To: U.S. House of Representative and U.S. Senate

Stop Police Brutality and Racial Profiling!!! Pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act!!!

Dear Honorable Leader;

I am writing to you to ask you to please pass the George Floyd Justice Policing Act in Congress. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, end racial profiling, change the culture of law enforcement, empower our communities, and build trust between law enforcement and our communities by addressing systemic racism and bias to help save lives. The Justice in Policing Act would: 1) establish a national standard for the operation of police departments; 2) mandate data collection on police encounters; 3) reprogram existing funds to invest in transformative community-based policing programs; and 4) streamline federal law to prosecute excessive force and establish independent prosecutors for police investigations.

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was a 46 year old, African-American man who was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by a white police officer, by the name of Derek Chauvin. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk alleged that Floyd made a purchase using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face-down in a street. Two other police officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd. Lane had also pointed a gun at Floyd's head prior to Floyd being put in handcuffs. A fourth police officer, Tou Thao, prevented bystanders from intervening. Despite Floyd telling Chauvin that he couldn’t breathe and pleas from bystanders, Chauvin refused to lift his knee from Floyd's neck, and Floyd suffocated to death.

Racial attitudes of law enforcement has led to police brutality and racial profiling, along with the murders of high profile cases such as Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, etc.

According to the Pew Research Foundation, “black adults are about five times as likely as whites to say they’ve been unfairly stopped by police because of their race or ethnicity (44% vs. 9%), according to the same survey. Black men are especially likely to say this: 59% say they’ve been unfairly stopped, versus 31% of black women.”

We want to prevent tragedies like George Floyd's murder and to end police brutality of black people. By getting, this bill passed will help make that happen.

Here is the link to the language of the bill.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1280/text?s=3&r=2&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22george+floyd%22%5D%7D

Why is this important?

Martin Luther King once said, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."