BURRIS LEOS Discount Burris was raised by both DeWitt, a tool room mechanic, and Imogene, his mother. Their shared work ethic inspired his desire to serve others; accounting became one of his professions before eventually switching over to law to improve his neighborhood. While fighting for police accountability during the early 2000s led to reforms such as collecting racial data on stops and investigating officer-involved shootings.
At Oakland Police Department in 2000, his greatest victory was working alongside federal monitors to institute reform after an off-the-books unit planted drugs and made false arrests. Meeting at least once monthly with both departments and monitors without pay he served as “proof that he wasn’t just doing this for money”, according to one former colleague.
Burris still works closely with police officers in small towns where one officer may cover an expansive area and may be the only person available to respond to emergency calls. His team assists these officers in developing the framework that allows tribal and state law enforcement agencies to collaborate without violating tribal sovereignty; additionally they assist communities in creating cross-deputization agreements between their police force and those from neighboring Pottawatomie County as backup and support – such arrangements being safer both for themselves and the communities, Burris says.