Justice Served NC wants a 'place at the table'

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Supporters of Justice Served NC, Inc. are planning to show up at the Raleigh City Council meeting Tuesday asking for police oversight.

Diana Powell, Executive Director of Justice Served NC, said the group will gather before the meeting with lawn chairs to represent the group wanting a "place at the table" of the Raleigh City Council.

She said they're asking the city council for a citizens advisory review board.

"We want to be able to review some of the charges or files, not only just for the person that may be in charge but officers and especially with mental illness in the recent cases that we have seen lately," Powell said. "Was everything done by policy and procedure? Was it done correctly?"

Powell said they want to see law enforcement accountability and mental illness training for police officers. She also said they want to get rid of what they see as over-policing in the poor community and excessive use of force.

"I can look at excessive use of force and know that that was over the top," she said, referring to the recent arrests of Kyron Hinton and Frederick Hall.

They also want to see a reduction in the number of school resource officers.

"There is a difference when they are targeting the black and brown community because they are more criminalized through the SROs," Powell said. "We have seen the high rise of our black students being incarcerated going through the criminal justice system. That's school-to-prison pipeline."

Spokespeople for the City of Raleigh and Raleigh Police Department said no one would address this issue on camera Tuesday and they don't have statements.

The Justice Served NC group is gathering with chairs outside the City Council meeting location at 5 p.m.

They'll have speakers starting at 6 p.m. and then go into the city council meeting, which starts at 7 p.m.

The group is on the agenda for tonight's meeting.