Is Durham ‘over-policed’? Councilwoman’s op-ed in USA Today draws more criticism
A Durham City Council member’s recent op ed criticizing the city’s police force drew more criticism this week — this time from fellow council members.
Sitting beside Council member Jillian Johnson Monday night, Council member DeDreana Freeman disagreed with Johnson’s debate-sparking commentary in USA Today.
“Taking an op-ed as the opportunity to highlight the issues when you’re on the council is not healthy,” Freeman said. She later added, “We have work to do, and I’d like it if we could come up with solutions and not just the problem.”
The op-ed written by Johnson, Durham’s mayor pro tempore, and Megan Green, an alderwoman in St. Louis, Missouri, concerned the policies of 12 American cities’ police departments, including Durham’s.
“Durham, North Carolina, is one of the poorest performing cities in the country when it comes to (police) use of force, attaining the lowest possible scores in four out of the seven use-of-force categories evaluated in the Local Progress study,” it said. Durham police receive 13% of the city’s budget, it noted, compared to less than 3% for youth programs and jobs.
Shortly after its publication, Durham City Manager Tom Bonfield wrote a response memo saying he was “surprised and disappointed” by it.
But it’s not the first time Durham police policies, and Johnson’s views on policing, have divided council members or the community.
Council Divided
In June 2016, Durham police called for Johnson to apologize for a Facebook post in which she said “the most dangerous people with guns are cops and soldiers.”
The post came after members of the U.S. House of Representatives unsuccessfully attempted to curb gun sales to people on terrorism watch lists following the mass shooting in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida..
The Facebook post came just months after Johnson joined Durham residents at a rally protesting the $71 million police headquarters that would be finished in 2018.
“It is a slap in the face of everyone that protects our city and our country,” the Durham County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 2 said about the Facebook post. “While Ms. Johnson is entitled to her opinion, she is an elected official and should be held to a higher standard.”
At the time, then Mayor Bill Bell told The News & Observer, “She doesn’t speak for the council.”
Johnson was also one of four council members to deny the Police Department’s request for 18 additional officers in June 2019. The vote was 4-3 against the officers, and the council redirected $1.2 million that would have funded them to raising part-time city workers’ pay.
“I don’t think we need 18 additional patrol officers,” Johnson said at the time. “Our calls for service are down. Our response times are faster. And crime is on a 20-year downward trend. So that signals to me that things are going well.”
Council member Mark-Anthony Middleton, who supported the request and called the decision reckless., criticized Johnson’s op-ed on Monday, saying he wanted to distance himself from it.
“I believe that sitting in these seats up here makes us brand ambassadors for our city,” he said. “I think that each of us up here ought to be tripping over one another, racing to defend the honor of this city and to defend the honor of this municipal workforce.”
Johnson received the most votes in the 2019 City Council election. She and others who rejected more officers said they are concerned about overpolicing, especially in communities of color, and that alternative strategies focused on the roots of crime can do more in the long term to make Durham safer.
At Thursday’s City Council work session, the council will be discussing a possible Durham Community Safety Task Force, proposed by Johnson to align city plans to decrease violence with input from residents.
Use-Of-Force
The Local Progress study behind Johnson’s op-ed was the main subject of contention for Middleton on Monday night. Its methods were “not very scientific” and negative assessed city policies if they didn’t fit exactly what the study was looking for, he said.
Local Progress’ evaluation of Durham’s use-of-force said the city has significant room for improvement in commitment to life, limitations on types of force, officer intervention, deescalation and public reporting policies. None of Durham’s use-of-force policies was considered on track to a strong policy in the study — Durham received the worst assessment of the 12 cities.
But according to Middleton, “It does not show the proper deference and respect to the incredible work that activists have done in this city over the years to transform the culture of this police department.”
He continued, “This department isn’t the same department it was 10 years ago.”
From 2014 to 2018, Durham police changed policies that resulted in decreases of use-of-force and total arrests. In 2018, there were 1,300 fewer arrests than in 2016. The use of tasers and police dogs also both fell by more than 90% since 2015.
In its 2017 annual report, the Police Department attributed the drop in taser use to a policy revision that said tasers shouldn’t be used to prevent the escape of a suspect who poses no risk and is non-assaultive. Tasers also shouldn’t be used on elderly people, pregnant woman, a person who has been handcuffed or someone being pepper sprayed, the policy says.
Rebecca Redd-Jolly, a co-facilitator for Partners Against Crime in Durham Police Department District 2, said she and other members of the PAC have been “really pleased” by how responsive police have been at their meetings. Durham PACs are community volunteer groups that meet monthly so citizens and law enforcement can work on crime solutions in their neighborhood.
She said police often stay late after meetings to address every concerned resident. The group supported Chief Davis’ request for more officers in 2019.
B.J. Council, former Durham deputy police chief and founder of You & Five-O, wrote in a letter to The N&O that Jonson’s message of Durham “over policing” is hurting the community.
“Police work doesn’t just mean stuff and cuff,” Council wrote. “It means getting to know people, being visible, allowing kids to slide in and out of the police car and occasionally turning on the siren, shooting a few hoops and realizing that ain’t my game. Police work doesn’t have to mean arrest or use of force.”
“It’s policing the way that the community wants us to police,” Council wrote.
The N&O reached out to Police Chief C.J. Davis and Council member Charlie Reece for comment Wednesday, but neither responded by mid-afternoon.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 3:39 PM.
