A Houston city councilman has called for segregation in policing. In the wake of the officer-involved shootings of black men across the country and the assassination of Dallas police officers, the councilman said police should reflect the ethnicity of the particular community where they patrol.
Speaking to Fox 26 in Houston, City Councilman Dwight Boykins (District D), “I think at this point, because of the crisis situation, not in Houston but throughout the country, we need to have officers patrolling areas that reflect the ethnicity [of that community].”
The councilman continued, “Because that will eliminate second-guessing. People know their community; they know their culture; and I think that can make a difference.”
Law Officer Editor In Chief Travis Yates said the request is not unique.
“I have had this same thing asked of me several times over the years. There are actually people that think that if every officer they encountered looked like them, there would not be any issues and the suggestion itself is the issue. How racist is it to say that only black officers should patrol black neighborhoods? Our agencies should reflect the diversity in our communities but it is insulting to suggest that we should somehow segregate out our departments and deploy officers based on race. That is not the America of 2016 and we should wholeheartedly reject it.”