Attorney General Kathy Jennings released the following statement regarding Governor Carney’s announcement of a forthcoming executive order on police reform:
Governor Carney demonstrated real leadership today. Banning chokeholds, ending the practice of ruining kids’ lives by posting their mugshots online while they are presumed innocent, participating in the national use-of-force database, and implementing greater officer training are all concrete improvements that bring us closer to an ideal of justice. As the governor has said, talk is cheap, and I’m proud that he’s used his authority to achieve progress at a time when each of us is called to action. It’s a testament to the hard work and eloquent pleas of countless advocates, and a reminder of how much our little state can do when we are determined to act.
Our duty now is to expand on his work, because the job is far from finished. The governor’s reforms deserve to be codified and made statewide, and we need to continue to advance the cause by reforming Delaware’s use of force standards; funding and deploying body cameras across the state; establishing civilian review boards with subpoena power; and making sensible changes to the Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights to ensure accountability and transparency. This is real progress. Let’s keep it up.