Buttigieg attends NAACP convention, weighs in on racial issues

DETROIT, Mich. – Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday spoke at the NAACP Presidential Forum in Detroit with ten other democratic presidential hopefuls.

The Mayor discussed how he would address tensions with police across America and also issues surrounding black communities if he was elected president.

“As President I am determined to have a Department of Justice that supports cities doing the right thing and compels the police department to do the right thing,” Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg went on to say that there needs to be reform in the country’s criminal justice system, such as replacing the racist structure with a neutral one.

“When it comes to criminal justice, we need to cut, and we can do this without crime going up, we need to cut incarceration by 50 percent,” Buttigieg added. “Just because a lot of the incarcerations happen at the state level doesn’t mean the federal government can’t lean on this.”

Buttigieg also said that promoting diversity would be a priority for him in hiring his campaign staff.

Buttigieg will take part in the second round of democratic debates that will also take place in Detroit on July 30 and 31.