Congressman Al Green Has “Courageous Conversation” About Police-Community Relations at Kingdom Builders’ Center

(Houston, TX)--Congressman Al Green (TX-09), honoring a request from Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, agreed to join representatives from the Houston Police Department, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson, and others in a dialogue about police-community relations on Saturday, July 16, 2016, at the Kingdom Builders’ Center.

“I applaud and thank Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell for being a visionary leader and for hosting this candid dialogue. While the ‘Courageous Conversation’ we had did not end the heartache over the recent senseless killing of peace officers or civilians, I hope that it is the beginning of a better understanding between our peace officers and our communities,” Congressman Al Green said. “We must all (communities and police) engage in earnest introspection, as we ask others not to broadly label us or cynically dismiss our legitimate safety and security concerns. We must also understand it is unacceptable for us to broadly label and cynically dismiss the legitimate safety and security concerns of others.”

Congressman Al Green, whose uncle was a deputy sheriff, is a devoted supporter of peace officers. He strongly believes that both peace officers and civilians should be respected and protected. This is why Congressman Al Green, in tandem with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, sponsored the bipartisan H.Res 295, which specifically acknowledges local law enforcement agencies for their service to communities, and recognizes the positive benefits body-worn cameras have had on police-community relations. H. Res 295 passed the House overwhelmingly in a bipartisan vote of 421 to 6 in June 2015. He also worked with Congressman Cleaver to sponsor the Camera Authorization and Maintenance-Transparency in Policing Act (CAM-TIP) of 2015. The legislation aims to establish a grant program to help fund the use of body-worn-cameras by local law enforcement agencies.  This legislation was a forerunner to the 22.5 million tax dollars, in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, being returned to our communities for police body-worn cameras.

"I want our peace officers to have the tools necessary for their personal safety as well as for our public safety, as we foster better police-community relations and improve transparency. Police body-worn cameras can assist in identifying those who seek to harm peace officers and help communities better understand the nature of  questionable uses of force,” Congressman Al Green said.

This "Courageous Conversation" was held to allow the people to speak truth to power and power to speak truth to the people.