Cooper creating task force, statistics tracker, on racial bias in NC justice system, police use of force

He will also create a new Center for the Prevention of Law Enforcement Use of Deadly Force in the State Bureau of Investigation, which will track statistics and "improve training related to the use of force," the Governor's Office said.

Attorney General Josh Stein and state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls will lead the task force, which will include "community policing advocates, state and local law enforcement agencies, justice-involved individuals, representatives of the judicial branch, individuals from marginalized populations and more," the Governor's Office said.

"George Floyd was not the first victim of excessive force," Cooper said at a news conference. "Too many other people of color have been harassed, harmed, injured or killed."

The task force "will develop policy solutions to address systemic racial bias in criminal justice and submit legislative and municipal recommendations." Its report will be due by Dec. 1.

"That fact that he is even speaking on these types of racial injustices and bias within the system is the first step to admitting that we have a problem," said community activist Kerwin Pittman, one of the organizers of Raleigh Demands Justice. "This is the first step to dismantling the system."

In announcing these plans, Cooper laid out some national statistics:

Earls recounted how her husband, who is black, was once approached by officers with their guns drawn as he sat in his car on the side of a road talking with her on his cellphone.

"I know that real change is long overdue and must come now," she said.

"Taking on issues of race and discrimination is often difficult and uncomfortable. Truth can be hard," Cooper said. "It's critical that our state law enforcement be leaders in repairing this breach."

Pittman said the state actions need to filter down to the local law enforcement agencies.

"I think we can be a model city for criminal justice system and policing in North Carolina," he said of Raleigh.

"There are also other areas of inequities from education to employment opportunities," Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said. "The criminal justice system to some extent ends up being the bottom of a larger funnel."

Stein noted that blacks face numerous inequities in American society, and they are as wrong as they are pervasive.

"We have to make North Carolina a safe place for everyone, no matter who you are," he said.

John Midgette, executive director of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association, questioned some of Cooper's statistics but said police already employ many of the tactics the governor mentioned.

"We certainly support any legitimate effort to make our law enforcement mission better, especially as it pertains to our communities of color," Midgette said in a statement. "With this in mind, we trust that, as the largest association of law enforcement professionals in North Carolina, we will be invited to be a membered stakeholder of the task force."

Meanwhile, Sens. Danny Britt, R-Robeson, and Warren Daniel, R-Burke, who co-chair the Senate Judiciary committee, called the task force "an exercise in political cowardice."

"Conveniently, the task force’s report isn’t due until after the November election, allowing him to buy time during his bid for a second term. Gov. Cooper needs to lead, not make a mockery of the public and the press with barely-concealed covering actions," Britt and Daniel said in a joint statement.

Cooper also discussed at the news conference an edict that went out Monday from Secretary of Public Safety Erik Hooks, telling law enforcement agencies in the Department of Public Safety to review their use-of-force polices and make sure they've got policies in place laying out an officer's duty to intervene if they see another officer using excessive force.