In the wake of the Ferguson verdict and ensuing protests in the Missouri town, as well as across the country, President Obama is meeting with a number of community and faith leaders, law enforcement officials and elected officials—like NYC's own Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The Mayor's press schedule for today says, "In Washington, D.C., the Mayor will meet with President Obama and elected officials, community and faith leaders, and law enforcement officials in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to discuss how communities and law enforcement can work together to build trust to strengthen neighborhoods across the country; the Vice President will also attend." The recent protests in NYC have been in solidarity with those protesting the Ferguson grand jury decision, as well the deaths of other unarmed victims of police force, like Eric Garner and Akai Gurley.
In the meantime, the White House has proposed funding for more police body cameras and training: "The program, which would need congressional approval, would offer a total of $75 million over three years to match state funding for the cameras by 50 percent, helping to pay for more than 50,000 of the devices."
Last week, after a grand jury declined to indict the Ferguson police officer who fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old, de Blasio said, "We have to reform the relationship between police and community-and we have to do it very deeply, we have to do it over the country." The Staten Island grand jury deciding whether to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo for putting the unarmed Garner into a fatal chokehold is reportedly close to a decision.
