U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, in constituent communications, continues to characterize police reform measures as unneeded and unwelcome. How so?
A just-released watchdog report found that the Minneapolis Police Department, for years, has maintained a culture where officers “consistently use racist, misogynistic, and disrespectful language,” used greater force against Black residents than against white residents in similar circumstances, and overused a paramilitary approach to policing. The report called for “fundamental organizational culture changes.”
Commonsense reform measures are needed to modernize and professionalize our police departments and should not be feared or derided by our political leaders as “anti-cop” or otherwise unnecessary.
