In the five years since the death of George Floyd, efforts to reform Salt Lake City’s approach to policing have effected some change. But with state politicians cracking down on DEI initiatives and city control, the future of policing in Utah’s capital is now facing different pressures.
Derek Chauvin, a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, murdered Floyd, a Black man, on May 25, 2020 after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes. Bystanders filmed the killing, sparking a nationwide protest movement against police violence and conversations about what makes effective policing.
That movement also reached Utah. After days of protests in Salt Lake City, city officials created the Racial Equity in Policing Commission a few weeks later. The commission is made up of community members from a wide range of backgrounds. Their job is to examine the policies, budget and culture of the police department and make recommendations to city and department leadership.
Commission vice-chair Lisia Satini saw Floyd’s death as a trigger that caused some Utahns’ suppressed frustrations to bubble over.
“From my perspective, I saw a community that was hurt,” she said. “Many community members came forward to express that, some not so in a healthy way, and some in a healthy way.”
On May 30, more than 1,000 people marched through the streets of Salt Lake City to protest police violence. What started peacefully soon escalated. Over several days of unrest, protesters overturned a police squad car, damaged other police vehicles and engaged in fights with police and other protestors. One of the most infamous incidents came when a man who was upset with the protests drove his car into a crowd and then brandished a hunting bow before he was attacked and subdued by protestors.
In response, then-Gov. Gary Herbert declared a state of emergency and activated the Utah National Guard, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall enacted a weeklong curfew between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. and the protests were widely criticized by Utah politicians — even some who supported the protests but felt the violence undermined the message. Dozens of people were arrested.
The Racial Equity in Policing Commission was a forward-looking way to respond to the demands of the movement.
Michelle Mooney has been the commission’s liaison between its members, the city and police department since 2022. She said the catalyst for the commission was not just the unrest in Salt Lake City, but how the wider national conversation on policing was evolving as well.
“At that time, many communities across the nation wanted to defund the police,” she said. “As we know, we need the police, it's just, how can it become more of a community-oriented, or community-based policing?”
At the time of its creation, Mendenhall said it was her hope that the end result of the commission’s work would be “real, positive change to the way our police department functions in the community.”
The commission released their first report about a year after Floyd’s death in June 2021. It included practical recommendations like more police body cameras, but one of the biggest changes it pushed for was in the hiring and training of police officers.
Commissioners wanted to see community-based trainers of color be part of the training police officers get, as well as requiring new recruits to learn the history of the diverse communities in Salt Lake City.
According to the commission’s most recent report covering 2023, the department has implemented over 75% of the commission’s initial recommendations — including more body cameras and changes to recruiting and training.
Satini joined the commission in 2022. She said she was inspired to get involved after attending an early community listening session.
“I thought that was a great platform to receive community feedback for the police department,” she said. “When I did join the commission, that's when I understood the importance of making those policy recommendations to support all the good work that the police department was already doing.”
When it comes to substantive changes she would still like to see implemented in Salt Lake City, Satini points to working with the police department to develop a voluntary, anonymous survey for officers.
“It's not something we're mandating, but just checking in to see if there's any gaps that we may be missing,” she said. “Sometimes, you know, folks may feel like they're being targeted for some reason.”
The commission last met in January, but as Utah moves to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the future of the commission could be in flux.
While there have been no actions by the Legislature that specifically target the commission, a 2024 state law curtails DEI policies in publicly funded schools and governments.
And even with a growing police budget and continued efforts to bolster policing in the city, state lawmakers in the GOP-controlled legislature passed a law this year that requires the city to partner with state agencies on public safety issues.
Mooney said Salt Lake City remains committed to the founding principles of the commission and ensuring that all residents and visitors “feel seen, heard and served.”
“While we are reviewing the potential impacts of new legislation, no final decisions have been made about changes to the Racial Equity in Policing Commission,” she said. “Conversations are ongoing, and any updates will be guided by legal compliance and community values.”
Facing a future of uncertainty, Satini said the work to improve community policing in Salt Lake City will never truly be done. In her experience, the police department has been receptive to feedback and she looks forward to working with the city’s new police chief, Brian Redd, to continue the work.
“I think for me, [the future] would probably be the understanding of community, family and being able to know your police officers versus us against them,” she said. “It's having that interaction from both parties. I find that important.”
