That is pretty stunning to me. I know, its really nothing that special, just a typed letter with an electronic signature, might even be a form letter just that he sends out to all concerned constituents who write him about citizens being over policed, and black lives being lost to our own roving murder squads.
I don't really have an original copy of what I wrote him but it went a little something like this:
Hello Sen. Wyden,My name is Adam Brown and I am a resident of Keizer, Oregon and a long time constituent of yours. I wanted to write you today about my concern over the state of policing in not only the United States but in Oregon specifically. If you have been paying attention to the disasterous state of our criminal apprehension and justice system you well know about the Guardian's the Counted. They have been tracking police homicides this year. According to their tracker, Oregon is number 11. We have had 12 deaths at the hands of police. Justified or not, I am horrified by this.
As a long time constituent, I demand to know what you will do to stop this slow motion tragedy. I have long voted for you without question Sen. Wyden. It has nothing to do with political leanings or my own ideology (although I am a liberal democrat who would most likely be voting you, begrudgingly, anyway), but because of a very personal connection you have with my family. In the 1990s, you helped my grandmother get her social security, which had been tied up somehow. You ended a years long struggle for her. And for that not only did she vote for you, but my mom and dad (when he was still around), and now my sister and I now all vote for you, regardless. But this issue will make me reconsider my vote.
I ask you about your opinion regarding the state of policing in Oregon and what you intend on doing about it. There are already several proposed solutions floating out there, including the Mike Brown Over Policed Rights Act (text link included in original). On this issue you must earn my vote.
Adam Brown Keizer Resident.
That is probably not everything I wrote, I am going from memory here. But that is the essential gist. Might have even been shorter than that, I am not totally sure. This was in July.After that, and mentioning it a few times here at kos, I completely forgot about it.
But today, I got a letter back:
Dear Mr. BrownThank you for contacting me about recent incidents of unarmed civilians being injured or killed by police. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
I want you to know that I take this issue very seriously. I am deeply saddened and disturbed every time I see another case of police injuring or killing an unarmed civilian. As a nation , it is imperative that we recognize that this is a real problem. African Americans are targeted by police far more often than their fellow citizens who are white. This targeting is not in proportion to the individuals who are actually found guilty of a crime. Understandably, discrimination toward black men has created an environment where they reasonably view police with fear and suspicion. That environment, along with a disturbing police culture leads to this litany of tragedies that we must take steps to prevent.
As you may know, police body cameras have often been suggested as a possible solution to police violence against unarmed civilians. In December of 2014, President Obama proposed spending $263 million on training and new equipment for new police, including $75 million in grants for the purchase of new body cameras. In March, Senator Schatz introduced the Police Camera Act. This legislation would create a pilot program to assist state and local law enforcement agencies with developing a safe and effective body-worn camera program, while also protecting civilians' privacy rights. This legislation currently awaiting a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. You may also be interested to know that counties around the State of Oregon are developing and institution their own police body camera programs.
I realize that this problem is not easily solved. There are some important measures we can take to begin addressing this issue. For instance, we should consider better training, increasing oversight of police forces, and encouraging greater involvement such as creating police oversight boards to prevent tragedies like the ones we have seen. We must recognize the fact that these injustices undermine the rule of law and the foundations of a just and free society.
Please rest assured, as legislation relating to this issue comes before me in the Senate, I will be sure to keep your views in mind. Again, thank you for keeping me apprised of your views. If I can be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.
While I appreciate your letter, I have a few problems with the premise of your arguments, Senator Wyden.
First of all, you focus a lot on body cameras, which I admit is a step in the right direction. Being able to have an objective eye in policing is certainly a good thing, so when those lying bastards circle the wagons and try protecting themselves by committing more heinous crimes than the one they most likely KILLED AN INNOCENT person for, we can nail the bastards. But who the heck cares about body cameras when we cannot nail these bastards to the wall for their crime because the prosecutor is flopping around trying to cover for the department. What about bringing these people to actual justice for their crimes, instead of allowing regional prosecutors who gum up the system and tilt the scale of justice you seem to say you love so much.
Thank you for being a steadfast supporter of body cameras in policing, but realize that is not the only solution floating out there. It is but a piece of the puzzle, and focusing solely on it is myopic in the extreme, Senator. To seriously float $263 million in "training" and "equipment" for new soldie....I mean, police in hopes that we get the crumbs of just a small percentage of that for body cameras and be mollified is sort of insulting, to be honest. What I wanted to hear was actual solutions to the problem Senator, not what amounts to shouting BODY CAMERAS! and washing your hands of the issue. I want to know what YOU will specifically do, in the case of Oregon's clear problem of police violence, not what has been already done.
Better training and community policing and body cameras are all well and good, but it ultimately dances around the issue if we cannot reign in the culture of violence that already exists. That is the fatal flaw in your reasoning. All of these measures sound preventative to me, which has a flawed premise that a problem does not yet exist. The problem of innocent people being gunned and tasered and ran over by our killer police and not being held to account already exists, Senator. Its happening right under your nose. And while you and others in the political class keep saying stuff like extra training and body cameras, people keep dying, and the political system continues to cover for the boys in blue while not addressing the critical issue: nobody is being held to account for this. There is little to no real consequence for a police officer's action. Maybe some firing. One or two trials. Maybe one ending in severe consequences for the officers. What the hell kind of message does that send.
If you ask me, there is no serious solution other than serious, serious jail time for any officer who assaults any person with no cause. A life in prison for taking a life without cause. What we need is serious reform, top down, drug testing for illicit substances such as steroids, firings of officers who have proven themselves racist in deed. There is no longer any excuse, Senator. I will stop at nothing more than accountability, and you stopped short of it.
TL;DR version of this: Thanks for the letter, you still didn't earn my vote.