Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Black Lives Matter activists release new comprehensive demands for safer policing across the US

'We must end police violence so we can live and feel safe in this country'

Justin Carissimo
Friday 21 August 2015 18:27 BST
Comments
Protesters march in Baltimore demanding police accountability and racial equality following the death of Freddie Gray on 30 April 2015.
Protesters march in Baltimore demanding police accountability and racial equality following the death of Freddie Gray on 30 April 2015. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, considered as the new civil rights movement of our time, have unveiled strict demands for policing reforms across the US.

(via Campaign Zero) ((via Campaign Zero))

The plans were published to a new website Campaign Zero integrating recommendations from communities, research organisations and the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

The report was written by Samuel Sinyangwe, Brittany Packnett, DeRay McKesson and Johnetta Elzie — all co-founders of We The Protesters.

The demands include plans to end broken windows policing, policing for profit, limit the use of force by officers, demilitarize local police departments, equip officers with body cameras, retrain officers to de-escalate situations and ensure community oversight and involvement.

(via Campaign Zero)

"We can live in an America where the police do not kill people. Police in England, Germany, Australia, Japan, and even cities like Newark, NJ, and Richmond, CA, demonstrate that public safety can be ensured without killing civilians. By implementing the right policy changes, we can end police killings and other forms of police violence in the United States," the website reads.

The Black Lives Matter movement has recently shown itself to be a growing political force, pressing the issue of police violence across the US. Birthed in the wake of Trayvon Martin's death in 2012, and reignited after the death of Michael Brown in 2014, the movement has shaken up Republican and Democratic candidates alike.

Read the full demands on Campaign Zero here.

Black Lives Matter movement begins to influence the 2016 presidential race

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in