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Va’Shun Turner

Candidate for City Treasurer

Responses to Wilmington Police Reform Survey

Will you vote to make all police disciplinary records public, and push for changes in state law necessary to make that possible?

Yes

Will you vote for an ordinance prohibiting Wilmington police from engaging in civil asset forfeiture?

Yes

Will you vote for Wilmington police to collect and publish data, including by race, on all pedestrian and traffic stops they conduct, including the reason for the stop?

Yes this would help the public know if any one race or demographic is being targeted.

Will you vote in favor of periodic psychological evaluations of Wilmington police officers? Will you vote for funds to mental health support for officers?

Yes we need to know if our officers are are fit to be serving our communities. 

Will you vote for issuing all Wilmington Police officers body cameras?

Yes I was one of the ORIGINAL sponsor of the body cameras. 

Since police officers are public servants, do you believe footage from arrest and police misconduct should be made public record?

Yes

If elected would you create and/or vote yes on an ordinance to end “no knock warrants”?

Yes

Will you vote in favor of ending Operation Safe Streets, which utilizes aggressive policing tactics to harass Wilmington families and community members?

Yes

Will you vote in favor of a community review board that has the power to investigate incidents and complaints, audit policy compliance, has hiring and firing authority, and make records and hearings public to the greatest extent possible?

I have thrown the idea around about having a Community court that would have similar responsibilities.

Will you require and fund Wilmington Police to operate a pre-arrest diversion program for people with substance abuse issues (a model similar to New Castle County’s Hero Help)?

Yes

Communities of color in Wilmington have borne the brunt of aggressive policing and war on crime policies for decades. Those communities also bear the scars of decades of discrimination in housing, education, and access to economic opportunity. What will you do as a Council member, Mayor, or treasurer to repair that harm?

In my past 4 years I have helped 47 people go from a renter to a homeowner. We had to first help them to understand that owning was cheaper than renting. We also had to help them with a home warranty that could ease their concerns of when something breaks down. One of my goals are to help our youth with understanding the concept of business. When I looked in our community in the past 4 years I seen a lot of our youth selling water. This made me extremely happy however it also made me want to put together a program that could assist them in learning the importance of saving and counting inventory. This would help them to be able to understand what it takes to run a sustainable business.