In response to a few key incidents regarding misuse of police force, ICE raids, and the over-policing and incarceration of Black and brown community members, the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement (AADM) began to host a series of community town halls. A few of the incidents that caused major concerns were:
- 2018: ACCPD Officer Taylor Saulters was fired after a video was released showing him running down a fleeing suspect with his car
- 2018: An ACCPD Officer forcefully restrained a ten-year old body distraught over his father’s arrest
- 2019: Six lethal shootings by ACCPD over the summer
- 2020: ACCPD use of tear gas on peaceful protesters at the UGA Arch during the May 31st, 2020 Justice for Black Lives protest
In all of these incidents, the officers in question were cleared of any wrongdoing, but loved ones of the victims and the community as a whole still had questions or disagreed with the outcome. In combination with these the distrust fostered as a result of these incidents, the AADM also received ongoing complaints regarding racial profiling by law enforcement officers, police misuse of force, and poor jail conditions. As a result, our organization teamed up with several other community organizations to advocate for civilian oversight to be established in Athens.
In February 2020, a Police Advisory Taskforce was established and charged with evaluating options for the creation of a board that could assist in gaining the trust of the community in their public safety officials. AADM’s co-founder and President Mokah Jasmine Johnson was a member of the Taskforce and was a key supporter of the body’s recommendations that a year later were sent to the ACC Government Operations Committee for review.
Once the recommendations were sent to the Government Operations Committee, the AADM’s newly formed Justice Reform Committee worked to push the member Commissioners to approve them swiftly. The committee’s focus was on increasing public understanding of and support for civilian oversight through several different avenues:
- January 2021: ACC Police Advisory Taskforce sends GOC recommendations for a hybrid model civilian oversight board with an Auditor-Monitor position and a review board composed of community members.
- March 2021: Virtual Town Hall: Why Athens Need a Police Oversight Board
- June – August 2021: Canvassing & Community Pop Ups
- July 2021: “Community Demands for Police Oversight” Town Hall
- October 2021: Athens Needs Police Accountability Rally
- November 2021: Rally in Support of Civilian Oversight
On November 21st, 2021, the AADM rallied close to 100 people from all over Athens at the Mayor & Commission meeting where the recommendations were coming to a final vote. After hearing the outpour of support from community members, the ACC Mayor & Commission passed the Public Safety Civilian Oversight Board ordinance. The ordinance established a Public Safety Civilian Oversight Board which would be able to review and make recommendations in cases of potential misconduct by all law enforcement agencies in Athens-Clarke County. This includes the police department, the Sheriff’s department, probation services, and corrections institutions.
But our work was not done.
When our local government put out a call for community members to join the newly established Public Safety Civilian Oversight Board (PSCOB), the AADM amplified their calls. Once members were chosen, members of the AADM’s Justice Reform committee attended every meeting, met with members of the Athens PSCOB and other civilian oversight boards, published an op-ed, and hosted a dinner and discussion open to the public.
When Tyre Nichols was chased down and brutally murdered by Memphis police officers, AADM held a rally to demonstrate to the public that police brutality and misconduct can and does happen everywhere, and encouraged members of their community to sign a petition in support of the Athens PSCOB. The Justice Reform committee also launched a Policing & Public Safety Survey to collect the community’s thoughts and feelings about law enforcement in Athens.
The AADM is currently working on the following:
- Collating and analyzing data from the Policing & Public Safety survey
- Advocating for the hiring of the PSCOB Monitor (learn more here)
- Continuing to collect community complaints against Athens law enforcement officers and publishing monthly summary reports