“...[T]he black uniforms are intimidating and are meant to be intimidating, and we don’t want people to appear to be intimidating,” announced Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, about a Maryland police force that may be undergoing a $1 million uniform change.
No, seriously. Out of all the “intimidating” things about police, their big change would be … changing the color of their uniforms?
And while there’s currently controversy about why Montgomery County is looking for a costume change, community members are wondering why it matters.
“...[I]t’s not necessarily the color of the uniform that’s the issue. It’s the behavior,” countered justice coalition leader Carlean Ponder. “I’d rather see … more emphasis on making sure police are not the only option when it comes to community safety.”
And in Montgomery County, that conversation is more than needed.
In the past couple years alone, Maryland police have killed Black civilians, disproportionately arrested Black students on school grounds, and even been exposed for hateful group chat messages readying for a “race war” and hoping Black protesters would die!
But it’s their UNIFORMS that are “intimidating?”
Like Ponder and other community members have voiced, changing the way police look won’t change who they are. The police system is designed to brutalize Black civilians. THAT’S intimidating – and THAT’S what has to change!