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View Winners → PCC Executive Order Prohibits Use of Chokehold
Education Jun 25, 2020
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PCCSuperintendent/President ErikaEndrijonas signed an executive order on Monday thatimmediately prohibits the use of carotid restraints, or chokeholds, by PCCCampus Police.
Theorder also creates a 13-member Campus Police Policy Task Force with the chargeof completing a top-to-bottom review of the police force’s policy manual andtraining handbook. PCC Police Chief Steven Matchan will report on the progress of the review bySeptember, according to the order.
Thedirectives follow aresolution passed byPCC’s Board of Trustees last week “denouncing the killing of unarmedBlack/African American citizens” that called on the college to strengthen itsefforts to dismantle structural racism. The resolution specifically calls for“a thorough review” and recasting of PCC’s governing documents to “identify andremove” elements that correlate to racially inequitable outcomes.
“Thisorder is a long time in coming, and I’m proud to be able to issue it today,”said Dr. Endrijonas. “Even though we have no evidence that our officers haveused a chokehold in their duties in the last 15 years, the approval of the useof this force runs counter to PCC’s efforts to be a place of peacefuleducational inquiry and respect for others. Like so much else in our society,it needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.
“Thisaction is just the first we’re prepared to take to live up to our ideals as acollege,” she continued. “The killings of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd,Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other Black/African Americancitizens has led to a much-needed reckoning in every sphere of society,including higher education. We are not going to shirk our duty to understandthe gravity of our errors and make the necessary changes to deliver for ourstudents and our community.”
TheBoard of Trustees’ resolution builds on similar statements issued byrepresentative bodies of the college’s faculty, staff, and students; the PCCFoundation; and employee affinity groups. A full list of statementsof solidarity canbe found on the college’s website.