As protests against police brutality continue across South Florida and around the world, Broward County Assistant State Attorney Jeffrey Chukwuma echoed the need for police reform in an Instagram post last week.
“We need justice,” Chukwuma said in the video post. “But we need justice and change. Justice alone isn’t enough.”
“The problem is systemic which means that it’s the system that needs to change,” he continued. “The laws and structures preventing us from the same advantages and opportunities.”
In another post, he suggests eight points of police reform including that all officers wear body cameras when dealing with suspects, the need for independent police review boards, among other changes.
The posts are drawing criticism from the Fraternal Order of Police.
“He’s putting a standard on law enforcement which no one can live up to,” said George Woolley, director of the Fraternal Order of Police District 5. “He’s putting scrutiny on police officers which is at an unbelievably high level.”
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The FOP sent a letter to the Broward County State Attorney’s office asking for Chukwuma to be removed.
One part of the letter refers to the post as “inflammatory.”
“It’s showing a bias towards police officers,” Woolley said. “He’s still a government employee, and he should stand to the same reason we stand at.”
State Attorney Michael Satz sent a letter to the FOP in response on Thursday in support of Chukwuma.
The letter says in part: “Mr. Chukwuma works within the criminal justice system and has as much right as anyone to make suggestions and have them challenged.”
The letter also states that it’s important to “encourage honest discussions” and that Chukwuma is not biased against police and was speaking as an individual, not representing the office.
