The discussion about police brutality usually centers on shootings that are captured on video but violence also occurs in other ways, speakers at a panel discussion in Salt Lake City said Sunday.
Cat Palmer said sexual assault survivors face a traumatizing experience when they report the crime to police.
Carol Surveyor, a Native American who is running as a Democrat in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, said encounters with law enforcement officers are racially charged, and “we are always told that we are wrong.” She said when police do something wrong, they get a slap on the wrist, and that more accountability is needed.
And Deborah Blake said there is a bias against people with mental illness and that she was inappropriately strip-searched by police in California when she was experiencing psychosis.
“They’re sexually abusing women [in those instances],” Blake alleged of police officers. “That’s police violence.”
The panel, “Beyond the footage: Understanding police violence,” at the Beehive Social Club in downtown Salt Lake City, was hosted by Utah Against Police Brutality (UAPB) and drew about three dozen people.
Lex Scott, founder of the civil rights organization United Front and an organizer for Black Lives Matter, encouraged attendees to work in their own communities to help stem police violence. She suggested having a conversation with their local police chiefs about whether departments are offering de-escalation training and trying to recruit a more diverse force.
In addition, she said, if you see a person of color being harassed, “park your car and film what‘s happening.”
Palmer said a friend who was sexually assaulted reported the crime and was asked by police if she had flirted with the assailant. She said evidence gathered in a physical examination was never processed, and the case was never prosecuted.
The friend ended up killing herself, Palmer said. “She went through hell just to report a rape.”
Psarah Johnson, a member of Utah’s Disabled Rights Action Committee, said having a physical disability can affect how police treat people, whether they are a victim or a perpetrator. She said police in another state pulled people out of their wheelchairs to arrest them at a health care rally.
The panelists supported more crisis intervention training for police, including instruction on how to deal with people who have mental health issues or physical disabilities; more grass-roots committees to review use of force incidents; and the passage of hate-crime bills.
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