April 15th, 2021
Dear friends,
If you know someone— a friend, family member, colleague, or neighbor— who is thinking about becoming a cop, now is an important moment to engage in a tough but necessary conversation on why they shouldn’t join the police force.
The charges of manslaughter against Officer Kimberley Potter for Daunte Wright's murder come in the midst of Derek Chauvin’s trial for the murder of George Floyd, both of which are taking place within miles of each other and underscore the severity of the police brutality in the United States. We know that Potter and Chauvin’s crimes are not anomalies: U.S. police have killed 268 people in 2021 alone.¹ The Black Lives Matter movement— composed of grassroots groups and activists across the country and around the world— have exposed the illegitimacy of police and policing at home and abroad.
Donate: Official GoFundMe to Support Daunte Wright’s Family
Following investigations into the January 6th insurrection in the U.S. Capitol, it was unsurprising to learn that many of the white supremacist rioters were connected to the police or military.² This aptly illustrates just one of many reasons why counter recruitment for police, military, and border patrol remain a powerful tactic towards dismantling white supremacy, which is the root cause of why police are able to murder Black and other non-white people with impunity.
Every conversation makes a difference. Reply back and let us know how it goes.
In solidarity,
War Resisters League
P.S. - You can also place orders for paper copies of our So You Wanna Be A Cop? brochure in English and Spanish here, to help your community engage in the tough but necessary conversation about police recruitment wherever you are.
References:
1. Mapping Police Violence
2, ‘A Nightmare Scenario’: Extremists in Police Ranks Spark Growing Concern After Capitol Riot. USA Today. March 21, 2021
