Police across America have been using weapons of war to attack peaceful protesters and journalists in the last few days. They got many of those from the federal government through the Pentagon's 1033 program, which gives military surplus to local law enforcement. After the Ferguson protests in 2014, progressives got President Obama to limit this program. But Trump reversed that order, and also scaled back the Department of Justice's investigations into police misconduct. There are a lot of things we need to do to end institutional racism and stop police brutality. One of those steps is demilitarizing the police. We're calling on Congress to end the 1033 program. Will you join the fight?

Over the past decade, social media platforms have highlighted the abusive behavior and violation of the rights of people of color, specifically black people. The recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of law enforcement sounded the alarm, to all that a higher level of accountability must be in place. In an effort to restore citizens trust in the men and women of law enforcement, it is imperative that this petition does not fall on deaf ears.

The police have lost legitimacy and the American social contract has been destroyed for most African Americans. Serious reforms must be enacted ASAP to bring justice to the situation.

The death of Yvonne McDonald in 2018 broke the hearts of her family and friends and sent shock waves through Thurston County. From the beginning, Yvonne's death was shrouded in questionable circumstances. https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article231904923.html The coroner has a duty to call for an inquest in cases like this. Justice has been severely mishandled when it comes to showing empathy for Yvonne's family and providing them with the answers they deserve. Her family is seeking accountability for any negligence and/or violence that may have caused her death, and transparency and empathy from the government officials who are controlling her legal legacy. They have been unable to feel peace since the death of their beloved family member and have been fighting a complicated legal battle to try to get answers. They deserve transparency, accountability, and justice--and, importantly, our community support.

It is important because the police brutality on African Americans have been a repeated cycle far too long in America. We want to grow and evolve as a better nation, if the same issue keeps happening then change will come. Not good change, more and more people will start to take risks and try to find weakness on how to find the solution to the madness. An officer killing someone innocent is not serving justice or duty. They are taking advantage of their power and misguiding the laws they are taught. Change needs to come.

On September 26, 2019, six officers from the Hyattsville police department (along with one officer from Mt. Rainier and three from Prince George’s County) participated in the killing of Leonard Shand. During a town hall meeting held on October 1, 2019, at the University Christian Church, Hyattsville Mayor Candace Hollingsworth, Chief of Police Amal Awad, and City Administrator Tracy Douglas spoke to the community and reported that all the officers involved would be placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of a homicide and administrative investigation. On April 13, 2020, Chief Awad reinstated the six Hyattsville officers were reinstated to full duty by Chief Awad without benefit of the homicide and administrative investigation being completed. City Administrator Douglas responded to community concerns about reinstating these officers without benefit of the investigation by stating, "City officials reviewed the events surrounding Shand’s death and found no violations of internal policies…[p]reliminarily, the city police command staff conducted an executive review of the unfortunate death of Mr. Shand and determined that the actions were consistent with departmental policy.” A police department investigating itself is NOT ACCEPTABLE! Any policies that justify the firing squad-style killing of a mentally ill man who was forced to run toward the shooters are NOT ACCEPTABLE! According to the ACLU of Maryland "officers used a flashbang grenade, which inevitably led to the killing of 49-year-old Leonard Shand, according to @PGPDNews. Running away from an exploding flashbang grenade is a natural and inevitable response. The police created a dangerous situation, causing an armed man to run towards them, and then used the inevitable result of their actions as the justification to shoot him. The PGPD Twitter account released photos of bloody knives that the victim was alleged to have been carrying, yet, the the footage released, didi not show anyone to be stabbed. The police left 40+ bullet holes not only left in the victim’s body but in nearby buildings that could have easily hit any other passerby.

The Public Schools of Brookline has sent out 300 layoff notices, taking public schools in exactly the wrong direction and sending the wrong message about our values as a community. We the undersigned demand that the School Committee immediately rescind these notices. We call on them to join immediately with the Select Board and other town officials as well as legislators to find short- and long-term solutions to the town’s fiscal challenges. Each and every one of Brookline’s educators is essential. The School Committee wants to calm down members of the community by ascribing their “fear and anxiety” to “rumors and misinformation.” But the layoff notices speak for themselves with their final paycheck dates and unemployment filing information. For the School Committee to say disingenuously that “no programs have been cut” while eliminating every teacher in some of them is like dropping a neutron bomb on our school community -- harming the people while keeping the structure intact. But this crisis calls for new and unprecedented fiscal design. We know that cuts will fall disproportionately on more economically vulnerable educators, including the majority of staff of color because they have grown in number recently. We stand with our staff of color. BEU Diversity Chair, Jason Montrose said, Brookline’s educators of color “are filled with anger, frustration, and sadness. Whether or not you received a pink slip, these unjust layoffs, due to a lack of oversight by elected officials, have deeply impacted our teaching and learning community of color. We as a community have to worry about this as we deal with a pandemic that is disproportionately impacting communities of color. This is on top of the unlawful murders of people of color with little to no justice served and widespread xenophobia that is plaguing our country because of the COVID 19 pandemic.” The cuts – target 25% of the staff to fill a 5% budget shortfall and leave $26 million reserves -- show how little this school committee understands what it takes for a school system to teach the whole child. Demoralizing, sweeping cuts of vital parts of a well-rounded education -- arts, librarians, early childhood, literacy coaches, specialists, vocational ed, K-8 world language, health and wellness, and more -- are depicted as largely temporary. However, many of our talented educators will leave forever rather than be shown the disrespect of being expected to sit and wait to see if they will have work or not. Fully fund our schools and reverse the cuts now.

There are currently only three states that identify Murder in the third degree (Florida, Minnesota, Pennsylvania), California is not one of them. The State of California Penal Code is specific, and covers a broad range of murder definitions, however it does not identify any requirement for peace officers to act in the protection of citizens in their custody. This is an opportunity for the State of California to positively respond to the events of the last decade and make a clear change. This action will also provide local law enforcement the ability to swiftly address and enforce self-governance in a way that may prevent future public protest and ensure a just and lawful review of events in a court of law.

By reporting this stuff you are also repeating it and spreading it. This is causing mass confusion and cynicism. Some people no longer believe anything they’re told, The Lie having become such a common tool of the Republicans.

The criminal justice system cannot work if it is inherently biased. ALL Citizens cannot feel safe from random acts of police violence if there is no systematic accountability and protection from such acts. Time and again it has been demonstrated that the police and local officials have been unable to rein in such behavior that targets specific groups with racial bias, animosity and violence. It is time for reform and change. We are calling on the NYC Council to take action by implementing the 5-Point Plan.

Because their year was cut short due to COVID19, we feel, given the circumstances, that she is ideally prepared to continue the curriculum where the students left off. She created a bond with our students which was cut short and we feel it would benefit them and their education to start fresh with a familiar face and with someone who is aware of their strengths and weaknesses as students. Our children, at such a young age, were unfortunately forced to adapt and learn in a different setting- separated from their friends, the school staff and the teacher whom they all love so much. We feel we owe it to them to give them another chance to learn and grow with Ms. Perdomo and their classmates the right way. Ms. Perdomo has been a beacon of light for us parents and has made this difficult transition into distance learning a smooth-sailing process. We hope we can continue the journey of education with her, even if it is for just one school year.

The United States has shown a lack of will for 400 years in addressing and offering remedy and relief to Black and other Minority Citizens regarding their Human and Civil Rights. We would like for the subject to be elevated to the World Court as an Artier in dialogue and seeking remedy to the racial inequities of this system. We believe the dialogue is needed to avoid more violence and bloodshed caused by the continued practice of inequity in the administration of Justice in this Nation.