Some Thoughts from JP

Rudyard Kipling said it best: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs . . . Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.”

These are the first and last lines from “If: A Father’s Advice to His Son.” It is one of Kipling’s most famous poems. Written circa 1895, it rings just as true in 2020.

These past few months, these past 30 days, have tested us as we’ve seldom been tested. More tests await. Two pandemics have hit us. One is called the COVID-19 virus; the other is racism. The former is, as its name suggests, a “novel” coronavirus. The latter is a chronic illness. How we deal with each will define who we are. Our responses will determine who we are to become.

With the exception of taking necessary precautions (masks, physical distancing, etc.), which not enough are following, we are at the mercy of the virus until a vaccine becomes available.

Not so with the other “pandemic.” This is where Kipling’s words apply. Fear brings out the worst in us. If we keep our heads, listen to each other, build empathy, and remain resolute in working toward a better day, we will get there. It’s not enough to say it will take time. Time is precious.

You’ll find that much of this newsletter focuses on policing. Police are a proxy for us. They represent how we treat each other, how we want to be treated.

We’ll take a mid-year look at how we’re doing on the goals we set for District 8 in 2020. We’ll tell you about the city budget we just passed. We’ll bring you up-to-date on our experiment at the North Fulton Golf Course in Chastain Park.

As we celebrate our nation’s independence for the 244th time on July 4, let’s remember that we are all players in that grand American experiment called democracy. From time to time, we stumble. 

But America, at its best, recovers and improves. Recovery and improvement are at the heart of a country that must never stop trying to get better. 

Policing

1. Commit to revising the Use of Force continuum in Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to increase specificity and align with best practices;
2. Ensure that changes taken under the Mayor’s Administrative Orders 2020-18 align with best practice policy changes from other cities and continue measures for accountability;
3. Commit to identifying policies to improve officer compliance and public transparency of captured body worn camera footage;
4. Create a centralized repository for witness footage of use of force by officers;
5. Mandate immediate drug testing for officers when a use-of-force incident resulting in serious injury or death occurs;
6. Commit to re-evaluating and revising mission, vision, core values, and oath of the Atlanta Police Department;
7. Conduct additional screenings - including mental health and implicit bias assessments - for all applicants during the recruiting process, and on an ongoing basis for all officers;
8. Require more exhaustive background checks with attention to record of complaints from other agencies, previous applications to police departments, and social media sentiment;
9. Extend powers and community awareness of Atlanta Citizen Review Board (ACRB); and
10. Begin to evaluate policies, procedures, and partner organizations for least harm approach to reduce the likelihood of use of force long-term, including use of non-law enforcement officials for community crisis response and expansion of the pre-arrest diversion program.

We've Got a Budget

A Mid-Year Report Card

Our Golf Course Trial Run