• Press Release

Threats to Pull Federal Resources from Cities Because of Black Lives Matter Protests are Damaging

September 21, 2020

Responding to reports that the Trump administration is threatening to pull federal resources from New York City, Portland and Seattle due to sustained protests for police reform, Justin Mazzola, Researcher at Amnesty International USA, said: 

“These threats are just another in a long line of abject failures by this administration to protect Black and Brown lives, refusing to do the job that is needed to address the inherent problems in our law enforcement systems.  

“Rather than denying that there are serious, systemic problems with law enforcement in the U.S., the Department of Justice and Attorney General Barr should listen to the calls of those impacted. Making threats to pull federal resources from these cities does nothing to help those communities impacted by police violence, and could be especially harmful to the safety of these communities which are already facing budget deficits due to COVID-19. 

“Rather than seeing advocates for police reform as enemies who must be punished, the Department of Justice should be working with these local communities, listening to the calls of the people impacted, and using the tools at its disposal to reform the police departments that violate the rights of Black and Brown people and those protesting against this police violence.” 

Read more:

The World is Watching: Mass Violations by U.S. Police of Black Lives Matter Protesters’ Rights