Providence Community Safety Act has first hearing
The Providence Community Safety Act had its first public hearing on Wednesday. The proposed city ordinance, first introduced by a coalition of community organizations over two years ago, offers a 12 point plan aimed at producing greater police accountability. The act aims to end racial profiling...
The Providence Community Safety Act had its first public hearing on Wednesday. The proposed city ordinance, first introduced by a coalition of community organizations over two years ago, offers a 12 point plan aimed at producing greater police accountability. The act aims to end racial profiling and other policing practices that disproportionately impact people of color.
Over 100 people were at the hearing, carrying signs promoting the CSA and filling all available seating. More than 20 speakers testified in front of the Ordinance Committee, oftentimes recounting personal experiences with the Providence Police.
Providence teenager Andy Chao spoke about sections of the Community Safety Act aimed at stopping racial and discriminatory profiling and searches. He told the Ordinance Committee about being stopped and detained by Providence Police one night when he was 15.
Earlier this summer, WBRU News talked with Chao about the incident he shared in the hearing. He was walking home down Cranston Street, texting his mom, when two police stopped him.
“They violated a lot of my constitutional rights that night. They put me up against the car, they asked where I was coming from, they repeated it. And they kept asking and that’s when I stopped answering because I knew I had the right to remain silent,” Chao said.
Chao said he knew that legally he was permitted to remain silent until he had an adult or lawyer present, but the police wouldn’t let him make any phone calls. Later a police supervisor arrived, and asked Chao what gang he was representing.
Providence teenager Andy Chao spoke about sections of the Community Safety Act aimed at stopping racial and discriminatory profiling and searches. He told the Ordinance Committee about being stopped and detained by Providence Police one night when he was 15.
Earlier this summer, WBRU News talked with Chao about the incident he shared in the hearing. He was walking home down Cranston Street, texting his mom, when two police stopped him.
“They violated a lot of my constitutional rights that night. They put me up against the car, they asked where I was coming from, they repeated it. And they kept asking and that’s when I stopped answering because I knew I had the right to remain silent,” Chao said.
Chao said he knew that legally he was permitted to remain silent until he had an adult or lawyer present, but the police wouldn’t let him make any phone calls. Later a police supervisor arrived, and asked Chao what gang he was representing.
“The fact that he went up to me and asked me, that really hurt because I’m 15 years old. I look younger than 15, I have a baby face. But the fact that you asked that, no matter what I looked like, just because I’m Cambodian, just because I’m Southeast Asian. I asked one of the officers why his supervisor asked if I was repping. I said, did he ask me what I’m repping because I’m Cambodian? And he didn’t state it, but he closed his eyes and nodded yes,” Chao said.At the hearing, Providence resident Bernardo de la Cruz told a story about police coming into his house, searching for one of his sons who no longer lived with him. He said police entered the house after he told them this; one officer smoked in his house, even though de la Cruz has heart problems. De la Cruz testified in Spanish, and said that the language barrier presented a problem when he was speaking to the police, but that they refused to find him an interpreter. The issue of interpreters came up numerous times throughout the hearing. One of the CSA’s 12 points demands that the Providence Police create a language access hotline, says that officers may not question anyone until a qualified interpreter is present. Campaign coordinator Vanessa Flores-Maldonado also testified at the hearing, and said she was disappointed that all of the city councilors were not present. She said the turnout at the hearing should show the council how much support the CSA has. Flores-Maldonado highlighted changes made in the CSA to compromise with police officers and others, but said that the coalition to pass the CSA is done compromising. “Compromising our safety means that our youth ends up in databases, our youth are getting shot, people are being searched illegally, people are losing jobs and housing,” said Flores-Maldonado. Towards the end of the hearing, City Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris and City Councilman Kevin Jackson testified. Jackson said one of the main reasons he supports the CSA is that he has been pulled over three times while driving with his African-American sons. Harris and Jackson are two of six supporters of the CSA on the city council. The ordinance needs 8 supporters to pass, and 10 to override a possible veto from Mayor Jorge Elorza. When running for mayor, Elorza endorsed 10 of the CSA’s 12 points, but now, according to the executive director of Direct Action for Rights and Equality Fred Ordonez, Elorza no longer supports even one full point. The coalition to pass the CSA includes local groups like Direct Action for Rights and Equality, the Providence Youth Student Movement, and the Olneyville Neighborhood Association. They have found four city council members who they say could vote yes on the ordinance, if they see more support from their constituents. But before that vote can happen, the CSA needs to get voted out of the Ordinance Committee and on to the full city council for a vote. Flores-Maldonado and other CSA advocates say they are hoping to have more hearings and continue to put pressure on city council members.