Dear Future President,

On a weekly basis you see on the news a new victim of police brutality, when is that going to change? Minorities in the United States have to be on alert everywhere they go just because of their skin color, is that fair? Nobody deserves to feel that way, nobody deserves to be treated the way black people are being treated in the United States. Police officers are supposed to serve and protect the people, not kill them. Now I know not all police officers are bad, just some. But that goes the same way for the victims not all of them are bad, just some.

Is having a mental disability bad? is playing with a toy gun bad? Is pulling out an ID bad? No it's not, so why are minorities being punished for the minds of a police officer that don't know how do his or her job. If a Police officer is scared of someone reaching for a "weapon" they probably need to choose a different career because us as people in the United States should not have to pay for a police officer’s fears of something happening. So let me ask you again future president... what are you going to do to help me along with the other minorities in the United States feel safe and comfortable in our own skin?

“. We have never heard those words so many times in one month from Alton Sterling to Philando Castile and the many in between. The saying “Black Lives Matter” has turned into a something symbolic that grows every time a person dies. Those three words represent not a moment but a movement. We live in a society based off of power and when you get into a situation of power the person with the badge controls everything. The only thing that makes me and a Police officer different is the badge. That badge represents the oath that him or her made. “On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the constitution, my community, and the agency I serve” (International Association of Chiefs of Police). Every time a police officer kills a black person based off of their skin color whether they say it or not they are going against the 5th amendment which states “nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation" (Constitution)

Everything that the 5th amendment claims, the opposite happened to Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin lost his life and was put on trial for his own murder. If people are able to bend the 27 amendments that the United States hold so dearly what other rules can people bend? If we can’t even count on the rules I don’t know what we have.

The first thing that happens when you call the Police is they send an officer to you no matter

what the situation is or the degree of the situation. If my sister called the police because I was having an episode based off of my mental illness, what can that Police officer do for me or my sister? Shaun King wrote and article about how corrupt the 9-11 operating system is and in many ways I agree with him.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-911-operators-save-lives-mental-health-questions-article-1.2736007

Shaun King brings the idea up of when calling 9-11 and when asked about mental illnesses the operated should put you to a different line in an instance and I couldn’t agree with him more. Are operating system needs to suit everyone’s needs whether it's mental Illness or anything else. Police officers are not trained to help people with mental illness, they are trained to help protect. When the operator tells the officer to go to a scene of a person with a Mental Illness it’s putting not only the person with the illness in danger but the officer too. So in order to change the police brutality rates of people with mental Illnesses getting killed you have to change the system.

What I want from you as the next president of the Unites states is to help the community of people who have been oppressed for years. Make a difference for me, make a difference for us. I'm sick of seeing black people die and it become something that we accept. We are running out of hope but you might be able to give us one last shot.

 Sincerely, Tanisha E.