#WeRiseWhen National Petition For Police Accountability

STATEMENT OF UNITY

#WeRiseWhen is a unified effort to set our terms as a people as to when we will collectively rise from kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. As a unified community, we will not rise because you curse us or our mothers, we will not rise because you threaten us, we will not rise because you humiliate and attempt to intimidate us... We Rise When you meet these initial and basic demands for change in police departments across the country designed to end police brutality and save lives.

Who we are: #WeRiseWhen is a working group of lawyers, activists, students, professors, citizens, veterans and concerned community members from across the country who have been actively engaged in addressing social justice issues including police accountability and transparency. Collectively, we have a diverse set of experiences in the social justice movement including but not limited to representing and counseling families who have lost loved ones during police encounters, organizing town hall meetings and workshops, drafting public policy and legislation, filing civil rights lawsuits, and marching for justice. We truly have been encouraged by the increased engagement by NFL players who are kneeling in the spirit of social justice nonviolent protest, activism, and advocacy to raise awareness about the killing of African Americans by law enforcement.

What we are fighting for:Below is the initial list of the demands for local police departments:

#WeRiseWhen Initial Demands

1. All officers are required to wear body cameras that cannot be turned off with the stipulation that disabling cameras without cause is a terminable offense;

2. All cities and counties have citizen review boards with subpoena and disciplinary or sanctioning power and independent police auditors who report to the city council or county commission and have independent authority to take complaints, subpoena and make recommendations;

3. All departments adopt a policy that any officer-involved shooting will be investigated by an outside agency and footage will be released to the public within 30 business days;

4. All officers undergo annual in-person crisis intervention and de-escalation training including training focused on interactions to encourage non-harmful interactions with persons suffering from mental or physical health challenges or individuals impacted by substance abuse;

5. All officers are evaluated for implicit bias and undergo in-person training to encourage non-harmful interactions with Black, Latino, LGBTQ, Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and immigrant or non-English speaking groups.

*Most of these demands can be found in some form in the Final Report of President Obama's Task Force for 21st Century Policing.