Donavan Bailey: City and county should empower the Human Rights Commission

My name is Donavan Bailey and I have the opportunity to serve as a Social Worker with the Public Defenders Office and as a co-host of Barbershop Talk South Minnesota. The events of George Floyd’s murder have shaken us locally and worldwide. As we cry for historic overdue change, specifically, I would consider the following:

Changing the police officer licensing process. Currently, law enforcement officers must have an Associate’s Degree. I would change that model to a statewide academy that has the same academic prowess/licensing but like many states or the military model, the academy would be free. This would assist with increasing diversity in law enforcement.

Locally, I would upgrade the law RPD and Sheriff’s Crime Prevention Unit to be a civilian-led office that houses various social workers and other community personnel. It would continue with the triage method of social work but also add in a proactive element to build bridges to the community and serves as a holistic dynamic to policing.

Upgrade in human rights. We currently have the Olmsted County Human Rights Commission. Having served as a past Commissioner, I know it’s a good entity but the Commission has no power of enforcement. I would charge the City and County to come up with a better model or merge with the State Human Rights Office much like St. Cloud has done.

A change in use of force, specifically as it relates to low-level crimes. In consideration of Floyd and Brooks murders, both incidents could have been avoided from what I viewed if at the onset no arrests took place. Literally, each of these individuals could have received tickets and in the Brooks case, he could have been taken to detox and/or barred from driving his car. From what I viewed, there was no need to engage at a physical or lethal level in these two deaths and various ones that have highlighted and energized the Black Lives Matter movement.

Donavan Bailey is a candidate for Rochester City Council Ward 6.

This submission is part of a forum on race and policing in Rochester.