Members and guests of the League of Women Voters of Kittitas County (LWVKC) gathered on Nov. 17 to listen to Charles Reasons, a professor of Law and Justice at CWU, who discussed matters related to police forces. 

Reasons, who has been known to spend most of his 30-year career combating civil issues and dedicating his life to social change and activism, spoke for an hour about police and race related issues. The topics included crime statistics, police related shootings, changes in policing and more.

Reasons, a self-proclaimed supporter of both Black Lives Matter and the police, stated why it was so important to talk about these issues. 

“If we want to maintain a democratic civil society, we have to address the main issues of our society,” Reasons said. “Race and racism have been one for centuries, particularly with the issue of police reform. It has a long and unfortunate negative history and it’s something to address, particularly with [issues regarding] excessive force.”

Present members of the LWVKC included President Delores Irwin, Treasurer Aimée Quinn and Secretary Nancy Wieking. Similar meetings are scheduled to take place in the future, according to President Irwin. 

“This is probably one of the first forums we’re going to do on law enforcement,” Irwin said. “This instance was just to start the occasion. We just think the conversation needs to be made and people need to understand.”