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From YouTube: Press Conference to Announce "Driving Equality" Bill
Description
On October 28, 2020, Councilmember Isaiah Thomas held a press conference to announce his "Driving Equality" bill, which aims to prevent unnecessary motor vehicle stops by Philadelphia police. The Defender Association of Philadelphia provided the councilmember with police vehicle stop data. The bill was introduced in City Council on October 29.
B
B
B
B
I
stood
in
front
of
this
very
statue
a
few
months
ago
with
the
justice
for
david
jones
coalition,
as
citizens
of
philadelphia
continue
to
demand
justice
for
david
jones.
When
I
ran
for
city
council
in
2015,
we
talked
about
the
shooting
of
brandon
tate
brown,
and
we
asked
for
justice
for
brandon
dave
brown.
B
B
B
I'm
sorry
it's
a
lot.
I'm
gonna
stop
right
there
with.
That
being
said,
let
me
just
pass
it
to
one
of
our
partners
in
this
entire
process,
and
this
is
somebody
who's.
Their
office
has
been
a
huge
resource.
They've
been
somebody
that
we
could
rely
on
as
a
related
facts
and
data.
I'm
pretty
sure
you
can
tell
this
is
an
issue
that
I'm
very
passionate
about
and
I'll
talk
about
a
little
bit
later,
but
I
want
to
take
a
moment
to
bring
up
somebody
who's.
B
C
You
so
for
your
greatness
and
your
courage
to
face
this
issue
head-on.
I
also
want
to
thank
the
members
of
the
defender
association,
please
accountability
for
making
sure
that
we
are.
We
are
aware
of
what's
going
on
in
our
city
as
it
is,
this
bill
really
represents
decriminalizing
minor
traffic
violations,
and
that
is
necessary.
We
cannot.
We
cannot
ask
the
police
to
police
themselves
when
it
comes
to
racism
in
us
in
our
cities
we
know
that
we
have
asked
we
have
marched,
we
have
cried.
C
We
have
done
everything
we
can
to
change
the
power
guide
dynamic
of
how
communities
of
color
have
been
policed.
The
things
that
we
have
seen
in
policing
would
shock
anyone's
conscious.
We
will
validate
those
in
the
black
and
brown
communities
who
understand
what
they
feel,
but
it's
often
hard
to
conceptualize
and
often
hard
to
find
the
words
to
talk
about
and
express
it.
But
let
me
show
you
this.
We
talk
about
policing
helps
us
to
achieve
public
safety.
C
Well,
our
office
has
examined
over
300
000
motor
vehicle
stops
with
the
lens
towards
public
safety.
What
are
we
doing
with
those
resources
of
time?
What
return
on
investment
has
it
given
us?
Let
me
give
you
a
few
steps
for
you
to
understand
why
this
bill
is
so
necessary
to
make
sure
that
we
are
police
communities
of
color
with
the
eye
towards
public
safety
of
over
300
000
motor
vehicle
stops.
C
C
C
When
things
were
found,
anything
illegal
was
found
on
those
except
on
those
black
drivers
who
represent
70
percent
of
those
stocks.
We
saw
less
than
one
quarter
of
one
percent
of
return
on
our
investment
point,
one
seven
percent
of
the
time
illegal
items
were
found
on
the
out
of
black
tires
juxtapose,
that
to
those
of
white
drivers
who
are
35
more
likely
to
have
illegal
items
found
on
them,
but
we
never
saw
an
uptick
in
the
stopping
of
white
drivers
for
certain
reasons
why
you
ask
because
of
racial
profiling?
That's
what
this
represents.
C
This
bill
will
help
delineate
that
in
some
ways
I
hope
there's
going
to
be
more
to
come,
but
I
can't
tell
you
how
much
I
thank
councilman
thomas,
the
rest
of
his
colleagues
councilwoman
trump.
Anyone
who
sponsored
this
bill.
Anyone
who's
co-signed
on
this
film
because
they
get
it
and
they
are
answering
a
call
that
many
citizens
are
out
here,
marching
for
and
many
citizens
are
hurting
for,
and
that
is
equality
and
fairness.
C
Fundamentally,
black
communities
want
public
safety,
we
don't
want
racial
profiling
and,
if
we're
going
to
end
that
practice,
we
know
we
can't
rely
on
the
police.
We
have
to
legislate
it.
So
thank
you
so
much
councilman
thomas
for
giving
me
an
opportunity
to
speak,
and
I
really
really
do.
I
can't
wait
to
see.
B
I'm
sorry,
councilmember
kendrick
brooks
is
here
today:
council,
member
catherine
gilmore,
richardson,
councilmember,
curtis
jones,
councilmember,
maria
quinoa
sanchez,
council,
member,
chaotic
johnson,
councilmember
bobby
heenan,
councilmember,
helen
kim
and
councilmember
jamie
godzilla.
So
I
thank
all
my
colleagues
for
their
support
and
their
co-sponsorship
as
opposed
to
this
particular
legislation,
and
I
want
to
take
a
moment
to
call
up
my
good
friend
my
sister,
and
somebody
who
I
know
is
about
this
working
is
about
this
movement.
Councilmember.
D
D
This
bill
is
a
concrete
step
towards
a
decreasing
incidence
of
police
harassment
and
violence
toward
the
black
community
by
limiting
motor
vehicle
stops
to
serious
violations.
This
bill
will
lessen
the
frequency
of
negative
police
interactions
at
a
time
when
our
city
is
reeling
from
the
devastating
killing
of
one
of
our
community
members.
D
D
D
Despite
the
fact
that
minor
code
violations
are
given
out
very
fruitfully,
they
do
nothing
to
enhance
public
safety.
Instead,
they
criminalize
and
disproportionately
penalize
low-income
people
of
color.
We
need
to
ensure
that
officers
are
stopping
apart
if
there
are
an
imminent
risk
to
public
safety,
not
for
minor
code
violations.
D
D
B
Thank
you,
councilmember.
Thank
you.
Councilman
brooks
for
your
co-sponsorship,
your
support
and
your
unapologetic
advocacy
for
poor
people
with
people
of
color
here
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
Another
co-sponsor
to
the
builder
another
one
of
my
colleagues
and
city
council,
council
member
catherine
gilmore.
E
Richardson
I'd
like
to
thank
my
colleague
and
councilmember
isaiah
thomas
for
offering
this
legislation.
I
am
proud
to
be
a
co-sponsor
of
this
organization
to
address
the
issue
of
bonding
my
blessing
as
a
black
woman
as
a
mother
of
a
black
boy
and
the
right
to
a
black
man.
Listening
to
me
and
I'm
going
to
tell
people
to
tell
a
story
that
I
thought
about
that.
My
colleagues
told
me
about
this.
E
E
In
these
systems
that
we've
been
dealing
with
for
so
long,
the
time
is
now
and
I'm
going
to
thank
my
colleague,
councilmember
isaiah
thomas
and
we
are
using
this
legislation
so
that
we
can
address
one
of
the
most
important
issues
around
police
reform
and
this
time.
So
I
look
forward
to
the
important
work
we
want
to
do
to
ensure
the
traffic
of
this
legislation
and
to
make
sure
that
we
see
change
on
this
street.
Thank
you
so
much.
B
Every
once
in
a
while,
as
legislators,
come
across
an
issue
that
becomes
personal
to
us,
the
story
that
council
member
kathleen
gilmore
richardson
just
told
about
her
husband,
it's
the
narrative
that
so
many
young
black
men
have
growing
up
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
We
become
immune
to
what
it
means
to
get
pulled
over.
We
begin
to
think
it's
a
part
of
our
normal
culture
in
our
normal
life.
B
I
shared
that
I
had
this
morning
yesterday
morning
that
talked
about
some
of
my
personal
experiences
as
it
relates
to
being
pulled
over
by
police.
So
you
can
tell
this
issue
is
personal.
For
me.
I
know
what
it
means
to
go
shop
for
a
car
and
say
I
want
to
go,
buy
a
car
that
gets
me
pulled
over
less
as
soon
as
council
member
gilmore
richardson
said
he
was
driving
an
apollo.
I
knew
how
that
story
was
going
to
end
cause.
B
We
got
a
list
of
cars
that
we
know
if
you
own,
that
particular
type
of
car
you're,
more
likely
to
get
pulled
over,
they
may
shift
from
generation
to
generation,
I'm
not
as
young
as
I
used
to
be.
So
I
don't
know
what
their
car
is
as
of
today,
but
I
bet
you:
if
you
talk
to
young
people
in
the
city
of
philadelphia,
they
don't
have
their
version
of
the
impala.
B
For
us
it
was
the
bonneville
growing
up,
and
so
with
that
being
said,
I
want
to
introduce
somebody
else
who
I
know
this
issue
is
100
personal
too,
because
he
too
born
and
raised
in
the
city
of
philadelphia
and
recognized
that
we
need
to
change
how
our
communities
are
police.
He
is
a
leader
in
a
labor
movement
but
more
important,
a
leader
in
the
black
community
here
in
the
city
of
philadelphia
president
chris
woods
of
1199.
A
A
Again
afternoon,
name
is
chris
woods
and
I'm
the
president
of
the
national
union
of
hospital
and
educated
employees,
district
1199
city.
Thank
you
to
council
member
isaiah
thomas
for
sponsoring
this
legislation
and
inviting
district
1199c
to
participate.
In
today's
event,
district
1199c
is
one
of
the
largest
unions
in
the
city
of
philadelphia
representing
over
13
000
men
and
women
across
the
city
of
philadelphia
has
concentrated
in
hospitals
and
health
care
facilities.
A
A
This
is
why
district
1199
supports
this
legislation
and
for
us,
as
black
job
men
in
the
city
of
philadelphia,
a
traffic
stop
between
us
and
the
police
could
be
life
and
death.
So
I
want
to
make
sure
I
definitely
say
that
here
today
and
I
want
to
say
that
again,
that
as
a
young
black
male
in
the
city
of
philadelphia,
a
traffic
stop
with
the
police
could
be
life
and
death
for
us.
A
B
So
before
I
open
it
up
for
a
question
and
answer,
I
want
to
take
a
moment
to
pass
life
to
somebody
who
is
crucial.
Somebody
who
is
important
as
it
relates
to
the
work
of
changing
how
communities
are
police
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
I
know
I
get
to
stand
here
and
wear
the
suit
here.
Council
pick
whatever
it
is
and
go
right
up
to
my
office
and
take
a
lot
of
credit
for
some
of
the
work.
That's
being
done.
B
But
I'm
not
naive,
I'm
an
elected
official
who
represent
the
people.
This
isn't
about
me.
My
job
is
to
vote
for
pass
laws
and
allocate
resources
as
reflective
of
what
the
people
of
philadelphia
want
and
if
I
stood
here
today
and
told
you
that
these
were
my
ideas
and
it
was
me
and
I'm
the
only
one-
that's
doing
this
I'd
be
lying
to
you
to
be
honest
with
you
when
I
first
got
sworn
in
in
january,
and
I
wanted
to
hit
the
ground
running
as
it
related
to
education
and
a
couple
other
things.
B
You
cannot
begin
to
have
a
serious
conversation
in
this
city
without
talking
to
the
people,
the
people
who
are
impacted
by
this
issue,
the
people
who
are
passionate
about
this
issue
and
the
people
who
are
critical
thinkers
that
want
to
put
us
in
a
position
to
address
this
issue.
So
we
don't
have
to
revisit
this
again.
My
son
is
eight
by
the
time
my
son
is
my
age.
Hopefully
he
won't
be
at
city
council,
but
hopefully,
whatever
work
he's
doing,
he
doesn't
go
back
and
have
to
revisit
the
problems
of
his
father.
B
We
are
committed
to
addressing
the
policing
issue
in
the
city
of
philadelphia
and
we
will
not
stop
until
it's
done
and
one
of
the
people
who
are
the
leader
one
of
the
leaders
of
that
movement.
Somebody
who
I
look
up
to
is
somebody
who's,
also
been
very
instrumental
in
civilian
oversight
and
what
that
will
look
like.
I
call
reverend
tyler,
I
say
martin.
What
should
we
do
with
civilian.
F
Oversight,
let
me
first
of
all
thank
councilman.
Isaiah
thomas
people
say
a
lot
of
things
when
they're
running
for
office,
but
when
they
get
in
that's
another
thing,
I
want
to
thank
him
for
his
determination
and
bringing
immediate
reform
and
the
co-sponsors
of
this
bill
as
well.
I'm
glad
to
see
council
member
brooks
and
councilmember
gilmore
richardson,
both
of
whom,
like
councilman
council
member
thomas,
are
all
doing
an
amazing
job
around
the
issue
of
police
accountability.
F
So
before
I
say
what
I
want
to
say,
I
was
given
a
talking
point
from
the
chief
public
defender
who
reminded
me
that
in
one
year's
time
these
stops
amount
to
about
8.5
years
worth
of
work.
Is
that
right
so
and
they
don't
yield
much,
that's
the
key
and
they
also
opened
us
up
to
deadly
encounters,
which
is
even
more
important.
F
Monday
night,
while
I
was
testifying
for
the
public
safety
committee
on
oversight,
my
16
year
old
daughter
walked
in
the
house
to
tell
me
dad
it
was
just
a
shooting
in
west
philadelphia,
it's
on
instagram,
the
black
man
was
shot
and
killed
by
the
police.
I
look
forward
on
the
news.
It
wasn't
on
the
news,
but
it
was
sure
enough.
F
F
F
F
F
Now,
most
of
the
time
when
I
see
somebody
with
their
headlights
not
on,
I
was
trained
to
drive
in
school
to
just
flash
my
lights
at
I'm
them
to
turn
my
lights
off
and
back
on.
So
they'd
know
why
in
the
world,
would
police
officers
stop
somebody
search
their
vehicle
want
to
get
them
out
of
the
car
and
ultimately
kill
them?
F
We
may
not
be
able
to
change
the
hearts
and
minds
of
everybody
in
uniform,
but
we
can
certainly
put
policies
and
standards
in
place
to
protect
the
people
in
this
city
until
the
hearts
and
minds
are
changed.
So
thank
you.
Powerlift
free
absolutely
supports
this
and
we
pray
that
this
will
save
lives
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
B
Thank
you
very
tyler,
and
thank
you
to
everybody.
That's
a
part
of
the
team.
Over
at
power,
we
appreciate
you
before
I
go
to
closing
the
parks.
I'll
take
a
minute
to
open
the
floor
up
any
questions.
I'm
sure
there
are
questions
about
the
bill,
so
I'll
take
a
minute
to
answer
any
questions
that
anybody
might
have.
B
Had
any
conversations
with
the
fraternal
order
of
police
or
commissioner
outlaw
at
this
point,
but
we
do
anticipate
having
a
conversation
with
the
administration
about
the
bill,
and
you
know
we
have
nine
co-sponsors
as
of
now
and
so
at
some
point
we
will
have
to
have
a
conversation
with
the
administration
about
this
legislation
and
the
implementation
of
this
legislation.
I
do
want
to
go
on
a
record
and
say
that
we
did
reach
out
to
folks
for
a
conversation.
B
We
can't
change
who
people
are?
We
can
see
whether
it's
conscious
or
subconscious
there's
something
about
young
black
men,
whereas,
though
we're
viewed
and
deemed
as
a
threat
there's
something
about
young
black
men
when
placed
in
the
same
position
of
some
of
our
counterparts
who
are
not
young
black
men,
the
outcome
turns
out
different.
B
B
This
huge
problem,
that's
plaguing
communities
of
color,
so
our
goal
here
today
is
just
to
take
one
small
step
that
we
hope
will
move
towards
improving
trust
to
police
and
communities
that
will
move
towards
putting
police
in
a
position
where
they
could
be
more
efficient
as
it
relates
to
their
job.
This
isn't
just
about
the
young
black
man
who
gets
stopped.
B
This
is
about
putting
police
in
a
position
to
focus
on
crime
focus
on
sovereign
crime.
We
have
a
homicide
issue
in
the
city
of
philadelphia
and
I
know
everyone
is
going
to
talk
about
the
different
factors
that
relates
to
that
homicide
issue.
The
one
thing
we
can't
deny
is
that
we
have
to
improve
our
arrest
rate
when
a
homicide
happens
and
so
we're
spending
all
this
money
on
policing
all
this
money
on
public
safety.
B
But
yet,
like
reverend
mark
said,
simple
traffic
stops
often
end
up
with
people
who
look
like
me,
and
council
member
gilbert
richardson's
husband
dead,
and
if
we're
going
to
put
ourselves
in
a
position
where
we're
really
going
to
be
serious
and
be
honest
and
try
to
address
this
issue,
we're
going
to
have
to
ask
for
radical
change
and
this
legislation
is
radical
change.
Thank
you
everybody
for
being
here
today
and
thank
you
to
everybody.