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Rep. Hank Johnson headlines policy hearing on police militarization

November 12, 2014

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Congressman to open American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) panel discussion: “Militarization and the Changing Culture of Policing in America”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, November 12, ACS will host a panel discussion about the effects and legal ramifications of the increased use of military equipment by local police departments across the country and the steps federal, state and local policymakers can take to combat this trend.

Congressman Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA) – who introduced the bipartisan Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 (H.R. 5478) -- will give opening remarks.

This summer, the nation witnessed one of the most shocking displays of police militarization when police donned camouflage tactical gear and climbed aboard heavily armored vehicles to meet protestors in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.

The militarization of police, however, is neither new nor isolated. Local police departments across the nation, participating in federal programs sponsored by the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Justice, increasingly have access to equipment traditionally reserved for military use, including body armor, high powered rifles, “sound cannons,” armored vehicles, and grenade launchers.

The discussion will focus on how these programs, ostensibly designed to aid law enforcement in the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, altered the culture of police departments. As police have come to more closely resemble paramilitary forces, what does it mean for our Fourth Amendment rights? And what is the impact on communities of color, which are often the most heavily policed?

WHO: Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04); Christopher Durocher, Director of Policy Development and Programming, American Constitution Society for Law & Policy.
Panelists: Moderator, Kimberly Atkins, Chief Washington Reporter/Columnist, Boston Herald; Kara Dansky, Senior Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union; Barry Friedman, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law, New York University School of Law; Ronald Hampton, Advisor to National Police Accountability Project; former Executive Director, National Black Police Association; former Community Relations Officer, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department; Tom Nolan, Associate Professor of Criminology & Director of Graduate Programs in Criminology, Merrimack College; former Senior Policy Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; former lieutenant, Boston Police Department.

WHAT: Militarization and the Changing Culture of Policing in America

WHEN: Wednesday, November 12, 2014; 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. EDT

WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2237, Washington, DC 20515.

Lunch will be available starting at 12:00 p.m., and the program will begin at 12:15 p.m.

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