PEOPLE-POWERED PETITIONS

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was in her home in Louisville, KY on March 13th when officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department barged in without a warning nor announcement and broke through her door, fired off more than 20 bullets, and ultimately took Breonna’s life. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, thought someone was burglarizing their home and fired his gun to defend himself. But in turn, the officers responded with a hail of bullets and turned an average morning into a tragedy. The police were at the wrong house. There was no search warrant that gave them the right to be there in the first place. Despite the clear and egregious misconduct of the police officers, Kenneth Walker is being charged with attempted murder and the murderers who killed Breona Taylor are walking free without any consequences. Instead of being transparent about their fatal misconduct, the police and commonwealth attorney conspired to make it look like this was a routine drug raid. LMPD even continued to falsely refer to Breonna as a “suspect” in the media for weeks though she had done nothing wrong. Nothing. A recent lawsuit filed against the officers reveals that police were actually searching for another person more than 10 miles away, who had already been arrested that morning. This is an affront to Black people, our communities, and Breonna’s family. They are charging her boyfriend with a crime to cover up, distract, and deflect from the fact they murdered a young Black woman in cold blood. All too often, Black women face police harassment and violence at the hands of bloodthirsty racist cops who see no value in Black lives. Breonna, her boyfriend, and their families deserve more. She was an EMT that lived her life on the frontlines as an essential worker, and when we need people like her the most during this pandemic, cops ended her young life. Let’s honor Breonna and hold the officers responsible for this tragedy accountable. We’re calling for the three police officers, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove, to be fired and for all charges against Kenneth Walker to be dropped immediately. These officers are threats to our communities and as long as they’re allowed to wear badges Black people are not safe.

It happened again. His name was George Floyd, and on May 25th he was murdered by Minneapolis police officers. George Floyd was a Black man, who was murdered in broad daylight after a grocery clerk called the police thinking he was writing a bad check. For seven minutes, George laid on the street while officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao held their knee on his neck as he was struggling to breathe. He lost consciousness and yet they continued to strangle him. Numerous bystanders pleaded with the police officer to let him go, while Floyd said the words “I can’t breathe,” several times, but the officer refused to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck. After the murder, officers called his death a "medical problem." And it wasn't until the video was released clearly showing them choking him, did we finally see the truth. This was a blatant and disgusting coverup to prevent accountability for their brutal act of police violence. This is incomprehensible. His life was taken in a senseless act of violence at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, all for being “suspected” of writing a bad check. Police continue to hunt down Black folks in cities across America and we refuse to sit silent. It was not too long ago we heard Eric Garner utter the same last words, “I can’t breathe.” And just months ago, officers stormed Breonna Taylor’s home and murdered her in a botched investigation. On May 26th, officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao, and two other officers who were present, were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department. This is a step in the right direction to hold the officers accountable for murdering George Floyd but more action must be taken. We are calling for further action from Mayor Jacob Frey and County Attorney Freeman. Mayor Frey must 1) block the officers from receiving their pensions and 2) ban them from ever becoming police officers again. And County Attorney Freeman must immediately charge the officers with murder.

Over the span of seventeen weeks, more than 51 million Americans have filed unemployment claims across the country because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This amounts to nearly 15% of the US population who are now out of a job—and that's only those who have formally applied for benefits. The actual number of newly unemployed people is likely much larger and will continue to increase in coming months. Many people who are laid off due to COVID19 won't find work for a very long time, maybe never because some jobs lost today won't be coming back. People will need time and resources to learn and develop a new skill. By ending the $600 per week additional unemployment assistance too soon, we will certainly be dooming people to tragic futures. This will have far reaching ramifications. We need to look out for each other during these unprecedented times. Please let's help each other save and serve those who are in most need. Extend the COVID 19 Emergency $600 per week additional unemployment assistance well beyond July 31, 2023, until at least December 31, 2023 and longer if necessary.