Russell Simmons Lays Out ‘Hip Hop Community Demands’ to Police Departments Nationwide

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Photo Credit: Coco Curranski / CC by 2.0

Def Jam co-founder and entrepreneur Russell Simmons has issued a demand to police departments and officers on behalf of the “hip hop community.”

Russell Simmons recently published the fiery message on Instagram, along with a lengthy caption that reads, in part: “We can all agree we want police accountability.”

Moreover, the Brooklyn native presumably voiced his opinion from Bali, Indonesia, where he relocated to about two years back, after more than ten women came forward with sexual harassment and/or assault allegations against him. Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

In terms of the demands themselves, Simmons relayed a seven-point list of ways he believes police-community relations can be improved. Several of the reform-minded requests, including “police accountability” and “use of force trainings,” are relatively concise.

Others, however, are more in-depth. The list’s second demand, for instance, states: “Prosecutors who are not beholden to the police unions to indict, prosecute and convict dirty cops.”

Additionally, Simmons’ fourth demand calls for: “A system and legal process where police are responsible for the errors of their partners; after-all [sic] they are accomplices to the crimes that they allow their partners to commit.”

At its close, the Instagram post quotes 20th century poet and Civil Rights activist Audre Lorde.

Even while living abroad, Simmons has made a habit of weighing in on stateside events, issues, and politics. The police department demands message is one of several posts that the 62-year-old has published in the last few days alone.

Earlier this year, Digital Music News was first to report that HBO had picked up the rights to On the Record, a documentary that explores some of the sexual-assault allegations made against Simmons, after Oprah Winfrey walked away as executive producer.

The film became available for at-home viewing on Wednesday, May 27th, releasing alongside HBO’s newest streaming service, HBO Max.