HCYD Call to Action: Black Lives Matter

The Howard County Young Democrats condemn the racism and discrimination we have all witnessed this past week on the national and local level. We are reminded that the fight against white supremacy continues.

In response to the murder of George Floyd, false police report by Amy Cooper, local expressions of anti-black racism in our County, and countless lives lost to police brutality and systemic racism, we call for the following actions:

1. Officer Derek Chauvin should be charged more severely for murdering George Floyd. Officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng should be arrested and charged for assisting the murder of George Floyd.
2. Amy Cooper should be arrested and charged immediately for false reporting and a hate crime against an African American, Chris Cooper.
3. We condemn local expressions of anti-black racism in Howard County most recently on display in the form of t-shirts worn at a rally in Ellicott City. We reaffirm our support for County Executive Calvin Ball, the first African-American CE of our home.
4. Howard County should enforce existing criminal laws against improperly summoning a police officer. Howard County Delegation should consider drafting or co-sponsoring legislation in the Maryland General Assembly to create a civil liability for racially-motivated 9-1-1 calls. We also urge the Howard County Delegation to support Anton’s Law if it is reintroduced in the 2021 Maryland General Assembly Session
5. Del. Atterbeary, Chair of the Workgroup to Address Police Reform and Accountability in Maryland should receive full cooperation from state and local agencies and law enforcement departments. Workgroup meetings should be live-streamed. Workgroup recommendations should be passed in the 2021 General Assembly Session.
6. State and local jurisdictions in Maryland should mandate body-worn cameras for all police officers and require that the body-worn camera be turned on immediately when officers respond to a police call
7. The Howard County Human Rights Commission should issue comprehensive legislative and policy recommendations that enhance hate crime and anti-discrimination protections for Black persons and punishments for actors that commit hate crimes and discrimination against this group.
8. The Howard County Office of Human Rights should establish a hotline for Howard Countians to report hate bias incidents and discrimination against African-Americans.