Street Czar, Andre Taylor hired as “alternative to police” consultant for Seattle

Seattle is paying an admittedly reformed ex-pimp $150,000 a year to act as the city’s “street czar” and offer “alternatives to policing” in the riot embattle City known for its No go Zone and Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, Fox reported.

He has been contracted to provide. “expertise and support services in de-escalation, community engagement, and alternatives to policing, according to publicola.

It is Andre Taylor, who reportedly has changed his life in recent years and has become an activist against police violence after his brother Che was killed by police.

“Me, as a Black man has the right to be paid for my genius or for whatever my organization can provide, Black people as a whole have not been in a place to be compensated for their genius or their work for a very, very long time…….. A street czar is a person who has a particular genius in a particular area. I know the term ‘street czar’ (a takeoff of Obama’s Czar phenomenon) is quite provocative,” Taylor said, with KOMO news reporting.

Well, that is not exactly true considering he earned $100K for previous consulting with the City when he sponsored a speaker series that was called “Conversations with the Streets.”

After his brother was killed by a police officer and he became an activist for police reform, one of his initiatives was incorporated into I-940 law which was passed.

Here is how the law reads:

“The intent of the people in enacting this act is to make our communities safer. This is accomplished by requiring law enforcement officers to obtain violence de-escalation and mental health training, so that officers will have greater skills to resolve conflicts without the use of physical or deadly force. Law enforcement officers will receive first aid training and be required to render first aid, which will save lives and be a positive point of contact between law enforcement officers and community members to increase trust and reduce conflicts. Finally, the initiative adopts a “good faith” standard for officer criminal liability in those exceptional circumstances where deadly force is used, so that officers using deadly force in carrying out their duties in good faith will not face prosecution.”

"Beginning one year after the effective date of this section,
all law enforcement officers in the state of Washington must receive
violence de-escalation training. Law enforcement officers beginning
employment after the effective date of this section must
successfully complete such training within the first fifteen months
of employment. The commission shall set the date by which other law
enforcement officers must successfully complete such training.

    (2) All law enforcement officers shall periodically receive
continuing violence de-escalation training to practice their skills,
update their knowledge and training, and learn about new legal
requirements and violence de-escalation strategies......

Taylor helped organize protest after the George Floyd deaths.

His organization has the following mission:

Not This Time!  is a community organization focused on reducing fatal police shootings, changing the laws that govern the use of force, and rebuilding trust between our communities and the police who are sworn to protect and serve us. We were founded in February, 2016, and incorporated as a non-profit organization in Washington state later that year.

Mission:
To educate the community, empower them to change policy and stand with the families impacted by police violence. He does encourage non violent protestors.

According to the website, Not This Time works with a large and diverse coalition of Native Tribes, Black Churches, Asian Pacific Islander groups, Latino Organizations, and people with disabilities to reform policing in Washington State. It has garnered the support of U.S. Senator Patty Murray, U.S. Congressman Adam Smith, and many others working to create more just laws in Seattle, King County, and Washington State. Organizational allies include the Seattle Community Police Commission, the Black Law Enforcement Association of Washington, the King County Office of Law Enforcement Oversight, and the Washington Joint Task Force on the Deadly Use of Force in Community Policing.