DurhamFADECoalition

c/oSpiritHouseNC
POBox61865
Durham,NC27715

June14,2017

DurhamCityCouncil
101CityHallPlaza
Durham,NC27701

DearDurhamCityCouncilMembers,

Frank Clark, whom Durham Police Department officers shot and killed on November
22, 2016, was approached for walking through a neighborhood. If thepolicehadnot
stopped him, he would still be alive today. Yet, in the administrative findings the
Durham Police Department released on June 9, 2017, the Department somehow
found that the three officers involved in Frank Clarks killing violated no
administrative policy or procedure during the incident. As you know, the Durham
District Attorney Roger Echols has also recently decided not to bring charges against
theDurhamPoliceDepartmentofficerswhoshotandkilledFrankClark.

All too often, victims of police shootings are blamed, shamed, and framed as if they
would still be alive if they had acted differently, when in fact, the cause of death
usually starts with the police instigating an encounter for no clear or apparent
reason. That was the case for Frank Clark. AndMr.Clarksshootinganddeathwas
not an isolated incident. On February 12, 2017, Willard Scott was killed by NC
Highway Patrol. Kenneth Bailey was killed by Durham Police Department officers on
February15,2017.

These incidents are unacceptable, and the failure to hold police officers accountable
for killing community members is a disheartening, secondary violence on our
communities. Residents of Durham, like much of the country, have long called for
demilitarization of the police or community policing that builds trust between
community members and police, but the reality on the ground remains the exact
opposite.

Wethusmakethefollowingrequests:

1. The FADE coalition will be hosting a series of public listening sessions to
hear grievances aired by community members who are impacted by law
enforcement misconduct. We ask that city officials work with us to
schedule these listening sessions at a time when council members are able
to attend. We want our city officials to takeacloserlookatotherincidents
involving excessive force and abuse of power by law enforcement, and to
listen to our concerns, question the way our communities are policed, and
examine the common practices that lead to community members being
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 killedbycityemployees.Cityofficialsshouldbeasking,asweare:

Why were five officers of the Violent Incident Response Team in
McDougald Terrace on November 22 to make citizen contacts? The
Durham Police Departments findings state that some may have been
there to follow up on information about a possible suspect in a recent
shooting. Why did the officers not leave the community members of
McDougaldTerracealoneaftercompletingtheinvestigativefollowup?

What are theViolentIncidentResponseTeamsrulesofengagementwith
community members, and are they different from those of a regular
patrolofficer?

Why are the involved officers who have adocumentedhistoryofuseof
excessive force a part of this teamatall?Howdoesthishelptoensure
thesafetyofthiscommunity?

What protocols were followed to ensure the safety of any other
community members, particularly children who may be outside in the
middle of theday,whenofficersmakeadecisiontoshootinaresidential
neighborhood at a community member who is running away with his
backtothepolice?

Whoisresponsibleforthetraumatothecommunity?

2. We want thesepubliclisteningsessionstoresultinanactionableplanthat
will reduce the dangers and trauma our communities are subjected to by
over-policing. At a minimum, we think it is clear that the City Council
should adopt ordirecttheDurhamPoliceDepartmenttoadoptthefollowing
policies:

a. The DPD must eliminate its practice of routine, regular surveillance
of communities. Armed police officers should only be a presence in
our communities when their assistance is invited or requested by
thosewholiveinthecommunities.

b. ThereisapatternofDurhamPoliceDepartmentofficersstoppingand
detaining community members without legal justification. These
unlawful detentions create a risk that the incident will escalate into
violence. There are circumstances where community members have
been beaten and even killed after being detained without legal
justification. We demand additional training for the police on this
issue. We also ask that the Durham District Attorneys office
prosecute those officers who detain community members without
legaljustificationforassaultandfalseimprisonment

c. No DPD officer who is responsible for the killing of a Durham
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 resident should again be assigned to directly police the specific
neighborhood in which the killing occurred. The officer responsible
for the killing should also be suspended from any direct policing of
communities for a period, ranging from one to three years, as
determined by the Durham Police Chief, City Manager, and City
Council, during which time the officer will be provided mandatory
counselingandotherappropriatetraining.

d. The City of Durham should establish a Victims Fund to ensure that

traumatized families, friends, and witnesses are appropriately cared
forintheaftermathofapoliceshooting.

Ultimately, officersofthelawandthecourtsareemployedbyallresidentsofDurham,
and should be held accountable by us through those whom we have elected into
office.

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Frank Clark, Willard Scott, and
Kenneth Bailey, among the many other Durham community members whose lives
were taken or impacted by law enforcement misconduct. We will continue to support
Frank Clarks loved ones in honoring their love for him as a brother, a father and a
friend to many. His death, like all violent deaths of one of Durhams own, should be
seenasatragedyforusall.

Wewantyoutohearourconcerns.Wewantanswers.Wewantjustice.

Sincerely,
FADE(FosteringAlternativeDrugEnforcement)Coalition