Governor discusses movements to ‘defund the police’ and chokehold policies
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Gov. Mike Parson has plans to meet with more activists to talk about what the nation-wide movement over the death of George Floyd means for Missouri.
On Thursday, Parson will sit down with leaders and activists from Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia to continue conversations about what changes can happen in the state.
He said this is just the starting point of many conversations down the long road to change.
"I think we are kidding ourselves as a society as a whole if we just think we are going to get up there and change a little piece of regulatory environment," Parson said. "I think you gotta be thinking, 'do you really want to change society as a whole?' That has to be a part of the decision at the table."
Parson brought up the national movement to "defund the police." Those for the movement say some funds should be moved from police departments to more social programs, like mental health and social work.
The governor, as a former law enforcement officer, said officers are public servants that put themselves in harm's way for others. He said crime is going up in the state, and believed having more officers would be a good idea to try to curb violence.
He also believes only a handful of officers are the ones committing acts like the one captured on video in George Floyd's death.
"What happened in Minnesota was a tragedy and the officer was charged with murder which he very well should have been," Parson said. "Every day though, police officers go out there and the large, large majority of them, 99 percent plus do the job they should be doing day in and day out.
Parson believes people from the black community and officers that have experience should be the ones talking about solutions.
"I think we need to have people at the table that understand the issues and what that's like to make those decisions," Parson said. "I don't think you can go out here as an elected official saying, 'this is wrong, and that is wrong,' if you don't have any experience in it."
A number of cities across the country are starting to ban the use of chokeholds as a police technique.
Colonel Eric Olson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said they train officers for multiple hand-to-hand scenarios. He said the department would consider any and all ideas about the use of chokehold force after speaking with experts about the topic.
"We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness and the necessity of that," Olson said.
He also mentioned they train for de-escalation, but will be working on more training, as activists are calling more non-violent interactions with officers.
The governor chimed in saying there needs to be a lot done before force is used in situations. He said he would be open to changes regarding chokehold policies, but wants to lay all ideas out first.
