Dear Next President,

Police brutality has been an issue for many years.  Just recently, however, it has gotten closer attention due to technology and the availability to record the incidents to expose police. Before police brutality began to get headlines, police officers have been targeting certain racial groups and were able to get away with their actions. The main issue lately has been that the racial groups they are targeting are being assaulted and their rights are being violated. The worst part is that many Americans still don't believe that racism is an issue in America.

African Americans in this country live with the fear of being killed by a police officer. In a recent case, a man was shot for having his hands up and being unarmed trying to help his autistic patients, but a officer “felt” threatened by him and fired. Another case that recently occurred in my city was the El Cajon shooting where a mentally ill African American was shot five times for acting erratically which lead to his death. The person that called 911 was his sister asking for help, but the police did the opposite. The man who was shot couldn't do anything to avoid the situation because of his skin color and his mental disability. This just shows how many police officers are unfit to serve, and most importantly, they are taught to shoot and kill.

In order to be a police officer all you need is a high school diploma. This needs to be changed to where police candidates are educated in social justice and receive proper training to only use lethal force when anyone is in danger. Police officers shouldn't be shooting innocent citizens. They should protect and serve the people not kill them.

Sincerely, 

Anthony De Leon