Councilman Langan Raises Concerns About Public Safety Grant

Kyle Langan

The City Council’s  Public Safety and Transportation Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday night in Wheeler Room A of City Hall and one of the agenda items, see here, “Grant Submission: re U.S. Department of Justice Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) for FY2018 Local Solicitation” will be addressed by West Side councilman Kyle Langan who asserts “Before we act on this item it is important to comprehend the history of this program because without understanding our history we are bound to repeat its same mistakes.”

Langan, a school teacher, provided a copy of remarks he expects to deliver at the meeting:

Tonight we are being asked to vote approvingly for the submission of a grant application for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. This grant would flow to our police department. Before we act on this item it is important to comprehend the history of this program because without understanding our history we are bound to repeat its same mistakes.

This Federal grant program has its inception in 1988 during the Reagan administration’s “War on Drugs.” The result of this “war,” more likely described as the actions of a police state, on our people has been an increase of 1,100 percent in our incarceration rate since 1980[i]. There are over a half a million people in prison or jail today for a drug offense as compared to 41,000 in 1980. The overwhelming majority of those incarcerated are people of color, imprisoned for non-violent possession. In fact, nearly 80% of the arrests in 1990s were for marijuana possession[ii], a substance numerous states have voted to legalize and it appears Connecticut will not be far behind.

The Byrne grants were designed to incentivize local police departments to join the Federal government’s unnecessary and arguably racism-driven incarceration bonanza by providing millions of dollars in Federal funding. Nationally 40 percent of Byrne grants funding goes to narcotics units and the number is as high as 90 percent in some states.[iii] Byrne grants were also instrumental in the militarization of our law enforcement as illustrated by a retired New Haven police chief’s comments to the New York Times, “I was offered tanks, bazookas, anything I wanted.”[iv]

Again the purpose of this statement is not to say that we should vote against the submission of this grant request, although that action should be in the conversation. The purpose is to understand the historical context of this funding and the negative impact it has had on communities like ours around the country. If we approve this grant submission, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that whatever the funds are used for attempt to counterbalance the historical negative effects. Potential uses might include but are not limited to: implicit bias training, de-escalation training, drug prevention programming, reentry programs, etc. If these funds will be used simply to hire new officers then we should demand to see elsewhere within the police department budget where the above listed actions are being taken.

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7 comments

  1. Kyle’s concerns and research throughout the inception of this grant should be thought-provoking and encourage those responsible for the implementation of this grant request and those that will utilize and direct these funds. This is the example of what an elected local official should address when reviewing Council issues and subsequent votes. It takes time and a willingness to understand, and a commitment to due diligence, i.e. research. We observed over the past week what one U.S. Senator put into motion. It is possible, to begin with one, others will follow, perhaps not all, but some.

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    1. Lisa, yes it’s the wise thing to do, slow things down so that there’s a clear understanding. Fire Grants and Police grants for hiring are different but helpful, they will fund hiring at different times during the process, first at 100% then 75% down to zero where the City must pickup the cost. Remember, these are federal dollars with guidelines plus there can not be in discrimination base on those guidelines.

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  2. A compliment to Kyle Langan for his willingness to ask for the history, background and need for these particular funds at this time for the largest department in the City responsible for public safety. They are consuming taxpayer funds into the six major budget expense categories at a rate of $100 Million annually. Grant money brings with it responsibilities that require serious consideration and that type of review has not been generally performed in public in Bridgeport. Why not? Time will tell.

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  3. Or more likely, knowing Bridgeport….it will be used to fund police overtime for stake outs of the housing projects and other narcotics enforcement activities. Just another black rocker with a soap box.

    Sure the history is accurate, but the operational usage of these funds is what is really relevant.

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  4. Councilperson Kyle Langan does his homework and speaks authoritatively at CC meetings. His time as a CCperson has ben impressive. I will say this. I am still “bugged” by his situation as a Charter School teacher but that is my own pet peeve.

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  5. Frank, you’re response showed you are not one to define an individual merely because they make a choice in certain areas that reflects what may be different from others. Imagine a universe where everyone agreed on everything. Kill me now!!!!

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