By Mel Wilson, LCSW, MBA The widely televised tape of Tyre Nichols being mercilessly beaten by members of the Memphis Police Department was shocking beyond words. Similar to the murder of George Floyd, the country (indeed the world) was again a witness to total...
police / policing
The Killing of Tyre Nichols: Lethal Police Encounters Continue Unabated | NASW Member Voices
The brutal death of Tyre Nichols is a stark reality that the promise of police reform in the wake of George Floyd’s death was at best a fleeting notion.
NASW responses to death of Freddie Gray, police reforms
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) chapters and officials are reacting to the death of Freddie Gray while in custody of Baltimore City police, the resulting civil unrest, and the charges filed against six police officers in connection with Gray's death....
NASW Social Justice Brief offers Recommendations to End Racial Profiling and Mitigate Use of Force by Police
Recent cases involving the injury or deaths of people of color during encounters with law enforcement officers have put more attention on racial profiling, according to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Social Justice Brief The Role of Racial Profiling...
NASW Statement on Ferguson Grand Jury Decision
With the issuance of the St. Louis County grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, the National Association of Social Workers urges reforms that would help end the excessive use of police...
Read Justice Brief for Update on NASW Activities Regarding Ferguson
It has been more than two months since a policeman in Ferguson, MO, shot and killed unarmed African American teenager Michael Brown, sparking protests in that city and around the nation. Despite the tragedy the National Association of Social Workers and other...
NASW joins letter to Obama urging police reforms in aftermath of Ferguson shooting
The National Association of Social Workers has joined more than 1,300 other organizations and individuals in signing a letter urging the Obama Administration to make reforms to end police violence in light of the shooting of an unarmed African American teenager in...
Police shootings demonstrate need for social workers to press for reforms
Recent, highly publicized cases of police using deadly force against people of color, including the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 9, underscore the need for the social work profession to call for reforms in the nation's law enforcement systems....