​ACCORDING TO THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 

"DEADLY FORCE, POLICE USE OF FORCE IN THE UNTIED STATES" REPORT...​

​

• There is not one state that is required to follow international law and standards when it comes to the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers.

 

• None of the state statutes require that the use of lethal force may only be used as a last resort with non-violent and less harmful means to be tried first.

 

• Nine states and Washington, D.C. have no laws on use of lethal force by law enforcement officers: Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Ohio; South Carolina; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin, Wyoming; and the District of Columbia.

 

• Thirteen states have laws that do not comply even with the lower standards set by US constitutional law on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers: Alabama; California; Delaware; Florida; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; New Jersey; New York; Oregon; Rhode Island; South Dakota; and Vermont.

 

• No state limits the use of lethal force to only those situations where there is an imminent threat to life or serious injury to the officer or to others.

 

• Nine states allow for the use of lethal force to be used to suppress a riot: Arizona; Delaware; Idaho; Mississippi; Nebraska; Pennsylvania; South Dakota; Vermont and Washington.

 

• Only eight states require that a warning be given (where feasible) before lethal force is used, however no state meets the requirement for a warning under international standards: Connecticut; Florida, Indiana; Nevada; New Mexico; Tennessee; Utah and Washington.

 

• None of the states’ “use of lethal force” statutes include accountability mechanisms, including for example the requirement of obligatory reporting for the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officers.

 

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

​

• Congress and all 50 states should pass laws to limit the use of lethal force.

​

• The Department of Justice should collect and publish data on people killed by police.

​

• All cases of police use of lethal force should be independently, impartially and transparently investigated.

​

• The Department of Justice should conduct oversight of law enforcement agencies that have violated people’s human rights.

​

• They need to implement or amend policies and/or statutes pertaining to lethal force.

​

• They need to setup a committee or an entity to regulate the use of lethal force by law enforcement to implement accountability and policing mechanisms.

​

• They need to follow international law and standards.

​

• Make it mandatory that recruits are required to minor psychology and either an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree in criminal justice, criminology or law enforcement studies.

 

• Cut the pensions of the policy makers and public officials in charge of making sure they're implemented for the benefit of the people.

 

• All state legislatures should introduce or amend statutes that authorize the use of lethal force to ensure that they are in line with international standards by limiting the use of lethal force by law enforcement to those instances in which it is necessary to protect against the threat of death or serious injury. The statutes should be brought into compliance with the U.N. Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

 

• The president and Department of Justice (DOJ) should support the creation of a national commission (National Crime and Justice Task Force) to examine and produce recommendations on policing issues, including a nationwide review of police use of lethal force laws, policies, training and practices, which is urgently needed, as well as a thorough review and reform of oversight and accountability mechanisms. These laws, policies and practices must be brought in line with international standards.

 

• The Department of Justice must ensure the collection and publication of nationwide statistics on police shootings in accordance with the Violent Crime Control and Enforcement Act (1994) and the Death in Custody Act (2014). The data collected should be disaggregated on the basis of race, gender, age, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity and indigenous status.

​

• Congress should take legislative action to ensure that all federal, state and local law enforcement officials restrict their use of lethal force in compliance with international law and standards. This should include enacting legislation requiring all law enforcement agencies to review and amend their policies by limiting the use of lethal force to those instances in which it is necessary to protect against the threat of death or serious injury. Congress should also pass the Police Reporting Information, Data, and Evidence Act and the End Racial Profiling Act.

​

• Cellphone footage and social media footage should be used in prosecuting lethal force offenders and officer names should be released as soon as the incident happens. The only thing that needs protecting is the truth.

​

​

​

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

​

 

 DEMAND JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD

George’s death comes in the wake of a series of acts of racist violence against Black Americans that illustrates astounding levels of violence and discrimination in the USA. This includes the killing of a Black man who was out jogging, Ahmaud Arbery; the killing of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was sleeping in her apartment when the police opened fire on her, and so many more. The police commit human rights violations at a shockingly frequent rate, particularly against racial and ethnic minorities, and especially Black Americans. In 2019 alone, the police were involved in the deaths of over 1,000 people in the USA. Those aren’t just numbers, but a person's life: someone's parent, sibling, cousin, nephew, spouse, child.

​

The officers involved in George’s death have been fired from their jobs, but this cannot be considered justice. George’s family and community are calling for all those responsible to be held accountable and for guarantees that this will not happen again. People in the USA are protesting in the streets and demanding answers to George’s death, but they are being met with repression by the police instead.

​

Take action now and call on USA authorities to make sure that all those responsible in the death of George Floyd are held accountable.

​

Join George’s friends, family, and community to demand #JusticeforFloyd!

​

https://www.amnestyusa.org/

​

​

​

TELL CONGRESS TO RESTRICT THE USE OF DEADLY FORCE BY POLICE, ADVANCE THE PEACE ACT

The Police Exercising Absolute Care with Everyone or “PEACE Act” of 2019, would raise the standards for use of force by law enforcement officers. The bill would bar federal law enforcement from using deadly force unless necessary — as a last resort — to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury, and reasonable alternatives have been exhausted. This pushes beyond any state with a law addressing police use of force and the current federal standard.

​

Urge your U.S. representative to support the PEACE act (HR 4359), and call on Congress to advance this potentially life saving legislation y clicking the link below:

​

https://www.amnestyusa.org/

​

​

COMPEL US STATES TO REVIEW AND AMEND THE POLICE UNION CONTRACTS

Many states permit police officers to bargain collectively over the terms of their employment, including the content of internal disciplinary procedures. This bargain leads to the formulation of Police Union Contracts which have and continue to serve as barriers to police officer accountability, and ultimately barriers to justice in cases of police brutality. A significant portion of Police Union Contracts include terms which:

​

1)    Give officers under investigation access to review information and evidence against them in their own case, including witness statements, photos, videos and notes from the internal investigation BEFORE being interrogated.

​

2)    Erase records of officer’s misconduct, in some cases as little as 6 months.

3)    Prevent officer’s past history of misconduct from being considered in future cases of misconduct.

4)    Restrict interrogations by limiting who can interrogate the officer and what type of questions can be asked.

5)    Disqualify certain complaints due to lapse in time, some as little as 30 days.

6)    Require Cities to pay costs related to police misconduct in the form of paid leave.

In the interest of JUSTICE, contracts including these terms must be reviewed and amended to hold abusive police officers accountable for their actions. 

​

Please sign this petition. Let's start making a REAL change towards equality.

​

https://www.change.org/

           

Ok so we hate to admit it but we're part of the 4M people that chose to not vote for whatever reason and STILL to this day feel like a knucklehead for doing it. Who knew? Who knew that actually voting made a difference in our lives, in our country? Now look at us. We have a defunct President, herds of law enforcement enforcing lethal force and a culture from the beginning of time STILL yearning to survive, to exist, to MATTER as something that is truly worthy. Time for us to stop talking and star doing. Go out and VOTE 2020! Each vote counts. At least NOW we know how much we have to lose by not voting. Let's not make the same mistake.

​

https://www.vote.org/

Time for us to work together not against each other. Yes, riots will work to a certain extent but were here for the long haul. Time for us to join forces. If you know of anything going on whether it be protest or town hall meetings, or policy changes being put into place that are not in the Blacks  or Browns best interest, this is time. Use this website, use the platform to share and collaborate on what we know with the masses, especially with the masses who care and can do something about it but never had the strength to...until NOW. If you know of any petitions, protests, rallies or ideas for change, please submit you findings  at

 

 .

Here are some organizations that are making a difference when it comes to change and equality for all. 

https://www.naacp.org/

https://www.amnestyusa.org/

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

https://www.circleofmothers.org/