Police Accountability Activists Honor Legislators, & Vice Versa

In a celebration of activist-politician teamwork, two state legislators met a rally of gratitude on Wednesday from grassroots police accountability advocates — and in turn honored the organizers who kept them on task at the state Capitol.

Local organizations Stop Solitary CT, Unidad Latina en Acción (ULA), and Black and Brown United in Action praised New Haven State Sen. Gary Winfield and Rep. Robyn Porter for championing a new state law aimed at increasing police accountability through training, oversight, and court redress.

They gathered outside Roberto Clemente School in the Hill, carrying bright painted banners and bearing gifts for the day’s honorees.

The new law, ​“An Act Concerning Police Accountability,” came weeks after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, during a summer of historic Black Lives Matter protests for police accountability. The act creates a new statewide office to investigate police killings, requires officers to intervene when they witness a colleague violating someone’s rights, limits officers’ legal immunity, and allows municipalities to form civilian review boards with subpoena power, among other provisions. (Read more about the bill here and here.)

Longtime police accountability and prison reform advocate Barbara Fair, who organized the event as part of Stop Solitary CT, framed the rally as an expression of gratitude to the two legislators. Fair acknowledged that she wished the bill had gone further. ​“No one ever expected the legislation to cover everything,” she said. But ​“we want to thank you for opening the door, because now that the door’s open, we can push our way in and finish the work.”

Both Porter and Winfield expressed mixed feelings about the impulse to celebrate the law’s passage.

“It’s a little strange that we’re celebrating this, because in a way, this should be something that is done,” Winfield said.

“It feels a little awkward to be receiving accolades for doing the work that should have never needed to be done, but this is the country that we live in,” Porter echoed. ​“The work should have always been done.”

Fair handed Porter and Winfield each a plaque, praising their ​“enduring spirit and compassionate heart.”

In turn, the legislators took the chance to give credit to the protestors and organizers who generated momentum for the bill.

“We had 5,000 people one day in New Haven, 3,000 people another day in New Haven, 3,000 people in West Haven on this — that’s not normal,” said Winfield. ​“In that moment, people like myself and Robyn, if we don’t stand up and respond, why are we there?”

Porter singled out Fair, calling her the ​“matriarch of justice.”

“She has been the driving force for me and the good senator in many instances where it was so dark, we couldn’t see the light. But the only thing that I could hear was her in my ear,” Porter said. On matters of criminal justice reform, Porter recalled her and Winfield saying of Fair, ​“Ain’t no way we’re going back to New Haven and tell her this ain’t happening.”

The rally’s two emcees, CJ and John Lugo from ULA and Black and Brown United in Action, had a surprise for Fair.

“You’re there every time. All the time,” said CJ. ​“They couldn’t be who they are without you being who you are.” She handed Fair a colorful bouquet of flowers.

Then Fair presented plaques of her own to Lugo and CJ. ​“These are some of the unspoken heroes,” she said.

Along with Porter and Winfield, speakers acknowledged the other legislators who stood with them in support of the bill — and the legislators who stood against them.

“George Logan can’t be there no more,” said CJ. Logan, referring to a a Republican state senator representing portions of Hamden and the Naugatuck Valley. Logan helped lead opposition to the bill on the Senate floor, taking particular issue with the limitations on governmental immunity granted to police officers.

Porter called out both Democratic and Republican senators who sought to weaken or vote down the bill, and issued a call for placing policy above party politics.

Porter noted that 18 Democrats voted in favor of an unsuccessful, Republican-proposed amendment to remove language from the bill eliminating qualified immunity.

She also recognized Republican State Rep. Jesse MacLachlan of Westbrook, who voted in favor of the bill. ​“He had the courage to stand up for what’s right,” she said. ​“He is currently being persecuted for his vote.” She spoke of people ​“throwing fireworks and bombs at his house at night.”

Both politicians stressed that they would not rest after the bill’s passage. Porter stated that upcoming priorities for both legislators and activists should include census participation, 

Despite the animosity they faced and the long road of work ahead, Winfield and Porter embraced — for a moment — the pause to celebrate what they and their colleagues had achieved.

“We have power, and it’s time to harness and use it,” said Porter. ​“We’re not giving it back no more.”