attack and the violation of right was rooted in race, not rooted in something else even and race. It has to be race-based, and they have to have evidence, witnesses, and documents to support that as a basis for these charges, even though they're civil charges, or I don't know whether it's civil or criminal. Usually they're civil, but whether it's criminal or civil, it doesn't really matter. They got some good facts here, and a big factor was this was not a police officer involved in the shooting. Let's stay in Georgia, where a sheriff in Clayton County has pled not guilty to federal

charges. Sheriff Victor Hill is accused of violating the civil rights of four detainees at the Clayton County jail in 2020. The suit states the Georgia sheriff ordered inmates on multiple occasions to be placed in restraints, restraint chairs for several hours. In a statement released by the DOJ acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine said our Constitution prohibits law enforcement officers from using unreasonable force. Hill's actions, as alleged by the grand jury, deprived the citizens he was sworn to protect of their civil rights. Such abuses of power not only harmed the victims, they also eroded the community's trust in law enforcement. Hill released his own statement saying, Today I will begin the process of fighting a politically motivated federal legal case.

My legal team are the only ones authorized to speak on the details of this matter, and they are confident about the facts of this case. Meanwhile, as we go through this process, I will continue to focus on the mission of fighting crime in Clayton County for continued success. Hill was released on a $50,000 bond and will continue to serve Clayton County Sheriff while he awaits trial. Robert, that's your part of the country. Y'all got your own Sheriff David Clark down there? Oh, no, no. Look, anything that happened to Victor Hill, we indict Victor Hill every three or four years just on GP, and he's always fine. Look, he has a confiscated drug Camaro that he calls the Dark Knight.

Then he has a confiscated drug Mercedes Benz he calls the White Knight that he rides around fighting crime. Victor Hill is a Victor Hill unto himself, and I think we'll see as these things play out that he'll be just fine after all this uh we've had uh i brought up i brought up sheriff david clark for a reason uh scott uh because uh they were sued where where uh issues with inmates where one was one died for thirst they wouldn't give him water bizarre without a doubt and he should be sued. I mean, this whole us versus them mentality in our criminal justice system, if I'm serving or if I'm in the prison system, why is it doesn't have to be us versus them? They're all part of the human condition. OK, they've been charged. They've been prosecuted and they're serving a term. Listen, even when they come out, we still prosecute people who have served jail.

They can't get a job. They can't go to law school or medical school or business school, at least without significant effort in the support system around them. And I'll be honest with you. Some of these, I mean, I hear my colleague, Robert, talk about this guy as if he's somewhat of a local legend,

if you will, and that he'll be OK. Well, he shouldn't be OK because his conduct isn't OK. And maybe it's acceptable in the sense that it that, you know, it's like folklore, if you will. These are pretty serious charges. I know Robert gets that. But these are pretty serious charges and their accountability, whether they're black or white law enforcement officers, ought to still be the same and be on the tape. Bottom line is this here, Monique, law enforcement officers, they're not above the law and inmates still should be treated with respect and decency. And all too often we have and I don't know why we keep having these damn black sheriffs who act a damn fool. You had that fool in Florida who sat there and said that he that he was going to deputize people. The Black Lives Matter showed up. He later got indicted for corruption.

And then, of course, you got this dude here in Georgia. Of course, you had David Clark in Milwaukee. You know, all of this, these fakeass John Waynes really get on my nerves. Right. Scott is absolutely right. They're all part of the human condition, and every human deserves to be treated with respect across the board.

But where people who are in custody of the federal government are concerned, they actually have a constitutionally protected right to be treated absent cruel and unusual punishment and to be treated with decency. There's a duty of care on the part of any government agency that has human beings who are citizens of the United States or otherwise in their custody and care. And that was violated here if these charges end up being true. So there's a heightened responsibility to take care of and to properly provide for those who are in custodial care. Folks, speaking of that, in custody in California, police have released body cam footage

of officers pinning a man to the ground for more than five minutes during an arrest causing his death. Police arrived at the scene after receiving a 911 call saying Mario Gonzalez appeared to be disoriented or drunk. When officers requested identification that Gonzalez could not produce, they began taking him into custody. Folks, this is the video here. After pinning Gonzalez down for five minutes, he became unresponsive. Police then attempted CPR on Gonzalez until an ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The officers say he had a medical emergency after they tried to handcuff him. An autopsy is pending to determine the cause of his death, but his family is blaming the police.

The three officers involved in the arrest are on paid leave until the investigation is complete. Let the video keep going there. Monique, here's what was, again, what we always see this year. The cops lied. They put in their report that he was being belligerent, that he was out of control, when actually he wasn't. He actually was cooperating and was calm and talking to them.

Well, yeah, I mean, it looks like he's resisting the handcuffs being put on him. So that's not what law enforcement is going to consider cooperative. If they give commands and those commands aren't followed and the suspect does not comply, that they're not going to consider that being cooperative. So calling it belligerent or just calling it refusing to obey police commands, whatever the case may be, it does look like we can see that in the video, but that does not mean that him having a medical emergency and them pinning him down instead of delivering aid did not cause his death. What they did was they literally just got pressed their knee in his back. And at one point in the video, one officer was trying to move his knee.

But at that point, he had already gone unconscious and he died. And then they lied in their write-up. And you do notice, Roland, and maybe to the whole panel, the pervasive killing of black and brown men all over the United States. Like, it's not like it's in the South or the East or the West. It's all over. And if you think about it, the reforms, the police reform isn't about these police departments. It is about every department. It's this mentality that you go from zero to deadly force. Somebody's got to be able

to get somebody handcuffed without killing them. Somebody's got to be able to get a person driving away who doesn't have a gun but wants to get away from the police because he fears for his life, a way to stop him without killing him. And all these police do all over the country. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is it seems like they're trained to go from zero to deadly force in a minute, simply to get compliance of the most of the simplest direction. And I guarantee you this, right? If the police, these pervasive killings were of people that did not look like you and me, we put an end to it immediately. There would be a reform bill passed by bipartisanship on the Hill and the Senate.

And you know what? It would be completely revamped. But because it's black and brown men, it's taking forever. Even doing trials will show that it's being convicted. Black and brown people, men and women, are still being killed. It is the dumbest thing, craziest thing I've seen in my life. In fact, here you can see he may be resisting, but he shouldn't die from it. In fact, Robert, in Colorado, a shocking new video shows officers laughing and joking about the brutal arrest of a 73-year-old woman with disabilities.

You're a lot of help. She's just very flexible. I had her in the car when I first got there. I just hear a talk. I had a big scar on the wrist right there. I was like, I'm going to play. I was pushing, pushing, pushing. I hear a click. Oh, no. That's what you mentioned.

No doubt. There's more than just that guy. Yeah. I had to walk all down and like, oh, man, I get it now. And then she's fighting still. I'm like, hey, hold that dog. What happened when you got a feed and you were like short-striping the day? It would bump a little bit.

But it's just a little, like, kind of safe. Hey, I'm fighting. I have everyone sitting on toes. I'm like, I'm fine. I can handle every dog. I was like, all right, let's rock the world. I was around on the, got her cupped up. That was me reading. And then I had her get up to her front. She showed up.

But the call was like, you're an owner. I'm an owner of a race. I'm like, oh. My mama is 73. And I can imagine them sitting here, Robert, joking about it. A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the Loveland Police Department and several officers who assaulted Karen Garner. The suit states that Loveland police broke Garner's humerus, dislocated her shoulder, sprained her wrist during a violent arrest that took place last June. Garner has dementia and has sensory aphasia,

which impairs her ability to talk and understand others. The senior citizen was arrested for walking out of a Walmart with $13.88 worth of items. The family is devastated because they say police treated Garner like an animal. They want the arresting officers involved and the authorities that hired them to be fired. Robert, your thoughts. Well, let's just think about what America is at this point. When a 70-year-old white woman named Karen gets beat by the cops, and that's not enough for America to understand that we have to revamp the way that we do policing in this country. I don't know what is. There's a very startling stat out there that there are upwards of three police killings per day in America. Over a

thousand per year take place in this country. No other Western nation has numbers along those lines. Imagine three people get killed by alligators per day. We will get rid of all the damn alligators pretty quickly. But we are willing to accept three people being killed by cops every single day of the year, year in and year out in this country and not think that there's any need to pass any sorts of police reforms and reforms that they have in the rest of the world. And I'm also on Iranian TV and other Middle Eastern nations, and it's impossible to defend American policing, even to dictatorial regimes, even to regimes that violate human rights

around the world. How do you talk to the Chinese about their oppression of the Uyghurs when you have three people getting killed by the police every day here? How do we talk about the genocide in Myanmar when three people are getting killed by the police every single day in America? So until we take this seriously, it's going to be nearly impossible

for us to regain our status in the world. I don't understand why this was not agenda item number one for the new administration, because it's a crucial issue particularly for black and and brown communities and apparently for 70 year old women in care. And also, I don't get it. And, you know, thirteen dollars and eighty eight cents. Really? All of that. All of that is required for thirteen dollars and eighty eight cents. Are we serious? Well, I don't care. She walked out with a cash register and a big screen TV under her arm. Still, this might not be the proper way to police. No, no, no, no, no,

no. But again, but my whole point is, again, you take these small, small, small crimes and you see this sort of action. It makes no sense, folks. This is why police reform is critically important. Of course, legislation has been introduced in many states to combat police brutality and mass incarceration. The National Urban League announced its 21 pillars for redefining public safety and restoring community trust. Let's talk about that with Jerrica Richardson. She is the senior vice president for equal justice and strategic initiatives with the National Urban League. This is going to be an issue tonight, Jerrica, when President Biden speaks to Congress.

Jerrica, one second, guys. I can't hear. I can hear. I can hear in the control speaking, but I can't hear. OK. All right. Let's try it now. Jerica, go ahead. Thank you so much. There we go. Thank you so much for having me, Roland. And it is definitely an issue and one that's on the forefront and one that the Biden administration really has to continue pushing for and attacking head on. I mean, all we have to do is talk about these countless stories happening over and over and over again. It's like Groundhog's Day. And when we think about just all that's happening in this country, I was in Minneapolis last week with our president and CEO, Mark Morial. We were on the ground knowing that we had accountability in the George Floyd case, but then turning around

and going to Daunte Wright's funeral the very next day just proves how insidious this problem is, how much we have systemic racism in this country, whether we're talking about it historically from slavery or the Black Codes to Jim Crow. It is in the fabric of this country. And the fact remains, people of color, African-Americans, black and brown and Asian people are just not seen in the same light. And we're not seen as human beings. And so there is much that needs to be done. And I think, quite frankly, we need to stop using the term reform. The system is broken. And why the National Urban League is really pushing on redefining public safety and restoring community and trust is because we really want to collaborate

with communities to actually build a restorative system. Now, but in order to do that, bottom line is you got to get past the filibuster. There are not 10 votes on the Republican side to do it. Now, you know, Senator Tim Scott promises he can bring Republicans aboard. I need to see evidence of that. But the bottom line is this here. If you can't pick up 10 Republicans, you're not going to have police accountability. Well, you're not if you can't pick up 10 Republicans, you won't have police accountability coming out of Washington. You know, the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act may not pass, but that's part of the reason why we developed these 21 pillars. We should continue to push for change on the national level, but we also

recognize that all politics is local. And sometimes the things that are happening on the local level impact your communities just as much, if not more. And so we need to be pushing on the national front and we need to be pushing on the state and local level. And our plan is really focused on giving people a framework, giving them the tools to really take their protests that they really did and used it for power at the ballot box and really turn it into policy. And so what are you asking for the folks who are watching and listening to do to make that happen? Well, we're definitely encouraging folks to go to NUL.org. That's the National Urban Leads website where you can download the plan. The other thing is really tapping into your

local community. One of the things that I don't think gets lifted up as much is how we should be pushing for more reforms that put civilians, everyday people at the table. I really fundamentally believe that accountability is on all of us. And so when we're talking about reimagining or redefining or re-envisioning what public safety should look like, we also need to be pushing for civilian review boards, and not civilian review boards of old, which in many instances added up to mere PR for elected officials, but civilian review boards that actually have decision-making authority. I had the opportunity to serve on the Civilian Complaint Review Board in New York City.

And if it were not for our advocacy, our independent investigation and prosecution, the officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, Daniel Pantaleo, would still be sitting on the force today because we look to leadership in Washington. We look to leadership on the local levels. And it failed us time and time again and didn't get done. And so that independent investigation, independent prosecution, and a board driven by civilians, everyday people like you and me, we had activists, we had lawyers, we had advocates all coming to the table and looking and reviewing the evidence and then pushing forward and forcing the city of New York to move forward with a disciplinary trial. If it hadn't been for that, I don't think the Garner family would have seen any semblance of accountability.

The problem with these things is that it takes so much time, it takes too long. But I will say that what we've seen across the country in 2020 with these multiple pandemics. The movement that we saw in the speed on the George Floyd justice and the George Floyd case and the trial of Derek Chauvin has really emboldened and pushed a lot of our electeds on the local and state level to go further. These reforms were there. People were talking about them, but we really needed to put pressure and make it very clear that you're either with the community or you're against us. And it needs to become politically expedient to do what is right and no longer look the other way. All right. Jericho, I really appreciate it. Thanks so much. Where can people actually read these 21 pillars? Where can they go? They can go to the National Urban League's website, NUL.org.

All right. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways from tech

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