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Rep. Maxine Waters is responding to the deaths of more unarmed Black people, not just as a politician but as a wife, mother and grandmother. Her message is simple – she demands that “police officers do not kill another unarmed Black person.”
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Congresswoman Waters (CA-43), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, released a statement after the recent killings of unarmed Black men. She expressed shock that there was more loss of life despite the global protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death on Minneapolis. Floyd died after now-former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin placed a knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
“Over the past 19 days, millions of protesters in this country and around the world have created one of the largest sustained demonstrations in history to make a clear and profound statement of opposition to the continuous murder of Black men and women by law enforcement,” the statement read.
“Yet, in the midst of all the protests demanding justice, we have learned of at least two additional unarmed Black men who have been murdered by the police.”
Waters specifically mentioned Maurice Gordon and Rayshard Brooks as the latest victims who have died after encounters with police. Gordon died in May after he was killed by a New Jersey state trooper after being pulled over for speeding.
Brooks was killed after being shot in the back after two officers in Atlanta found him sleeping in his car outside of a Wendy’s last weekend. After tussling over a Taser with a police officer, Brooks was running away when he was shot and later died at the hospital.
The deaths of Gordon and Brooks were caught on tape. Waters says that there are many more victims who did not have the benefit of video to capture police killings.
“The African American community is beyond outraged. We are frustrated. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired, and we are beyond the point of accepting incremental change,” the statement continued.
“The murder of George Floyd by the police and the international calls for justice for [him] Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black men and women should have been a wake-up call. Instead of justice and reformed practices by the police, we have been confronted with more murder and police brutality. What more will it take?”
Waters stressed that law enforcement has had more than enough ample opportunity to reform their ways but have chosen not to. She wants all officers who use deadly force on unarmed citizens to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
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“Far too many Black men and women are continuing to be murdered with impunity at the hands of the police, and the people of this country will not stand for such blatant disregard for human life any longer.”
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