DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Des Moines City Council unanimously approved an anti-racial profiling ordinance that prohibits biased policing and requires city employees to report violations by officers.
Members of the council lavished praise on the ordinance but even some supporters said the vote Monday night was only a first step and that officials needed to take additional actions.
“This historic ordinance is a bold and positive step forward for Des Moines and will serve as a model for other communities around the country,” Mayor Frank Cownie said in a statement. “This measure should be viewed as an important beginning for our community to work together, make a positive difference and improve our understanding of each other.”
Advocates have for years been calling for the council to approve such an ordinance, but officials began working on the new rules following protests that stemmed from the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis who died after a white officer used his knee to pin Floyd to the ground.
Besides banning biased policing, the ordinance prohibits discriminatory pretextual stops, in which drivers are stopped for one infraction but charged with a different infraction. Many residents who spoke before the council voted sought to have all pretextual stops banned.
The ordinance also mandates additional officer training, requires city employees to report incidents of biased policing that they witness and creates a board with community members that helps the city manager review data and make policy recommendations.
Daniel Zeno, policy and advocacy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said passage of the measure was a good step but that more action was needed, including a citizen oversight committee.
“Incremental change in small steps may be progress,” Zeno said. “But bold, meaningful change is what is needed at this time. It’s what Black Des Moines residents have been demanding for years. It’s what people in the streets have been demanding. It’s what we’re continuing to demand today and that’s what we’ll keep demanding.”
The council also created a task force that will examine options for making enforcement of marijuana laws a lower priority. Activists have called on the city to decriminalize marijuana, noting a 2020 report by the ACLU found that Black Iowa residents are 7.3 times more likely to be arrested for possession of the drug than white Iowans.
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