John,

It’s obvious that we need major criminal justice reform, and we need it now. Today, I’m committing to implementing these policies to make sure every man, woman, and child in TX-24 has truly equal access to justice.

While this list is not exhaustive, these are among my top reform priorities. I pledge to support these policies and similar legislation to ensure that both our law enforcement and criminal justice systems protect and serve the public equally and safely. I’m looking forward to supporting, co-sponsoring and voting in favor of progressive legislation that will establish the much-needed changes in our system.

Law Enforcement Reform:

1. Ban chokeholds and strangleholds as defense tactics at the federal level.


2. Prevent the militarization of the police by limiting the Federal Government's 1033 Program to end providing military-grade weapons, tactical armored vehicles and aircraft to police departments.


3. Create a federal standard program emphasizing policing techniques for de-escalation, non-lethal force and culturally competent policing.


4. Make access to federal funds dependent on the implementation of the training throughout the local police departments.


5. Incentivize police departments to conduct regular training and re-certification of officers.


6. Increase funding to departments that employ mental health experts, social workers and emergency medical technicians in order to encourage a more outreach-focused and rehabilitative system.


7. Require police departments that receive federal funding to publish records of police misconduct.


8. Require an independent police conduct review board that has the authority to inquire and resolve misconduct complaints, civil or criminal, against the police and refer findings to the federal authorities for further investigation.


9. End for-profit policing by encouraging a proportional ticketing system.

1. End the criminalization of poverty by eliminating the cash bail system and abolishing mandatory minimum sentencing.


2. Eradicate the profiting of incarceration by eliminating the use of federal private prisons.


3. Prevent the inhumane treatment of individuals in our prison system and ensure proper health conditions for offenders.


4. Expand state funding for public defenders throughout the nation, allowing each American effective defense and guaranteeing a stronger 6th Amendment right for all.


5. Expand access to treatment for mental health and substance abuse that offers a pathway to rehabilitation instead of incarceration.


6. End the school-to-prison-pipeline by requiring schools that receive federal funding to undergo reforms that eliminate police officers as disciplinary agents, utilize evidence-based disciplinary practices, and provide implicit bias training for teachers.

Together we can lead the fight for change,

Kim Olson, Col, USAF, ret.