Media Coverage

A Time article discusses the release of videos showing the police shooting of Tyre Nichols and calls for a focus on humanizing his death rather than sensationalizing the footage for a political agenda. In it, Max Markham, CPE’s Vice President of Policy and Community Engagement, spoke about how policies that prompt officers to disproportionately target black drivers are racially disparate.  From the coverage: “But three things, Max Markham, vice president of policy and community engagement at the Center for Policing Equity, told me before the tapes were released today, are clear. Black drivers in multiple cities are significantly more likely than white drivers to be subjected to a traffic stop, traffic stops are the genesis of a large share of incidents that lead to a use of force, and when Black Americans do come in contact with police, they are also significantly more likely to have some type of force […]

NPR’s Ari Shapiro spoke with Center for Policing Equity CEO Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff about how the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis reveals broader implications about police department culture and diversity. Dr. Goff emphasizes the importance of diversifying police departments, providing more resources, and limiting the use of police force in nonfatal accidents.  From the coverage: “ Policing is set up to do a set of things. It does that with ruthless efficiency. It is not set up ideally for community safety because, to do that, you need to do investment. And so there are people who would say policing hasn’t gotten better, but it hasn’t gotten worse because it continues to do those things efficiently. And in there, I talk about both activists and the chiefs with whom I work.” Continue listening at NPR.org.

Dr. Tracie L. Keesee, the President of the Center for Policing Equity, was interviewed on MSNBC’s “11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” to discuss the unethical conduct of the Memphis police officers involved in the arrest and killing of Tyre Nichols. During the interview, Dr. Keesee highlighted how body cameras have not been effective in holding officers accountable for their actions. She also emphasized the urgent need for accountability in policing, and the devastating impacts that Nichol’s killing on the black community.  From the video: “I could tell you not just for me but for thousands of officers across the country. It’s devastating. It’s heartbreaking. Once again here we are, where we don’t have trust in communities of color. The interesting part of it is too for most folks who are watching we’re often surprised that all five of those officers were black. And I can tell you as a retired

The Atlantic published an article on how national media outage of police brutality has not reduced the number of police killings. In the article, Dr. Goff, the CEO and co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity, expressed that while policing reforms in America have made progress, mass incarceration remains a significant obstacle to achieving meaningful police reform. From the coverage: “ The Yale professor Phillip Goff, the co-founder and CEO of the Center for Policing Equity, told Slate that although periodic reforms to American policing have improved it over the decades, police reform has also been stymied. ” Continue reading at TheAtlantic.com.

An Associated Press article highlighted how the death of Tyre Nichols exposed the use of brutal force by “elite” police units sent into communities to target crimes. The article quoted Hans Menos, Vice President of Triage Response at the Center for Policing Equity, who pointed out that aggressive police tactics have been ineffective in solving and deterring crime in the United States. From the coverage: “’Obviously it’s a complicated issue, and they are responding to a tangible problem being whatever crime of the day they are formed to address — guns, gang violence, narcotics. But Memphis is not an outlier here,’ said Hans Menos, vice president of the Triage Response Team at the Center for Policing Equity. ‘I don’t see any other option we have as a country but to say this is not working. This is leading to pain, injury and death.’” Continue reading at TheAPNews.com.

The New York Times published an essay penned by Center of Policing Equity CEO Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff. In it, Dr. Goff addresses how the traditional tough-on-crime approach has little effect on violent crime because it does not address its root cause. Dr. Goff advocates that the message of “strong communities keeping everyone safe” not only resonates with Republican and Democratic voters but also has been backed up by data, academics, and government commissions.  From the coverage: “But common sense and recent polling show that a majority of voters are concerned about crime and also supportive of changes in how we keep communities safe. This has fueled thousands of local innovations across the country. City governments, community groups and nonprofits are comparing notes on what works.” Continue reading at NYTimes.com.

The Center for Policing Equity Co-founder and CEO Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff joined MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross on her weekend program, The Cross Connection, to discuss recent updates in federal legislation and charges in relation to the former Louisville, Kentucky police officers involved in the murder of Breonna Taylor. From the coverage: “A $250 million grant bill for small police departments passed the Senate with unanimous consent this week, with 11 Democratic Senators signing on to co-sponsor. Plus, the Department of Justice levied charges against the officers involved in the botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor. Professor Phillip Atiba Goff stops by the Cross Connection to discuss.” View the discussion at MSNBC.com.

In a The Hill article, Dr. Tracie L. Keesee, the Senior Vice President of Justice Initiatives for the Center for Policing Equity, expresses her perspective on how the failure to effectively examine law enforcement has not only created a divide between community members and officers, it has also created internal strife. As a result, American public safety departments, particularly Black, Brown, and female officers, are left burnt out, unsupported, and unacknowledged. Dr. Keesee believes that we should utilize data and resources to address the structural racism within law enforcement organizations that results in disparate policing outcomes.  From the coverage: “The struggles confronting law enforcement now are rooted in the failure to address the same struggles in the past: a culture of rigid masculinity that precludes asking for help, doesn’t allow officers to sufficiently listen to communities’ concerns, allows historical bigotries to flourish internally and fails to acknowledge the toll it

Dr. Tracie L. Keesee, the Co-Founder of the Center for Policing Equity, was quoted in a New York Times article by Sarah Mervosh. The article explores a new approach to school safety being explored in some areas that include arming teachers in an effort to protect students and faculty from future school shooters. Some school boards allow firearms on school campuses as long as the teachers receive training. Dr. Keesee discussed that training with the author. From the coverage: “More school employees are carrying guns to defend against school shootings. In Ohio, a contentious new law requires no more than 24 hours of training. […] The program did not include formal training on how implicit bias might affect decision-making. Black and Hispanic Americans are killed by the police at significantly higher rates than white Americans, and in school, Black students experience the highest rates of suspension of all racial groups.

Hans Menos, the Vice President of the Triage Response Team at the Center for Policing Equity, joined Don Lemon Tonight to discuss how violence is more likely to occur in places with less opportunities, more depression, more racism, and more oppression. During the panel, Menos spoke about how gun access, poverty, and crime are interlinked to police brutality. He also argues we should think of alternative responses like balance interruptive programs instead of only calling in the police to address crime. From the coverage: “ There are balance (ph) interruptive programs. There’s a lot of programs that can think about this way upstream and far less of a punitive response that says, well, we’re going to put police officers there. And ideally, those police officers will either use their handguns or use their handcuffs to address this problem. We’re really beyond that. I think we need to start thinking about