The U.S. policing system has been entwined with racism since its inception during the slavery era. The first municipal police department in the country was conceived as a slave patrol to monitor and surveil the Black enslaved population.  

We still see the effects of this origin when it comes to policing Black communities — particularly in terms of the disproportionate rates of excessive force by police against people of color, and the legal barriers which make it impossible to hold police accountable when they kill community members.  

In a country devastated by the deaths and injuries of hundreds of people, many of them unarmed, at the hands of police officers, drastic changes are needed in our approach to public safety. 

We know that simply tweaking a use-of-force policy is not going to eliminate the racism embedded in police practices, but these first steps are critical to saving lives. 

Cities in Indiana such as Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and South Bend, are working to make critical changes to use-of-force policies. And in our work with police departments and the communities they serve, we are demanding greater collaboration with and inclusion of community stakeholders. 

To save lives immediately, cities must adapt use-of force policies that include certain elements such as: 

• requiring exhaustion of all alternatives before shooting, 
• enacting a use of force continuum, and  
• creating a civilian dominate Use-of-Force Board. 

At a National level, the ACLU is also demanding that President Biden set a federal lethal force standard in which officers can only use lethal force when absolutely necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death, and after exhausting all de-escalation techniques. Research has found that when police departments adopt such policies, they not only kill fewer people, but also suffer fewer officer deaths in the line of duty.  

The Biden administration must also support and sign legislation to abolish qualified immunity, a legal defense which allows police officers to engage in unconstitutional and illegal acts and escape liability. 

But while all of these efforts are in progress in Indiana cities and at the National level, the Indiana legislature has proposed a bill that would not only fail to address concerns about police violence against Black people, but would further move Indiana in the opposite direction. SB 311 outlines weak use-of-force language and expands officer protections when using force.  

Lethal use of force should be a last resort, not the first tactic officers rely on. We must end excessive force used by officers and strengthen police accountability here in our state. 

By: Tyne Parlett, ACLU of Indiana TEAP Advocate and Director of Community Impact at Damien Center   

HB 1340 has introduced relevant and person-centered language, which has profoundly shifted the ways we talk about living with HIV. The bill modernizes language, which hasn’t been updated in Indiana code since the 1980s, to conform with current medical standards. It would remove barriers faced by people living with HIV who are disproportionately affected by unjust criminal persecutions. The bill also seeks to end the criminalization of blood and semen donation, and would improve access to syringe services. 

Medical guidance and legislation have been at odds for years. People with suppressed viral loads are living normal lives and are unable to transmit HIV to others. The change in legislation brought about by the HIV Modernization movement and Representative Clere’s support of HB 1340, would allow people living with HIV to feel protected from stigma and unjust criminal penalties that are archaic and damaging to already vulnerable community members.   

In Indiana, ISDH reported over 12,000 individuals living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2018. Through my work in HIV at the Damien Center, the city’s oldest and largest AIDS service organization, it has become remarkably clear that the criminalization of HIV remains the largest barrier to accessing supportive care for these individuals. Commonly, people living with HIV face discrimination in housing, healthcare, and food security. For decades, HIV service organizations have been battling the barriers faced by those we serve. However, without legislative protections, more often than not our work fails to disrupt systems of power that keep people living with HIV vulnerable.   

In the 2021 legislative session, Representative Clere has been supported through the work of Dr. Carrie Foote in penning HB 1340, which passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support. While this was not the first time that HIV bills have been introduced, this was the first win in the fight for HIV decriminalization in Indiana. HB 1340 would improve access to vital resources that are desperately needed in vulnerable communities impacted by HIV. I look forward to seeing it supported in the Senate. 

Representative Clere, Dr. Carrie Foote, and all of the service agencies involved in this work, are playing a critical role in the movement to end the stigma, stop the epidemic, and demand better legislation for all people living with HIV.