Newswise — Recent police-related shootings in Baton Rouge, La., St. Paul, Minn., and Dallas, Texas have left seven people dead, once again highlighting the growing rift between American law enforcement and many in the African-American community they are sworn to protect.
How did this situation escalate to this level, who’s responsible and is there anything that can be done to reverse this deadly trend?
EXPERT AVAILABLE:Dr. Laura McNeal is an nationally- recognized expert in police training methods, as well as a Harvard Law Fellow and Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Louisville. She is available for media interviews and able to offer unique insight, as well as real-life, tangible solutions to both the law enforcement and minority communities.
McNeal Will Address:• Ways civilians can de-escalate encounters with police and help reduce the excessive use of force • Whether focusing on civilian conduct is the right approach or does it simply attempt to shift the burden on every day citizens to protect themselves from police brutality• Tangible ways to reform police training and methods of identifying officers unfit for duty• How to ease tension between Black Lives Matter activists and law enforcement and how to rebuild trust in community policing
BACKGROUND: McNeal, is the co-author of law enforcement training techniques currently being used by the Los Angeles, Milwaukee and San Francisco police departments. As a law & policy analyst at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School, she developed effective police training programs that have reduced the number of unjustified shootings and improved public perceptions of officers in minority communities. She has appeared as an expert in this and other related fields on MSNBC, CNN, HuffingtonPostLive.com and C-SPAN. She is available for in studio and Skype interviews. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 309-287-7479. If she cannot be reached, contact Matt Lambert at 502-250-6794.
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