Boldin Among Players Pressing for Criminal Justice Fix

Former Detroit Lion Anquan Boldin and other pro football players pushed lawmakers to revive criminal justice reform legislation that has stalled in Congress at a Thursday forum on “building trust between communities and police.” Boldin, a free-agent wide receiver who played last year for the Lions, invoked the death of his cousin, Corey Jones, who was killed a year and a half ago by a police officer in Florida while he was waiting on a highway for roadside assistance. Boldin said the officer was in plain clothes and arrived at the scene in a van that did not have any police markings. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, expressed her fears about current relations. “Two-thirds of young African-Americans and four in 10 Hispanics say they or someone have experienced violence or harassment at the hands of police,” Lawrence said. “I’m a mother of a son, and did I have that conversation with him about how to conduct himself (with police)? I had that fear raising my son.”