Charlotte faith leaders demand CMPD reform
Charlotte clergy members continued to demand police reform and government official accountability ahead of Monday night’s City Council meeting.
More than 150 clergy members from multiple faith backgrounds signed an open letter last month calling for police reforms following the city’s protests over the police killings of Black Americans, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Monday morning, a group of more than 50 clergy gathered in front of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center holding signs reading, “Am I next?” and “Say their names” as a list of 16 policy demands was read.
The group, associated with the Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, expressed concern after the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department damaged a home July 11 searching for someone who wasn’t there.
The incident raises “concerns that policies under a new police chief are headed in the wrong direction,” the group wrote in a press release.
The 16 demands are a “living list,” and will continue to expand, the Rev. Glencie Rhedrick said, but they focus mainly on the use of force on citizens.
Since the initial demands in June, Rhedrick, co-chair of the Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, said the group met with City Council members and Rep. Alma Adams, but they are “not seeing the movement we’d like to see,” she said.
“We’re still not confident that … we’re going to see the results,” Rhedrick, of First Baptist Church-West, said.
Among the clergy’s demands are an end to the use of chemical agents on protesters and increasing access to mental health care for all police officers. The group wants to redirect funds to violence prevention programs and mental health resources, something Rhedrick said would be a “positive, good” for the community.
The city removed chemical agents from the 2021 budget, but Rhedrick said the group is worried about “right now.”
The Rev. Christy Snow, of the Carolina Center for Spiritual Awakening, referred to the Charlotte protests the night of June 2, where a group of protesters said they walked into a “police ambush” on 4th street while tear gas was deployed.
“I, for one, am very grateful that chemical agents were struck from the budget for 2021, but … there’s work to do… and they’re still using them,” Snow said.
Snow said she is hopeful the police department can be reimagined to serve communities more ethically.
The group was scheduled to address the City Council Monday at 5 p.m.
“We want the public to know that we have not gone away, and our intent is to stay present until our measures are addressed,” Rhedrick said.
This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 2:56 PM.