PHOENIX — Across the country, there have been growing calls for police reform in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
That nationwide movement for police reform resonates here in the Valley as well.
A member of the Arizona House of Representatives says this current climate of police violence against black Americans is like reliving a nightmare she experienced more than 50 years ago.
“It was like reliving a nightmare,” Rep. Gerea Peten said. “I lived through this. In 1967, when I was a teenager, and we had the riots in Newark, New Jersey. And it was like reliving the same nightmare over and over and over again.”
Now, part of the change in this movement may come through five bills Peten is supporting in our state legislature. They include:
- Body cameras for all police officers
- More effective and better training for police officers
- Independent investigations of deadly force incidents
- Eliminating qualifying immunity- in order to hold police officers accountable for their actions.
But her biggest concern through all this unrest is on children.
“Having been an educator all my life and what have you. I know that children see things differently than we do. I think they probably go deeper. I think their minds trip into the worst-case scenarios, and they have incredible stress, trauma and anxiety. So, I’m hoping that we need to have more mental health support, counselors, social workers, for them.”
Peten says they've been presented to the legislature before, but they're currently out of session.
A letter was sent to Gov. Doug Ducey requesting a special session dealing with racial justice. It's now up to the governor to see if that session will be held and which bills will be considered.