Police accountability task force moves forward

A task force created last legislative session will examine excessive use of force, police accountability and other issues as four subcommittees meet over the next several weeks to make recommendations to the Legislature and government groups.

“This is not a dog and pony show. This is work,” said Rep. Franklin Cooke, D-New Castle, co-chairman of the Law Enforcement Accountability Task Force, which met for the first time Aug. 6. “We're going to get down to the nitty-gritty and get things done, and everybody should be coming together and looking for change. I need folks who really want to do work. I don't care who they are – red, pink, yellow, white, black or polka dot.”

Cooke, who co-chairs the task force with attorney Darryl Parson, said Delaware is setting a precedent with the accountability task force when many states have yet to address police accountability.

Delaware's task force will be divided into four subcommittees: Use of force and imminent danger; workforce development; community policing and engagement; and transparency and accountability.

Cooke said the group will look at the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights as it applies to use of force, and the group welcomes input from the Fraternal Order of Police, Delaware State Troopers Association and other law enforcement groups.

“It's important that we look at and really dig down into and really come up with a compromise to make this whole thing go forward,” he said.

Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, a task force member, asked for data on use of force and police brutality cases, particularly those that have a racial component.

“I want to make sure we have that good information right away rather than waiting for the second or third or fourth meeting, so we can really start to make an impact and engage what the problem is,” he said.

Task force member Sherese Brewington-Carr of the Department of Labor asked for a breakdown of all funding sources that are contributing to law enforcement such as federal and state funding.

In addition to Cooke, Parson, Pettyjohn and Brewington-Carr, the remaining task force members are:

Georgetown Police Chief R.L. Hughes, Michelle Taylor of United Way, Bernice Edwards of First State Community Action Agency, Ron Handy of NAACP, Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, Lt. Thomas Brackin of the DSTA, Lt. Fred Calhoun of the FOP, Chief Patrick Ogden of the Delaware Police Chiefs' Council, Attorney General Kathleen Jennings, DSP Superintendent Col. Melissa Zebley, Public Defender Brendan O'Neill, James Liguori of the Criminal Justice Council, Spencer Price of the Statistical Analysis Center, and Larry Johnson, a retired Navy military police officer.