This is how Whatcom residents’ ideas will help inform governor’s policing task force
Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Richey announced Thursday, July 9, that he is planning to hold several small group meetings over the next several months with people most affected by racial bias and discrimination in the criminal justice system, according to a Thursday afternoon press release.
The small groups include people who identify as Black or African American, Native American, Latinx and Chicanx, LGBTQIA2-plus and people who are deaf and hard of hearing, homeless, farmworkers and undocumented, according to the press release.
The sessions will inform action and policy changes for Whatcom County’s criminal justice system and Gov. Jay Inslee’s task force that will make recommendations about policing.
Richey said he expects to hold roughly one meeting a week, holding eight to 12, from now through September. Richey is taking recommendations on who will be included in the small group meetings from a committee of community members, made up of mostly people of color, he said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald.
Richey said he wants the people he’s speaking with in the small groups to feel free and comfortable to have good conversations with him, so that he can get a good understanding of the problems they see with the criminal justice system.
“I hope to learn from them what they believe are unfair practices by the criminal justice system, specifically my office. I hope to talk to them about their ideas and how we can improve in the work that we do,” Richey said.
Richey said in the press release that he has attended the Solidarity Rally at Maritime Heritage Park and listened to what the speakers had to say.
“I want to hear more. While my office considered hosting a much larger forum, my goal is to hear from people who have been directly impacted by the unfair treatment within the criminal justice system,” Richey said in a prepared statement. “I want to make sure that people feel safe talking with me about their ideas for change and that takes time, and often in smaller settings. I expect to hold one meeting per week to work together in developing a plan for change. I want to take your voices with me to the Governor’s committee on policing and racial justice.”
Richey said in the interview with The Herald that he’s had a few roundtables since being elected prosecutor, but has held meetings specifically about how Whatcom County’s criminal justice system and his office affect people of color. Richey said the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, has been a catalyst for holding these conversations.
Nickolaus Dee Lewis, who is a member of the Lummi Indian Business Council, said in a prepared statement that he’s thankful Richey is open to having discussions on prosecutorial reform.
“I truly am thankful and appreciate these conversations that are being led with the right intentions. Systemic change isn’t easy and our people have had to demand for far too long. It shouldn’t be so hard to ask for things like racial equality from the justice system but sadly in today’s environment, it is,” Lewis said in a prepared statement. “There is no doubt that the justice system needs reform and we can only achieve that by working together on solutions. I’m thankful to be just a small part of the conversations with some amazing people who all just want to do what’s right for the people of our country.”
Lewis said he hopes to hear peoples’ thoughts around what prosecutorial reform looks like and hopes to address concerns about how the justice system impacts people of color at higher rates.
The committee members advising Richey include Lewis, who also spoke at the Solidarity Rally, Ana Cecilia Lopez, who is an assistant professor of Law, Diversity and Justice at Fairhaven College at Western Washington University, Vernon Damani Johnson, who is a professor of political science and director of the Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education at Western Washington University, Terrance Morris, a local activist who organized the Solidarity Rally and founded the Bellingham Unity Committee, Carrie Blackwood, a local labor law attorney who also previously ran for a state Senate seat, Heather Flaherty, executive director of the Chuckanut Health Foundation and citizen representative for the Whatcom County Incarceration, Prevention and Reduction Task Force, and Lisa McShane, a local political consultant.
Richey said community members who identify with some of the groups that are the focus of the small meetings and want to be included should contact him at 360-410-6365.
Richey said he will let the community know the results of the meetings.
