Civil Beat and Common Cause are hosting an event this week that may interest some readers of this blog.
Civil Cafe: Legislative Session – What Can I Do?
Thursday, January 26, 5:30-7 p.m.
The Manifest
32 North Hotel Street | Honolulu, Hawaii 96817Civic engagement begins with understanding process. But, many of us wonder where do we even begin? How can average citizens get involved in politics and make our voices heard?
This free public panel, presented in partnership with Common Cause, aims to educate and encourage citizen participation in lawmaking. Through an interactive discussion, guest speakers will walk us through the legislative process and provide actionable steps to make positive change in our community.
Panelists include:
Chad Blair, Civil Beat
Janet Mason, League of Women Voters
Corie Tanida, Common Cause
Keanu Young, Public Access RoomThis event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP in advance here.
And while mentioning Civil Beat, I forgot to link to my CB column last week:
This column makes the point that the Honolulu Police Department has a terrible record of multiple incidents in which officers shoot at suspects who are attempting to flee in order to avoid arrest. Nationally, police departments are adopting policies that prohibit officers from shooting in such situations unless the driver is threatening to use force other than their vehicle. In other words, if they are threatening the officer or someone else with a weapon, responding with deadly force may be appropriate, depending on the circumstances. Otherwise, officers are told to move out of the way rather than shooting at the car.
Anyway, the column is there for your reading. And remember, Civil Beat has removed their paywall, so there’s no problem gaining access to this column and the other excellent reporting published there.
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Ian’s article also (wisely) notes:
The guidelines authorize the use of deadly force to stop a suspect fleeing, but only if the officer “has probable cause to believe that the person has committed, or intends to commit a felony involving serious bodily injury or death, and the officer reasonably believes that there is an imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death to the officer or another if the subject is not immediately apprehended.”
“Officers shall use force only when no reasonably effective alternative appears to exist and shall use only the level of force which a reasonably prudent officer would use under the same or similar circumstances,” the new consensus policy provides.
The new guidelines leave lots of wiggle room, but the trend is clearly toward ending the practice of shooting into moving cars.
Thank you, Ian, for writing the column. It appears pretty obvious that HPD has adopted a policy where officers deliberately position themselves in front of the car, trying to force the suspect to stop. But also providing the officer with an excuse to shoot the suspect, as the approaching car is cast by the officer’s actions into the role of a “deadly weapon,” threatening the life or safety of the officer.
If HPD cannot figure out the merits of the national guidelines quoted by “t” above, our lawmakers should intervene to impose that reasonable policy upon them.
This is a great column! Maybe I’m not looking hard enough, but it seems to be buried on the Civil Beat site Ian. That’s a major disservice.
Thanks for the great article, Ian!