Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of D’Andre Campbell and Soleiman Faqiri as we process the incredibly difficult, but unsurprising news that their killers will not be held accountable for egregious abuses of power. The experiences of both point to a disturbing trend of the mishandling of matters involving individuals struggling with mental health by police and other actors within the criminal justice system.
The report put forth by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) on December 3, 2020 underscored their decision to clear officers of any criminal responsibility on the killing of D’Andre Campbell. Decisions like this prove, over and over again, that the existing police oversight system is broken and an immediate and complete overhaul of these bodies are needed to restore confidence between the communities and law enforcement agencies.
