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Think Twice Before Calling the Police

QuakerSpeak is a weekly video series. New video every other THURSDAY! SUPPORT QuakerSpeak! https://quakerspeak.com/donate/ SUBSCRIBE for a new video every other week! http://fdsj.nl/QS-Subscribe WATCH all our videos: http://fdsj.nl/qs-all-videos ___ Become a Friends Journal subscriber for only $28 http://fdsj.nl/FJ-Subscribe Filming and Editing by Christopher Cuthrell ___ Transcript: How have Friends historically responded to police intervention in situations involving conflict? What is our responsibility as Friends today to ensure that police do not inflict harm on vulnerable communities? Is it always just to call 911? Even when we feel unsafe or concerned about the safety of others? Does the ultimately peace testimony compel us to Think Twice Before Calling the Police? My name is Brian Blackmore. I am the Director of Quaker Engagement for the American Friends Service Committee, also known as AFSC, and a member of Gainesville Monthly Meeting in North Central Florida. I welcome He/Him/His pronouns or any pronouns used with respect. Today, I am going to ask Friends to reflect on what they might do in a situation where, at least at first, it feels imperative to call the police. I want to name and honor that many Friends might have very different perceptions and experiences with law enforcement. Some of us may have had experiences that were quite painful, irrepressibly traumatizing, leaving impressions on our minds and hearts that cannot be forgotten. Others of us might have had mostly positive experiences with police. Some of us may know police as our close friends, spouses, or family members. Wherever you are coming from, I ask that you stay engaged with a spirit of openness and lean into any discomfort that may emerge in response to what I am about to share. So, let’s get started. Try to imagine yourself in a situation where you are feeling the instinct to call the police. I want you to literally close your eyes, put yourself in a specific place in your mind’s eye, see your surroundings, and picture a situation where you might want to call 911. The first step is to ask yourself some questions. Repeat after me: “I’ll Ask.” ASK yourself ifinvolving the police would help the problem in this situation or create more harm? Is the situation an inconvenience, or something that merits involving lethally armed law enforcement? If just thinking through these questions has led you to conclude that contacting the police is not necessary, then great! More likely, however, just thinking that you might want to call the police probably means that there is a problem that you feel needs to be addressed. In that case . . . Say, “I’ll ASSESS.” Assess whether you can resolve the situation by talking it through with the people involved and use verbal de-escalation if necessary. If that does not work, say “I'll ASSEMBLE.” Reach out to others in your community for support. Perhaps someone else is nearby. You could call a friend, send a message to a neighborhood group text or facebook page, or contact a local alternative to 911 police response, such as a hotline. If you still feel it is imperative to call the police (you’ve answered the question “Is law enforcement necessary” affirmatively, and you are certain that the situation cannot be resolved or de-escalated by your own actions or by others within your immediate reach), call 911 after you have... acknowledged, say “I’ll ACKNOWLEDGE.” This means acknowledging your personal identity and the identities of those around you, making sure that those most often targeted by police violence and criminalization, including Black, Indigenous, people of color, immigrants, youth, LGBTQ+, poor and working-class people, are not put in harm's way. Try to anticipate if the arrival of police might lead to the arrest of others. Alert everyone in the vicinity that law enforcement is being called in case they want to leave. Those least vulnerable to criminalization and violence, which might be you, should take responsibility for communicating with law enforcement. So repeat the tools for Thinking Twice Before Calling the Police with me: I’ll ASK . . . are police going to help the situation or will they cause more harm? I’ll ASSESS . . . whether there are alternatives to calling the police utilizing your own nonviolent strategies and/or... I’ll ASSEMBLE . . . other individuals or resources that may be just as or more effective than law enforcement to bring the situation to a peaceful end. But if I still feel pressed to call the police, I’ll ACKNOWLEDGE . . . my own identity and experience with police as well as interpret the relationship others at the scene might have with law enforcement. I’ll alert everyone that I’m calling the police and take responsibility for the arrival of the police on the scene... ___ The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.