Attorney General Josh Stein and North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls, co-chairs of the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, today released the following statement in response to the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association’s Report on Law Enforcement Professionalism.

“We are encouraged to see the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association’s embrace of a number of commonsense reforms to improve law enforcement in our state. Specifically, we appreciate the Sheriffs’ Association’s recommendation to require a duty to intervene for officers, to ban the use of chokeholds, and to encourage additional mental health screenings for officers.

“These recommendations and others mirror some of the work of the Task Force on Racial Equity in Criminal Justice that we are co-chairing. We look forward to continuing to work alongside law enforcement and other policymakers to make North Carolina safer for all North Carolinians.”

About the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice

Gov. Roy Cooper established the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice in June 2020 to recommend solutions to stop discriminatory law enforcement and criminal justice practices and hold public safety officers accountable. Attorney General Josh Stein and North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls are co-chairs of the task force. A full list of task force members is available here. Sign up to stay updated on the task force’s work here.