As your constituent, I urge you to enact bold systemic changes to address the structural racism and inequality at the root of police brutality. Here are two specific things you can do. (1) Cosponsor “An Act relative to saving black lives and transforming public safety” (HD5128/SD2968) filed by Rep. Liz Miranda and Sen. Cynthia Creem; and (2) Support and pass “An Act to secure civil rights through the courts of the Commonwealth” (H.3277) filed by Rep. Michael Day.
I have been heartened to see so many Massachusetts leaders voice support for and solidarity with people around the country and across the Commonwealth mourning and protesting the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. It is deeply disturbing to see police violence against Black communities front and center yet again, together with the communal anguish over lives needlessly lost.
We’ve been here before, and unless we use this moment to enact sweeping changes to end systemic police violence, it will keep happening.
I urge you to pass legislation that will do the following:
First, we need to invest in our communities and direct resources where they’re really needed: ensuring public health and economic security. Many of us have been shocked by the stark contrast of images of local police in expensive, military-grade gear while essential health workers still struggle to find proper protective equipment as they battle COVID-19. If we continue to underfund essential services, more despair, more injustice, and more unrest will follow.
Second, reform police practices. Black people should not live in fear of being shot and killed by the police. Yet time and again we’ve seen police officers escalate routine interactions like traffic stops and kill people who pose no threat. We need strict new legal standards that require police to deescalate first, use force only as a last resort, and make sure any use of force is proportional to the situation. We need to ban chokeholds, no-knock warrants, and other violent tactics that lead to the death of civilians. And crucially, police need to be fully transparent and provide full reporting on incidents that result in injury or death. The Black & Latino Legislative Caucus has called for passage of legislation to end excessive use of force, which was newly introduced on June 10. Please cosponsor “An Act relative to saving black lives and transforming public safety,” (HD5128/SD2968) filed by Rep. Miranda in the House and Sen. Creem in the Senate.
Finally, restore accountability for civil rights violations. Our legal system makes it nearly impossible to hold police officers accountable for acts of gratuitous violence. Qualified immunity prevents police officers from being held liable for civil rights violations, even when the violations are obvious. We can’t prevent abuse if police officers face no consequences for their actions. We need to fix this broken policy, and I urge you to do so by supporting and swiftly passing H.3277, “An Act to secure civil rights through the courts of the Commonwealth.”
I urge you to support these crucial reforms.
