The response of the local police to uprisings surrounding the murder of Black Americans is not enough. Reiterating a list of status quo internal reviews and trainings is merely defensive.

By the time nine current and former Portland-area police chiefs gathered June 3, Westbrook’s chief of police had eight days since George Floyd’s murder to learn why “All/Blue Lives Matter” is harmful and decades since the beating of Rodney King to understand how police brutality is impacting people of color. As recently reported in The Washington Post, Black Americans are shot and killed by police at twice the rate of white Americans. “I will do better” is too little too late.

Transformative justice and disability activist Mia Mingus says: “True accountability is not only apologizing … most importantly, true accountability is changing your behavior so the harm, violence, abuse does not happen again.” Accountability is a process – not a statement.

Southern Maine police have yet to say “white supremacy,” let alone acknowledge its presence in their police culture. Their excuse that Maine is different is untrue. Twenty-three percent of youth detained at Long Creek are Black, which is 12 times their representation of all Maine youth.

How will the police denounce the laws that criminalize poverty and uphold racism? What are their plans for reparations and changed behavior? Westbrook’s chief of police places the burden to repair this system upon those who “feel oppressed.” However, it is simply not safe for Black and Brown people to confront law enforcement or its systems. If it isn’t safe to go birding, it isn’t safe to critique.

Amanda Gavin

South Portland

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