On May 25, 2020—on Memorial Day—when we were remembering those who gave their lives in service of this country, a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on the neck of George Floyd for at least five minutes, killing him. Three other officers, all of them sworn to serve and protect the citizens of Minneapolis, participated in this killing.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has asked why the officer who killed George Floyd has not been charged. We should all be asking that question, about every officer involved. And we should be asking what has gone wrong in our society and in our criminal justice system such that a police officer can kill an unarmed, handcuffed, black man with the active assistance of three other officers who prevented bystanders from intervening. Mayor Frey said, “Being black should not be a death sentence.” But too often it is. And that is true all over this country.

We need fundamental changes in the way we recruit and train police in this country, and we need to hold them accountable for criminal abuses of power. From bias training to psychological testing, from more restrictive policies on use of force to independent oversight of departments, from anonymous complaint lines to an unforgiving and unwavering tone at the top, policing in this country must change and it must change now.

As your Congresswoman, I pledge to fight for changes in our laws that will establish federal oversight, standards and accountability for police departments nationwide. And I call upon every elected official in this country and every candidate running for office to likewise pledge to use every available tool, resource and authority of their offices to protect black people from being terrorized and murdered by the people sworn to protect them, to hold law enforcement accountable to the rule of law and to restore meaning to the word “justice.”

George Floyd. Say his name.

Photo credit: Soniakapadia / CC BY-SA