Black Lives Matter LA Launches Police Violence Database
BOYLE HEIGHTS (CBSLA) — Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles Wednesday announced the launch of its police violence database.
The group hosted a socially-distant event in Boyle Heights for the launch of the project with friends and family members of those who have been affected by police violence.
BLM-LA said the database would track incidents in Los Angeles County from 2013 to present, including incidents from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, the L.A. Police Department and others under the purview of L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey.
"We're seeking to meet that violence with accountability, with a reimagining of what public safety is and with, really kind of, safeguards for the whole of the community," Melina Abdullah, co-founder of BLM-LA said.
The database was inspired by the reporting and research of anti-lynching activist and journalist Ida B. Wells who published "The Red Record" in 1895.
Information included in the database was collected during a two-year period of research that included determination letters published by the D.A.'s office, websites that track police violence and local news articles.