Saturday, August 6, 2016

Yahoo News: Loretta Lynch on policing and Black Lives Matter

 
The Katie Couric Interview: 
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch
 
In a wide-ranging interview with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch spoke about the racial tensions facing the nation and the recent shootings by and of police officers. Couric also asked Lynch about the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and whether there should be a system where independent prosecutors investigate police misconduct.
 
Watch the full interview on Yahoo: http://yhoo.it/2ayJAOs
 
Interview highlights includes Lynch on:
 
·        Current tensions with police and the African-American community – “We are at a very difficult point in our national dialogue on race, on law enforcement, on the strength of our communities, the strength of our cities. And it does, in fact, seem as if the tensions are greater than they've ever been…There's always been law enforcement who's been trying to have a positive relationship with the community. There've always been incidents that have prevented that from happening. But we now have the eyes of the country and the world on it in a way in which we have not.”
 
·        If there should be a system where independent prosecutors investigate police misconduct – “You know, there's a lot of different ways to approach that. I think that whatever system a jurisdiction chooses to have, it has to be as transparent as possible. It has to be a system that people in the community understand and feel invested in and feel has a process of listening to their needs and addressing their concerns fairly and openly. What you want is a system where accountability begins in the police department. When I talk to community groups, not only do they want accountability and transparency should there be charges, they want accountability and transparency when police departments themselves are dealing with the bad actors.”
 
·        Her reaction to the phrase, ‘All Lives Matter’ – “You know, I guess my reaction is that I am troubled by the fact that people think we have to choose. That people think that one phrase eliminates the other, whichever one someone chooses to make their particular mantra. And it's been my hope that, as we talk about these issues, we've talked again about the videos that we've seen of these truly tragic encounters between law enforcement and civilians, that people look at that and say that, ‘This is someone who lost their life. And we have to find out why.’ We have to get to the bottom of it. And whoever is involved in that has to feel as if they are treated as fairly and impartially as any other citizen in our society. And when people are expressing the view that large segments of our society do not have that feeling, that's a problem for all of us.”

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