The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Hayes says experiences shape police reform
WASHINGTON — For the first seven-to-eight months U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes served as a member of Congress, one Capitol Police officer stopped her every time she tried to enter the U.S. Capitol complex, she said.
“I showed my ID. I showed my pin,” Hayes, D-5, said in a recent interview. “It got to the point where I would turn to my staff and say ‘We’re going to get stopped.’ ”
It was a subtle and disappointing reminder of the pervasive tendrils of discriminatory policing that touch so many African Americans — including members of Congress.
Like many of her Black colleagues, Hayes, 47, has spent the past few weeks sharing personal stories as she worked closely with a group of Democrats on crafting sweeping police reforms in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
Unlike many of her colleagues, Hayes is the wife of a police officer; her husband Milford Hayes is a plainclothes detective who has worked for the Waterbury Police Department since 1997. That experience made her a key voice on proposed reforms in the caucus.
“I didn’t want the message to be sent that police were not an important part of our community and we did not respect the work that they do,” Hayes said. “Because I know, like I’ve said before, my community is much better off having had my husband police in Waterbury for the last 25 years.”
Hayes worked directly with the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Karen Bass, DCalif., on the legislation at times, Hayes said. She participated in small group meetings and leadership calls on the bill. The Congressional Black Caucus hosted 14 town halls with thousands of participants to get feedback, and Hayes sought input from local community groups, religious leaders and elected officials.
“Everybody that I’ve talked to in the Congressional Black Caucus has enormous respect for Jahana and has enormous respect for her attitude,” said Rep. John Larson, D-1. “She has
both the kind of personality and the kind of can-do, roll-up-your sleeves attitude that members appreciate.”
The Democrats’ bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday but does not have the support of Senate Republicans.
Before they revealed the bill publicly, Hayes knelt with senior Democrats and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the stone floor of the Capitol Visitor Center with kente clothe draped over their shoulders. They remained kneeling in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the length of time a Minneapolis Police Officer knelt on Floyd’s neck, killing him.
After their legislation, named the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, was introduced, Hayes held calls with freshman members of Congress and lawmakers reluctant to support the bill to answer their questions, she said.
“It was a good opportunity for some of us as members, for me, to share my personal experiences and help my colleagues understand,” she said.
In his 23 years on the force, Milford Hayes, 49, has worked for the Waterbury Police department in roles from youth squad to blight enforcement and detective, according to information shared by the department.
“My husband has said to me, I was one or two years on the job and I didn’t know how to have this conversation but it became very apparent that the way officers patrolled and policed in the North End was very different than the way they did in the West End of town,” Hayes said.
When a police officer shot Philando Castile, a Black man who was licensed to carry a gun, at a traffic stop in Minnesota in 2016, the Hayes family had to “revisit” the conversation of how to stay safe at a traffic stop when Milford was armed in the car.
When Hayes and her husband are pulled over by police in a traffic stop, they know they have about five seconds to take a few steps that could save their lives, Hayes said. They turn on car’s interior light. Milford Hayes put his hands on the steering wheel. Milford gets ready to immediately announce that he’s carrying a firearm. As an AfricanAmerican couple, their race and the presence of a weapon could mean trouble with an officer who does not know them, Hayes said.
With Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., Hayes introduced the Police Training and Accountability Act that would establish a civilian commission to set national
standards for training, use of force and other practices and link federal law enforcement funds to compliance. It would also create a “Civilian Law Enforcement Bill of Rights.”
Focused on broad community input, Hayes urged her colleagues to question the mothers of young black men as well as police chiefs about what needs to change, she said.
“Until you do those things, you’re not having a full conversation on this topic,” said Hayes, who is the mother of four. “I’ve shared with my colleagues where my sons have been pulled over walking home. I saw it from my window one night, when my son was walking home from the bus, police cars and sirens. And I knew immediately, that’s my son. I couldn’t see through the trees. I could see the lights. But he was getting off the city bus walking home. I got in my car, drove down to the site and they’re like, ‘Oh we got a call that there was someone in the area.’ ”
Only 54 of 435 members of the House of Representatives are African Americans, according to the Congressional Research Service. Just three senators are Black.
“I have definitely listened very closely to Congresswoman Hayes for at least two reasons,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-4. “Number one, she knows what it is like to be an African American. I don’t. Number two, her husband is a police officer, so she’s a unique resource as someone whose life experience covers a lot of the issues that we’re talking about here. We’ve had a few conversations that have been very helpful to me.”
Hayes grew up in Waterbury in public housing and at one time experienced homelessness. She became pregnant at 17, but she continued with school and completed undergraduate, master’s and advanced degrees. As a history teacher in Waterbury, she developed a standout reputation earning her the accolade of the 2016 National Teacher of the Year.
“My students are running from the police where I know they’re not going to believe me if I tell them ‘I wasn’t involved,’ ” Hayes said. “They don’t see the police as someone if I’m in
trouble, I’m going to go find a police officer and talk to them. They’re trying to figure out how to solve their problems on their own.”
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said as a former teacher, Hayes helps the caucus recognize discrimination in education, as well as the justice system.
“The inequalities highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis and tragic murder of George Floyd are not unique, but rather part of a system that works against our Black and brown students and neighbors,” Clark said. “Rep. Hayes always helps us to connect the dots, to recognize discrimination where it exists and craft the policy solutions that will build a more equal America.”
Hayes and her husband discuss police reforms and community relations “all the time,” Hayes said. She supports scrapping qualified immunity, which gives such police officers legal protection for actions performed on the job. The change could open cities and police departments to fault in lawsuits when police officers violate individuals’ constitutional rights.
“No one is above the law, not a citizen, not a police officer,” said Hayes. “Those changes would compel other officers to no longer be silent because they know that now ‘I could be liable.’ ”
Republicans have called changes to qualified immunity a non-starter. For the moment, the Senate and House are deadlocked over passing any policing reforms, after Senate Democrats blocked a vote on the GOP policing bill. Some politicians have suggested change won’t be possible until after November, banking on the idea that Democrats might claim the White House and Senate avoiding the need for bipartisan compromise.
“This idea that we want to hold this until after the election — we needed this Justice in Policing Act a long time ago,” she said. “I don’t want to wait another day on it. I want this to happen now . ... too many people are dying and the trust between our policing officers and our communities is eroding.”