Obama Announces Measures to Address 'Distrust' Between Law Enforcement and Communities

US President Barack Obama announced on December 1 a series of measures that will be implemented to address what he described as simmering distrust between law enforcement and community members. Obama set up a task force, chaired by Charles H. Ramsey, the police commissioner of Philadelphia, and Laurie Robinson, professor at George Mason University and former assistant attorney general for the Office of Justice Programs.

The task force is expected to report back within 90 days with concrete observations to put into practice.

Obama said, “In a country where one of the most basic principles, perhaps the most important principle, is equality under the law, too many individuals, particularly young people of color, do not feel that they are being treated fairly….when any part of the American family does not feel like it is being treated fairly, that is a problem for all of us.”

He also said that he met with Ferguson activists, as well as law enforcement representatives, and affirmed that the two groups’ realities were “not irreconcilable”.

Obama called for the meeting after protests erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, and a number of other states, following a grand jury decision not to indict office Darren Wilson for the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Footage of the protests in Ferguson can be seen here. Credit: The White House