March for Michael Brown in response to Ferguson grand jury decision
Rights group Amnesty International held a webinar yesterday regarding police use of deadly force in the United States. Amnesty’s presentation follows its report released last week, charging that all 50 U.S. states fall short of international standards on police use of lethal force. Amnesty’s report and presentation follow a number of high-profile police fatal shootings of young unarmed black men and boys, including Michael Brown and Tamir Rice.
Findings
As to the U.S. legal and statutory framework involved in police killings, Amnesty reviewed state statutes, U.S. Supreme Court decisions and other available data, as well as international treaties signed by the U.S.
According to the Amnesty officials on the line for the webinar, the U.S. Government does not even keep data on how many people are killed by police in America each year, but Amnesty estimates that the number is between 400 and 1,000. Moreover, according to Amnesty, police violence in the U.S. falls disproportionately on African Americans, who make up 13.2 percent of the U.S. population but comprise 27.6 percent of deaths by police.
According to Amnesty, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have failed to protect the right to life of their citizens, because such laws do not meet international standards, which dictate that lethal force may only be used when absolutely necessary to protect imminent threats to life. In fact, according to Amnesty, nine U.S. states and D.C. have no laws at all regarding the use of deadly force. Furthermore, according to Amnesty, 13 U.S. states have laws that do not comply with federal standard on deadly force. Moreover, the Amnesty official said that, where private citizens are given authority to use deadly force (think George Zimmerman), they are not trained to do so.
Recommendations
Amnesty International has several specific recommendations in the wake of its finding on police use of deadly force in the United States:
1. Establish a National Crime and Justice Task Force spearheaded by the President and the U.S. Department of Justice. The task force would examine and make recommendations on policing issues, including a nationwide review of laws, policies and training methods governing police use of lethal force. The aim of the commission would be to bring such standards in line with international norms.
2. Action in State Legislatures to introduce or amend statutes involving the use of lethal force to ensure that they comply with international standards.
3. Collection of Nationwide Statistics by the Department of Justice regarding police shootings.
4. Legislation by Congress to ensure that federal, state and local law enforcement officials restrict their use of deadly force in compliance with international law and standards.
Activism
Amnesty said that citizen activism is required to implement its recommendations and reduce the unnecessary use of deadly force by police in America. This activism includes:
1. Starting and participating in conversations in which activists talk about the problem, offer solutions and suggest action items such as calling and writing lawmakers. Amnesty International said it plans to put up a conversation toolkit on its website to assist such efforts.
2. Reach out to members of Congress and other public officials to enact federal legislation to comply with international standards.
3. Continue to record instances of police violence on your phone or otherwise, and report such instances to Amnesty International. An Amnesty spokesperson said that Americans have the right to record police actions, and that such recordings have helped shine a spotlight on police violence, but that we should of course act to ensure our own safety while doing so.
4. Sign petitions from Amnesty International and other groups calling for a national task force on police violence.
5. Apply public pressure via social media and otherwise, on President Obama, members of Congress, state and local officials to take the recommended steps and to comply with any such laws, rules and guidelines that may be created.
Photo by Fibonacci Blue, used under Creative Commons license. http://is.gd/DFVRD5
