Black/Brown Unity Coalition Peace Rally – Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO

We have seen and participated in marches against police brutality, but have we seen real, actionable progress here in Toledo? Help us push the Code of Conduct city-wide and county-wide as a vehicle to curb racial profiling, stop police misconduct before it happens, and improve police-community relations.

The Code of Conduct was signed in November 2017 by then-mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson and representatives from the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, the LiUNA Local 500, the Toledo chapter of the NAACP, the Toledo Community Coalition, the FLOC Homies Union, Latins United, the FLOC LOBOS, and the NW Ohio AFL-CIO, which is now known as the Black/Brown Unity Coalition. It is an agreement signed between the city of Toledo and its residents to better police-community relations.

We want to improve the relationship between the police force and the community to prevent unnecessary tragedies like that of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tamir Rice. We want to live in a place that is safe for all members of the community, whether they are citizens, migrant workers, or tourists.

So join us at the Black/Brown Unity Coalition Peace Rally on Saturday, October 3rd at 1:00 P.M. to begin implementation of the Code of Conduct city-wide. We know that this can make actionable change in our city and be a beacon of hope around the nation. It is already being considered to be duplicated in other cities such as Mansfield, OH. Help us push this document so that all of Toledo can benefit from it, so that all of Lucas County can benefit from it, and so that all of Ohio can benefit from it.

What have people said about the Code of Conduct?

“You believe just as I believe we can take care of our community in partnership with the police, not pointing fingers but holding hands to strive for solutions,” – Former Mayor Hicks-Hudson

“If you just get together when there’s a crisis, you’re just reacting to that crisis. We wanted to have something that everyone could point to that goes beyond the dialogue.” – Ray Wood, President of the Toledo Chapter NAACP

“This is the pledge we are making as community people to make the Toledo Police Department the best police department in the whole United States of America,” – Baldemar Velasquez, President of FLOC

“The code is a mechanism on the ground that citizens can engage in to question some of the relationships we have with the police, and that the youth will have a mechanism other than Internal Affairs to air their complaints.” – Baldemar Velasquez, President of FLOC

“What I’m hoping, is the biggest result is that when something is going down on street — on both sides — we take a breath and it’s ‘let’s talk’. We give them a voice. We treat everyone the same.” – George Kral, Toledo Chief of Police