Stand Up Against Unlawful Use of Police Force

Thank you for taking action to help stop unlawful police killings. Last week, Amnesty released a hard-hitting investigative report to advocate for restricting the use of lethal force by police officers. Please help.

	Demand Reform of Police Use of Lethal Force Laws
	Dear Tracy, The words still send shivers up my spine. "I can't breathe." Eric Garner gasped those words as he was being choked to death by a police officer on a New York City sidewalk. Eric's alleged crime? Selling loose cigarettes. His dying words have become a rallying cry across America and the world. Now, we must stop future tragedies like this - tragedies we are sadly seeing unfold with alarming consistency. How? By reforming state laws on the use of lethal force by police officers. Last week, Amnesty released a report to draw attention to police killings and to show that the United States is out of sync with international standards governing the use of lethal force. Those global standards only allow police officers to use deadly force as a last resort to protect themselves or others against a threat to life or of serious injury. Donate to help support our work investigating deadly force by police officers and advocating for state laws that prevent unlawful police killings. Through our comprehensive research, we found: All 50 states and Washington, DC fail to comply with international standards on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers. None of the state statutes require that non-violent and less harmful means be tried first and lethal force used only as a last resort. African Americans are disproportionately affected by the use of lethal force. The African American population of the US is 13% but makes up 27% of those killed by law enforcement. Nine states allow lethal force to suppress a riot (Arizona; Delaware; Idaho; Mississippi; Nebraska; Pennsylvania; South Dakota; Vermont and Washington). Only eight states require a verbal warning be given before law enforcement uses lethal force. (Connecticut; Florida, Indiana; Nevada; New Mexico; Tennessee; Utah and Washington). These are just a few of our findings. Amnesty is making it a priority to ensure that all state legislatures introduce or amend statutes to limit the use of lethal force. Will you help support our efforts? Donate now and help bring human rights home. Sincerely, Steven Hawkins Executive Director Amnesty International USA