“LIVING IN THE DICHOTOMY!”

In honor of National Police Enforcement Week, I recognize Cariol Horne of Cariol’s Law. A resolution voted in by the Buffalo Common Council (8-1) on September 29, 2020, was signed into law by Mayor Byron Brown 30 days later. 

I had the privilege to witness the votes as they came in. To state that the energy in her home was at an all-time high as the votes came in is a gross understatement. As family and close friends gathered around a computer in her East Side home – listening and rooting as one elected official after another stated their reason for the resolution… then a short executive session. The interruption brought questions to everyone in the room, and tensions were as high as they may have been in that session. Chris Scanlon voted against this resolution and did not want the law to recognize the Author – “Cariol.” But with 8 Yays, the Law was secured, regardless of the Mayor’s eventual position, whose signature was a mere formality. The People’s Elected Representatives had spoken.

Cariol’s Law requires law enforcement officials to intervene in excessive and sometimes deadly force situations. But it’s more than a ‘duty to intervene in those police departments across the United States might have. She’s been to many cities across the country, speaking on her experience and how this law will help prevent deaths in the future. The six sections are:

1: Duty to Intervene when Officers Pose Imminent Threat to Citizens

2: Accountability for Officers Neglecting to Intervene

3: Protection for Officers who Intervene

4: Accountability for Falsifying Reports

5: Impacts Policy Regarding Termination and Department Funding is

6: Restorative Justice for Retaliation of Whistleblowers.

Most people in Buffalo have heard of Cariol; they have seen her on TV doing interviews about the life she saved. If not for her intervention, an interaction that may have cost Neil Mack’s life! Neal Mack said, because of Cariol Horne – “I Can Breathe Now.” 

But stepping in and doing the right thing came with a price. A price she doesn’t want other good law enforcement officers to have to pay. This experience cost her livelihood and lifestyle. And not just for hers but for the five children she was raising. Living in the Dichotomy of Doing the Right Thing & Repeatedly Witnessing the Wrong was no longer an option. This catapulted her into her new mission in life as a Community Activist.

She has received awards in major cities in the past two years. She’s making it known that there is a way to end police brutality. These cities want similar laws/amendments to police contracts to adopt some or all the earlier components. 

Senator James Sanders, NY-D, has proposed Bill S1619A. The community is being asked to write, call, and email your elected officials to urge them to make Cariol’s Law a reality for Our ENTIRE State.

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