REP. GUTIÉRREZ: “WE MUST CHANGE THE CONVERSATION” ON VIOLENCE, YOUNG PEOPLE AND POLICE

Rep. Gutiérrez addresses House on violence in Chicago and elsewhere

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL) addressed the House of Representatives during the morning hour (approximately 10:05 am ET) about police, young people and violence.  Most of the country has watched video of police misconduct outside a pool party in Texas, but the Congressman doubts it has “sparked a more serious discussion about how teenagers and police interact or should interact,” which is urgently needed.

“Almost every city in America is one bad incident, an overzealous policeman, or a videotaped moment of stupidity or hatred away from a riot,” Rep. Gutiérrez said.  And he recalled a conversation with a Chicago teenager at Phoenix Military Academy who said he had taught himself strategies to de-escalate tensions with police.

“We are apparently leaving it up to our teenagers to figure out ways to deal with the police -- which is precisely backwards from how things ought to be.  What the video tape from Texas and the comment from my young friend at Phoenix Military Academy in Chicago have in common is that there does not seem to be any communication between adults on the police side and young people in the communities, who the police are sworn to protect.  Instead of a cooperative relationship between teenagers and the adults who are there to protect them, there is an adversarial relationship.” 

The Congressman noted that during the same weekend as the videotaped incident in Texas, five people died of gunshot wounds in Chicago – two in the Congressman’s District – and at least 27 were wounded.  And similar numbers of dead and wounded are common every weekend in Chicago. 

“At least 5 people were killed and 25 others were shot in and around Chicago the weekend before; twelve dead and 56 wounded over the long Memorial Day weekend.  Knowing the names of Sandy Hook, Newtown and Columbine are not enough, when Baltimore, Chicago, and other cities are also losing young people at this rate.”

The Congressman concluded by saying:

“We must change the conversation so that we as a nation are working together to help make sure the next generation lives to adulthood.  We need to stop talking so much about what protects us from those kids and start talking more about what we as adults are going to do to protect those kids from the world we have created for them.”

The text of the Congressman’s speech today, as prepared for delivery, is below.

A video of his speech is here: https://youtu.be/cNRPuQvgFUk

Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez represents the Fourth District of Illinois, is a Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is a Member of the Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, and is the Co-Chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

June 10, 2015

This past weekend -- and all day on cable news ever since -- we watched a police officer in McKinney, Texas wrestle with a 14 year old teenager after what was reported to be a pool party. 

He throws her to the ground, pulls his gun and points it at some other children, screams at her, and then sits on the teenager -- in her bikini --for a period of time.

This is the latest installment of the hit cable television news story of the last year or more: “cops behaving badly caught on tape.” 

This version was not the most deadly, although there have been versions of this story that end in death.  It has caused a lot of hot air on radio and TV -- some of it constructive, some of it offensive.

But has it caused a more serious discussion of police and communities of color?  Has it sparked a more serious discussion about how teenagers and police interact or should interact?  I hope so, but I kind of doubt it.

Recently, I met with a young man from Chicago who made a real impression on me.  He is from Phoenix Military Academy, a smart teen who is going places. 

He said, “You know what, Congressman, I have taught myself strategies to de-escalate the situation whenever I come in contact with police.”

Did you hear that?

A teenager feels he needed to teach himself ways to de-escalate tensions with adult police officers.

We are apparently leaving it up to our teenagers to figure out ways to deal with the police -- which is precisely backwards from how things ought to be.

What the video tape from Texas and the comment from my young friend at Phoenix Military Academy in Chicago have in common is that there does not seem to be any communication between adults on the police side and young people in the communities, who the police are sworn to protect.

Instead of a cooperative relationship between teenagers and the adults who are there to protect them, there is an adversarial relationship.  

A couple of weeks ago, I looked around while I was at a Judiciary Committee hearing on policing strategies in the 21st Century and all I saw were people who were 50, 60 and 70 years old.

There were no young people there to tell us what they face, what they feel, and what we as adults can do to help.  And law enforcement was only slightly more well represented. 

Very few of us are former or current law enforcement. 

And while all of us are former teenagers, still for most of us it has been a while.  And our experiences may not be all that typical of what young people and police face today. 

I hope adults like me in places of influence and authority can be helpful in creating the conditions where avenues of communication are created, but a three-hour hearing with political undertones and more than a little grandstanding is not nearly enough. 

Almost every city in America is one bad incident, an overzealous policeman, or a videotaped moment of stupidity or hatred away from a riot -- or some tragedy that could lead to a riot. 

Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Walter Scott and Freddie Gray are names we know, but knowing their names is not enough.

We need a sustained effort from Congress and from every institution in our society to address the chasm between young people, and especially young people in communities of color, and the police hired to keep them safe.

And let’s remember, while the country was transfixed with the video of the cop, the teenagers, and the pool-party in Texas, two of my constituents were shot and killed this past weekend in Chicago. 

They were among five dead in Chicago and among 27 people shot from Friday to Monday.

At least 5 people were killed and 25 other people were shot in and around Chicago the weekend before; 

12 dead and 56 wounded over the long Memorial Day weekend.

Knowing the names of Sandy Hook, Newtown and Columbine are not enough, when Baltimore, Chicago, and other cities are also losing young people at this rate.

It goes beyond police practices and the easy availability of guns, but that is part of it.  When legislators spend more time making guns easier to carry and stand-your-ground laws make murder raps easier to beat, our priorities are skewed.

It goes beyond racial profiling, but that is part of it.  When 84% of the sobriety check-points in Chicago are set up in black and Latino neighborhoods so that cops can stop anyone who drives by, that sends a message that is destructive.

It goes beyond economic opportunity, but that is also part of it.  But honestly, we do not spend much time in this Congress thinking about how we help 10 and 12 year olds know that a bright future is possible.  We do not do much for children to help them achieve that future, but instead cut things like Head Start and spend more and more on jails.

In America, we must change the conversation so that we as a nation are working together to help make sure the next generation lives to adulthood.  We need to stop talking so much about what protects us from those kids and start talking more about what we as adults are going to do to protect those kids from the world we have created for them.

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