In his remarks at the “Strengthening the Relationship Between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color Forum” today, Associate Attorney General Tony West gets the ball rolling this way: “Let me also express appreciation to Reverend Al Sharpton, not only for joining us this morning but for his leadership, day in and day out, on issues of reconciliation and community restoration.” He also praises New York City mayor Bill de Blasio: “In the short time the Mayor has been in office, the Justice Department has established a productive working partnership with the City of New York. Within weeks of assuming office, Mayor de Blasio helped broker a resolution to a long-running legal battle — in which the Department of Justice filed a statement of interest — over NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices, helping to ensure that reforms are in place throughout the police department to promote constitutional policing.”
Mr. West then devotes the balance of his speech to bemoaning a “criminal justice system that lacks integrity in the eyes of those it is supposed to serve,” and, it seems to me, suggests that this perception is, in substantial part, not mistaken. But you can read the speech and decide for yourself.