Asked about police killings of African Americans and the conflict of interest between prosecutors and police, who often work closely together, Sanders declared that the Department of Justice should investigate every single civilian death that happens in police custody. Sanders has been criticized for being distant about issues of racial justice throughout the campaign, and this is one of the boldest statements he’s made on that front. Whether this is realistic is another question. The Vermont Senator also said that police should “look like the communities they serve in their diversity.”
Clinton, meanwhile, responded by saying “systemic racism in our criminal justice system and that requires a very clear agenda for retraining police officers, looking at ways to end racial profiling, finding more ways to really bring the disparities that stalk our country into high relief. One out of three African American men may well end up going to prison. That’s the statistic.”