Painting of Darryl Williams, a man tased to death by RPD earlier this year, by Ashlee Inscoe
Over the past years, we have written and spoken extensively about the Raleigh Police Department’s track record of police murders, excessive force, racial profiling, First Amendment violations, and terrorizing the community it’s meant to serve. We have requested public records, held public forums, attended protest events, defended protesters, filed grievances, sponsored press conferences, stood in vigil, and sued the Raleigh PD.
Nevertheless, RPD continues to violate the civil rights of Raleigh’s residents.
Recently, attorneys from the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division visited North Carolina. We shared our concerns about RPD and they asked us to provide more information about unlawful and unjust policies and practices in the Raleigh Police Department.
Last week, we sent a letter requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division open an investigation. Our letter details the evidence of racial profiling, excessive force, victim-blaming propaganda, unlawful home entries, and more.
The letter also stands as a clear and powerful historical record of RPD’s misconduct since 2020. Notwithstanding a lot of talk about police “reform,” Black and brown people continue to be harmed by this system. While these may be lean times for justice in North Carolina, Emancipate NC will continue to mark and describe events that occur, interpreting them for the public, drawing attention to them, and giving voice to harmed people to re-empower them and demand change.
We invite the US DOJ to help us hold RPD accountable for its actions.