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Seattle forum focuses on I-940 and Million Worker March

Different civil rights groups gathered at the Garfield Community Center in Seattle's Central District to talk about 2004's Million Worker March and where social issues stand in the state and country today.

Different civil rights groups gathered at the Garfield Community Center in Seattle's Central District to talk about 2004's Million Worker March and where social issues stand in the state and country today.

"What's going on today is a movement to bring people together, to bring organizations together and the focus is a town hall meeting to talk about where do we need to go from here," said Gabriel Prawl, the president of the Seattle chapter of A. Phillip Randolph Institute and vice president of ILWU Local 19.

The Million Worker March was a pro-workers' rights rally in Washington D.C. in October 2004. This Saturday's forum talked about worker's issues then, compared to now.

Prawl said other issues at the top of Saturday's agenda included gentrification in communities, attacks on the labor movement, and the use of deadly police force on unarmed citizens.

"There's got to be something in place to change that," said Prawl about deadly force.

That issue prompted a discussion of ballot initiative 940, as well.

In August, it was announced that I-940 will appear on the November ballot. The initiative, known as the law enforcement training and community safety act, is aimed at reducing the use of deadly force in policing through training and stricter standards of when such force is justifiable.

If it's passed, it would require law enforcement to be trained in de-escalation tactics, mental health, and first aid. It would also require law enforcement to administer first aid on scene.

The initiative would require an independent investigation into the use of deadly force, on top of creating the new standards, mapping out when deadly force would be permissible.

De-escalate Washington is the engine behind I-940 that created the measure.

In a statement to KING 5, Monisha Harrell of Equal Rights Washington and De-escalate Washington campaign co-chair said:

"Initiative 940 will help save lives by providing all law enforcement officers with better de-escalation training, for which there is currently no mandatory requirement. It will also provide officers with enhanced mental health training, so they are better able to respond to situations with someone experiencing a crisis."

Harrell went on to say that I-940 is an opportunity to "save lives and make our families, communities, and police safer."

The group, along with Prawl hopes that it passes.

"Maybe we can make a better world for us and our grandkids and those coming behind us," said Prawl.

There is a movement attempting to stop the passage of I-940. Coalition for a Safer WA would not like to see it passed come Novemeber. According to its website, the group considers the initiative "poorly written and misguided" and that it "does not make our communities safer" just "only lowers the standard to prosecute police officers."

Washington voters will decide I-940 on November 6.

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