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Tell Congress to restrict the use of deadly force by police, advance the PEACE Act

©Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Every year, nearly 1,000 people are killed by police in the US. Last year was no exception, the Washington Post’s Fatal Force database cites 1,014 people were shot and killed by police in 2019. Among these killings, Black and Latinx people are overrepresented, with black people being killed at more than twice the rate of white people.The utmost obligation of police is to respect and preserve human life. Our laws are insufficient to reflect this principle and must be changed.

Nine states and Washington, D.C. have no statutory law on police use of lethal force, leaving them to default to the standard set by U.S. Supreme Court opinions. In the other 41 states with use of lethal force laws, the standards are far too permissive and vary greatly. Laws range from nine states that authorize police use of deadly force to suppress a riot to a mere eight that require law enforcement to give warning “when feasible” before lethal force is used.

A person’s right to survive an interaction with law enforcement should not be dependent on where they live. A more restrictive national standard is needed to limit law enforcement use of force to prevent families from being devastated by this violence and provide for accountability when police use of force is excessive or unlawful.

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

⬇ Make Your Voice Heard ⬇

Dear Representative {contact_data~lastName},

I write to you deeply concerned with the excessive violence happening at the hands of police. Each year in the US about 1,000 people are killed by police, Among those killed, Black and Latinx people are overrepresented, with black people being killed at more than twice the rate of white people. A person’s right to survive an interaction with law enforcement should not be dependent on the color of their skin or where they live. A more restrictive national standard is needed to limit and standardize law enforcement use of force to prevent families from being devastated by this violence and provide for accountability when police use of force is excessive or unlawful.
 
In September 2019, Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17) and William Lacy-Clay (MO-01) introduced The Police Exercising Absolute Care Act with Everyone or PEACE Act of 2019 (HR 4359). 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.

Too often we see footage of officers employing deadly force against unarmed or fleeing people who do not appear to pose an imminent threat to the life of the officer or others. The PEACE Act also requires consideration of the actions of the individual and officer leading up to a use of force encounter, to better address these heart wrenching killings. Under the PEACE Act, states that receive federal funding from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program must enact a state use of force law consistent with the standards outlined in this legislation.

Protecting the public and maintaining officer safety are not at odds with one another. Police departments that have put more restrictive use of force policies in place have seen a decrease of people killed without risking officer safety and only serving to gain in public trust. In 2011, the Seattle Police Department, under a consent decree with the Department of Justice, restricted their department policy on use of force given recommendations emphasizing de-escalation. A 2017 Seattle Police Monitor report  found that following implementation, police use of force decreased, as did crime, without an increase in officer injury.

It is past time that the law requires officers to reserve force as a last resort rather than a first response. I urge you to cosponsor HR 4359 and call on House leadership to advance the PEACE Act, which could help save lives.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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