Contact Your Rep Template

Dear [Name of Mayor / City Chief of Police],

My name is [Name] and I am a registered voter in [City, State]. I am writing to you today to ask what you are doing, as the [Position / Title], to ensure that your officers are not abusing their power and are held accountable for their actions.

After witnessing the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, I am left feeling outraged, frustrated, and hurt. The system has failed yet another black man and we are anxiously waiting to see if the officers responsible for his death will face consequences.

As a [resident of your city], I want to make sure that my local police department is taking the necessary preventative measures to ensure that incidents like this will not occur in the future. So I ask:

Are the police officers in the [City Police Department] being trained to de-escalate altercations by using peaceful conflict resolution strategies?

Are the police officers in the [City Police Department] forbidden from using carotid restraints (chokeholds, strangleholds, etc.) and hog-tying methods? Furthermore, are they forbidden from transporting civilians in uncomfortable positions, such as face down in a vehicle?

Are the police officers in the [City Police Department] required to intervene if they witness another officer using excessive force? Will officers be reprimanded if they fail to intervene?
Are the police officers in the [City Police Department] forbidden from shooting at moving vehicles?
Is there a clear and enforced use-of-force continuum that details what weapons and force are acceptable in a wide variety of civilian-police interactions?
Are the officers in the [City Police Department] required to exhaust every other possible option before using excessive force?
Are the officers in the [City Police Department] required to give a verbal warning to civilians before drawing their weapon or using excessive force?
Are the officers in the [City Police Department] required to report each time they threaten to or use force on civilians?
Are the officers in the [City Police Department] thoroughly vetted to ensure that they do not have a history with abuse, racism, xenophobia, homophobia / transphobia, or discrimination?
Are the officers in the [City Police Department] trained to perform and seek necessary medical action after using excessive force?
Is there an early intervention system enforced to correct officers who use excessive force? Additionally, how many complaints does an officer have to receive before they are reprimanded? Before they are terminated? More than three complaints are unacceptable.

Statistics have indicated that by enforcing these policies, there is a significant decrease in civilian complaints and injury due to excessive force. If any of the policies are not currently in place, then what is being done to ensure that they are going to be enforced in the near future? What can I do, as a concerned citizen, to set these policies in motion?

I also want to increase the level of trust between the police department and the community. To establish trust, there has to be transparency. I would like to see the [City Police Department] collect and report data on civilian deaths that occurred in custody and as a result of an officer’s use of excessive force. The data should be broken down by demographics and should showcase the race, gender, sexuality, and religion of the civilians. Allowing the public access to this information will show us where we, as a community, fall short.

Thank you for your time and I hope that we can work together to protect the [City] community. I refuse to let the next hashtag come from here.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Address]

[Phone Number]

[Email]

Houston

Mayor: Sylvester Turner

Email: mayor@houstontx.gov

Phone #: 713.837.0311

Address: P.O. Box 1562 Houston, TX 77251

Chief of Police: Art Acevedo