Police Accountability Policies that Work

In this panel, experts will discuss the police accountability policies that work and the policies that don’t.

About this Event

Police Accountability Policies that Work. Since the death of George Floyd, there has been a rush by cities to enact policies that address police brutality, but what policies truly work to make law enforcement more accountable? In this panel, experts will discuss the policies that work, and the policies that don’t. The panel will be facilitated by Katerina Canyon, lead organizer of Valentine's Day Campaign and executive board member of Peace Economy Project.

The Valentine’s Day Campaign (sponsored by Peace Economy Project) is a grassroots campaign for new police accountability legislation. We are asking the public to peacefully protest police violence on Valentine’s Day by marching locally and delivering Valentine’s Day Cards with the names of those lost or injured due to police violence to local and federal legislators. We ask the public to march if it is safe. If not, they should mail their cards. www.vdaycampaign.org

The Peace Economy Project researches military spending, educates about the hazards of an unchecked military-industrial complex and advocates for conversion from a military- to a more stable, peace-based economy. We focus our attention on local weapons manufacturing, arms proliferation and worldwide militarization. We collaborate with other organizations to raise consciousness about where our tax dollars are invested and to encourage others to reinvest in their communities.

Our Panelists:

Tim Stevens launched B-PEP, the Black Political Empowerment Project, a non-partisan community collaborative, on May 21, 1986, and has been the project’s only Chairman. Tim also serves as the Co-convener of the Coalition Against Violence which he helped initiate on February 8, 2007, along with B-PEP Planning Council Vice Chair Valerie Dixon. He was elected President of the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch in November 1994, and provided the organization with a decade of leadership. In Tim’s last year as President the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch was noted as number two in the nation with regard to program activities. In 1996, while President of the NAACP, Tim brokered the meeting with then Mayor Tom Murphy to lay the groundwork for what is now the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. Also in 1996 Tim founded the Black & White Reunion which in 2018 hosted the 20th Annual Summit Against Racism. In April 2006 Tim initiated “B-PEP JAZZ” which has become B-PEP’s primary annual fundraiser and hosts more than 60 area jazz artists, the largest event of its kind.

John Chasnoff is a long-time activist on police and criminal justice issues, having worked on police misconduct, local control of St. Louis police, civilian review, racial profiling, and abuses in the City jails. He was active in the Ferguson uprising. Currently, he is part of the Ferguson Collaborative, working for a people’s voice in the Ferguson Consent Decree process, an active member of Privacy Watch, which organizes against mass surveillance, and Co-Chair of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression.

Katerina Canyon is the panel host and founder and Managing Director of Valentine's Day Campaign. A long time children's rights activist and poet, Katerina started the Valentine's Day Campaign after the death of George Floyd.