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Emily Galvin-Almanza Profile picture
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25 May, 10 tweets, 3 min read
This is a BIG DEAL and will need a *lot* of public support to pass. If you care about ending police violence, you should care about this bill. Here's why.

(a thread)

delawareonline.com/story/news/pol…
Delaware, unlike basically every other state, has a weird law in place that actually *shields records of police misconduct* from public view.

You read that right: not *any* police records, records of actual wrongdoing.

They're secret.

The "bad apples" get protection.
The legal shielding afforded to bad cops in DE plays out as repeated instances of violence, and the thing we all fear about violent cops: the ability to hop around from town to town, leaving a wake of state violence against Black & Brown people.

Take Thomas Webster, for example
This Dover cop kicked a man in the head in 2013, breaking his jaw. He then "jurisdiction hopped" over to Greensboro in Maryland, where a 19 year old died after being arrested by Webster.

delawareonline.com/story/news/201…
It wasn't until then that the nearly THIRTY USE OF FORCE REPORTS from DE were discovered--documents that were never given to MD police when they considered hiring Webster.

They hired him without knowing his history.

Because of this Delaware law.
Story after story like this--DE law doesn't just shield cops, it shields REALLY REALLY BAD COPS.

So now, a new law seeks to change that.
DE Dems just introduced a law that would allow people to know more about who is patrolling their streets. It opens the door to civilian oversight. It reveals *misconduct records* in that if a cop has nothing to hide, there's nothing to reveal.

delawareonline.com/story/news/202…
Moreover, this is in keeping with what police already kind of think *about themselves*... a Pew study found 72% of police officers thought their bad-actor colleagues weren't actually being held accountable.

pewresearch.org/social-trends/…
DE is...uh, playing catch-up here. NY repealed their police-secrecy law last year, CA did it back in 2018, and you know what they say about a little sunlight.

Why hide from the light if you're not afraid of what the light might show?
If you think this is a good idea, it's probably time to follow @TizzyLockmanDE and voice your support for SB149

If you're not into this idea, I have to ask...what are you hiding?

xo/FIN

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More from @GalvinAlmanza

Emily Galvin-Almanza Profile picture
23 May
I don't come from a journalism background. I was a public defender, and still consider myself to be one, honestly. In the law, a profession where ability to represent *any* position is *essential,* we still generally recognize that humans are humans with their own perspectives.
When I started doing journalistic work with, working for The Appeal and hosting Appeal Live, it was incredibly strange to me to encounter media norms, in which one is expected to take on a pretense of inhuman, unrealistic neutrality.
This case isn't even a close one--things you said or did long before you had a job, generally, aren't the kind of *on the job* things that can get you fired...unless you're into pretending that journalists aren't humans with human perspectives.

Which is dumb, and unrealistic.
Read 4 tweets
Emily Galvin-Almanza Profile picture
28 Apr
TIL and also this is *awesome*
I mean, do you know how many people I've defended for failing to pay (or being unable to pay) for a bus ticket??? It's SO COMMON and such a stupid reason to arrest someone.
When you consider that every arrest puts lives at risk--especially for BIPOC who are most likely to be arrested for failure to pay AND most likely to be harmed during arrest--transit fares are like this weird, secret little fast track to police violence.
Read 9 tweets
Emily Galvin-Almanza Profile picture
25 Apr
Just read that a % of people are skipping 2nd vaccine bc they fear side effects. Reading Twitter one would think everyone gets side effects. So for a little balance, hubs & I have ~zero effects from 2nd Pfizer. He's a little tired. I scrubbed the tub and made muffins today.
Since people are asking, thr muffins are grated pear & fresh ginger with cardamom and pine nuts.
And here's what I was reading

Millions Are Skipping Their Second Doses of Covid Vaccines nyti.ms/3gDYym2
Read 5 tweets
Emily Galvin-Almanza Profile picture
13 Apr
OK, let's talk about the warrant thing, since it's coming up in the Daunte conversation. Right now the conversation is grief and outrage and it feels inappropriate to dig in, but people are raising it, so there are some things you should know about "having a warrant out"
I was a public defender for the better part of a decade. I have represented thousands of people. People get warrants *all the time* everywhere for *all kinds of reasons*

Work
Job interview
School
No childcare
Sick
No transportation
And yes, sometimes bc they didn't want to go
The VAST MAJORITY of times I have seen warrants issued it's bc of things outside one's control (work, lack of transit, lack of childcare are the biggies). Forgetting is also a thing, and it's important to note that the #1 best way to stop that kind of warrant is...a text message.
Read 12 tweets
Emily Galvin-Almanza Profile picture
19 Nov 20
So...I'm reflecting today on when defunding police results in reduced budgets and reallocation. And I'm thinking abotu what I learned about minimizing policing as a public defender. A short thread.
Obviously, the best world is when we replace policing with better, more restorative and beneficial resources and services for community members. But the first logical step in this journey is always cutting back on what we have police do. This actually already happens all the time
When I practiced in the Bronx, every once in a while the police would throw a fit and refuse to do anything more than "necessary" arrests. And we were all like...great? Should we *always* only be arresting people when necessary?
Read 9 tweets
Emily Galvin-Almanza Profile picture
11 Nov 20
A Duane Reed is not a person.
Like, if you find yourself confused, ask yourself:

Does it have a face?
Can it cry?
Can I hug it?
Does it have a favorite food?
Does it ever go to the doctor?

These are all helpful ways to tell if something might be a person, should you find yourself in the struggle.
I was careful to make my standard inclusive. Notice that dolphins are probably people.

But Waffle Heaven is not.
Read 4 tweets

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