Defund and demilitarize the police

I am writing to urge you to do everything in your power to defund and demilitarize police forces across the nation. In the wake of the recent senseless murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Dreasjon “Sean” Reed, Tony McDade, and too many others, we must end dangerous policies that arm police forces with weapons of war. Recent scenes of police using military gear to violently escalate peaceful demonstrations have only added renewed urgency to make change happen in all corners of our country. This means we must immediately stop the transfer of military equipment to police officers via the 1033 Program and prevent the Department of Defense from using funds to deploy the military to act as police. Additionally, we must divest from the police and invest in offices and systems that serve the wellbeing of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. A militarized police force only serves to terrorize our communities and doesn’t make us any safer. As your constituent, I urge you to use your power to defund and demilitarize police forces across the United States.