Former NYPD detective: "It's time to reform policing"
Former New York City police detective Marq Claxton is now director of the Black Law Enforcement Alliance. Claxton spoke with "CBS Evening News" about why he thinks brutal police shootings continue to happen.
"We failed to really learn lessons from history," Claxton said. "It's not just about these individual two cases now, it's about the history, a pattern of cases that have happened over the last several decades."
Claxton told CBS News to see real change, part of police culture needs to change, and that the role race has played in policing cannot be ignored. "We can no longer operate under this militarized, quota-driven, heavy-handed enforcement model."
"It's time to reform policing and incorporate some really serious public safety, public service, community-based models," he continued.
Claxton also weighed in on how police officers feel about their public perception, saying there is an expectation within the law enforcement community that requires "the outside appearance that we're all one, that we all believe the same thing."
"There are thousands of police officers across this country who are desperately hoping for comprehensive reform."
To hear what else Claxton had to say, watch the video above.