Police Accountability through Social Justice
Director Josef Makatewassi, Ph.D.
The Project is committed to the growth, safety, and empowerment of marginalized populations. Our vision is a world where equal protections and opportunities exist for all through activism, advocacy, and community education. We are committed to providing support that opens doors, raises awareness, and creates life-giving change.
Current Initiative: A Critique of Minnesota Law Enforcement, including the Minneapolis and Rochester Police Departments
The Terrance Franklin Homicide
On May 10, 2013, at approximately 1535 hours, Terrance Franklin, an unarmed 22-year-old African American male, was shot and fatally wounded by Minneapolis police officers. My professional analysis reveals that the homicide can be attributed to a lack of understanding of community policing by the command structure which also lacks expertise in the psychological tools needed to maintain peace within the community it is charged to protect. There are numerous indications that Mr. Franklin was dehumanized by procedures used within the MPD to desensitize officers to the reality of being a minority.
Body Worn Cameras
Body-worn cameras are small battery-powered digital video cameras that police officers attach to their uniform shirts or winter jackets.
The purpose of body-worn cameras is to record enforcement, investigative and other encounters between the police and the public. They provide a contemporaneous, objective record of these encounters, facilitate review of events by supervisors, foster accountability, and encourage lawful and respectful interactions between the public and the police.
The use of body-worn cameras has shown that cameras may help de-escalate potentially volatile encounters. The cameras may also provide important evidence in criminal and civil proceedings as well as resolving civilian complaints.
Introduction to the Terrance Franklin Homicide
Police Report Writing
Effective report writing and documentation is one of the many important aspects of any first responder’s job. Therefore officers must be able to accurately record information concerning activities and present it to those who were not there.
Chain of Custody
A chain of custody is a recorded means of verifying where the evidence has travelled and who handled it before the trial. The reason for establishing a chain of custody is to prevent substitution of, tampering with, mistaking the identity of, damaging, altering, contaminating, misplacing or falsifying the evidence.
Videos covering Police Report Writing and Chain of Custody
Questions?
Josef Makatewassi [phd.i.logia@icloud.com] to get more information on the project