My heart goes out to the families of Marquintan Sandlin and Kisha Michael for their unbearable loss. I believe the families and the public at large have a right to know what happened to Marquintan and Kisha and I am confident that through the District Attorney’s investigation we will find some resolution for the family and community. It is extremely troubling, and almost coincidental, that there is transparency with regard to the victim’s blood alcohol levels but no information offered on the results of the police investigation and what factors were involved that resulted in their untimely deaths.
We must support our police officers who protect and serve, but we must also acknowledge when there are problems. There is no public report on the police investigation. City spokeswoman Jasmyne Cannick said the five officers were “separated from service.” Everyone must be held accountable for their actions. No one is above the law! More importantly, the tight-lipped approach to this case undermines the progress Inglewood PD has made toward re-building trust within the community.
When I attended City of Inglewood’s 69th Memorial Day Service this past Monday, there were Black Lives Matter protesters who attended the event to share their concerns about Marquintan and Kisha’s deaths. Congresswoman Maxine Waters addressed the protestors during her speech and committed to setting up a meeting with Mayor Butts, Inglewood Police Department and the concerned Black Lives Matter protestors at her office to effectively address the issue.
I support Congresswoman Waters and Black Lives Matter and their efforts to increase transparency at this agency and every police department in the state. That’s why I’m authoring SB 345 which will require law enforcement agencies to post their training policies and procedures on their websites.
