U.S. Rep. Doug Collins has been named to a congressional working group organized to “examine police accountability, aggression towards law enforcement, and public safety concerns related to these issues.” Collins is one of six Republicans in the group, which also includes six Democrats.
The bipartisan panel, which was formed by the House Judiciary Committee, will hold a series of roundtables to candidly discuss the issues fueling excessive force used by law enforcement and attacks against police officers. Outside leaders also will be invited to meet with the working group, according to a press release from the House Judiciary Committee.
Collins says he will draw upon his life experiences as a Baptist Pastor, an attorney, and the son of a Georgia State Trooper to help foster a productive dialogue.
“We are not here to point fingers, but rather to find solutions to the issues that are on the hearts and minds of so many Americans,” Collins states in a press release. “The tragic shootings of two men last week by law enforcement in St. Paul and Baton Rouge, followed by the five police officers who lost their lives in Dallas, remind us that this kind of violence will not simply go away, and we must face a difficult conversation together as one nation.”
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The group’s first private roundtable was scheduled today with invited guests the Reverend Doctor DeForest B. Soaries, Jr., and Deborah A. Ramirez. Soaries is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey. Ramirez is the Executive Director for Partnering for Prevention and Community Safety Initiative and Professor of Law at Northeastern University School of Law.
