Dem Rep. Crockett Blames Lack of Bias Training at the Secret Service for Failing to Label ‘Young, White Male’ a Threat

Crockett: “But, you know, I want to stay here for for just a second, because earlier you had a conversation in which there was a discussion about training. And I wanna talk about training and I want to talk about the fact that there’s been a little bit of dancing around as it relates to this being a suspicious person and this being a situation that was perceived to be a threat. And it seems as if there’s a different analysis that takes place. One of my questions has to do with if you have have any bias training that your officers undergo. And the reason that I ask that is because as a civil rights lawyer, I have learned so many times, in having to deal with law enforcement, that there usually is not a perception of a threat when it is a young white male, even if they are carrying a long gun. Yet a lot of times, at least in this country, when it comes to law enforcement, there is a perceived threat just by somebody having a little bit more melanin in their skin. So I’m curious to know, because a lot of times, one of the things that we have consistently pushed for on my side of things — and when I say my side is once we are looking at a tragedy in which law enforcement made an error — it is the bias training and whether or not our officers are getting it. So I’m curious to know, in some of the training that you talk about that is part of your budget, has bias training been part of that?”
CHEATLE: “Yes, it is.”
Crockett: “Okay. Thank you.”