Orange County

Rep. Eskamani marches with protesters, gathers policy ideas for law enforcement

ORLANDO, Fla. — In the crowd of protesters against police brutality, you’ll find people who are in pain, people who are passionate and even some prominent people.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani walked alongside community members Tuesday, rallying for a change.

“I’m just honored to be part of this work” she said. “As a lawmaker, we are uniquely positioned to lift up others and to make sure that folks that may have been typically ignored by law enforcement, or never knew where to go or seek change --we can be the liaison for that.”

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While walking, she gathered ideas from community members, and wrote policy ideas from local law enforcement.

“We compiled all of that, created this product of collaborative governance and we emailed it to both the sheriff and the chief today,” Eskamani said.

That list encompasses a lot of what protesters are chanting for: New efforts to prevent the use of force, fewer military-style weapons, racial-bias training, de-escalation practices, police oversight boards, community programs and much more including one that several people spoke about.

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“This was very common: Don't criminalize our communities that are low income or our communities of color,” Eskamani said.

She said there are many conversations about current procedures and practices leaders must have.

“You can’t keep relying on the traditional spokespeople or influencers to have those conversations, you got to bring in people that are out here right now,” Eskamani said.

That may take time, she said. But she’s hopeful the demonstrations will make a difference.

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“We have to make sure that this energy translates to policy changes,” Eskamani said.

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.