To the Editor:

(Plain Press, February 2021) As Cleveland, Ohio embarks on a new election season, I’m concerned about the growing narrative pitting communities of color against police officers.  I support the principles embodied in most versions of Defund the Police legislation.  But citizens rarely hear these principles. Instead, we repeatedly hear the misleading and irresponsible Defund the Police slogan; a slogan that will undoubtedly derail this much needed police reform legislation.

LETTER

The slogan will also overshadow other important police reform initiatives, such as. demanding that mayors, police chiefs and county prosecutors enforce the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy’s certification laws. The Defund the Police slogan threatens to deepen the wedge between minority communities and police officers; making it more difficult to implement community policing.    

Jeff Mixon, President

BLACK LIVES MATTER in Cuyahoga County