Dear Future President,

Are you concerned about the lack of trust the public has for law enforcement? If you are not, you should be. As pediatrician and activist Dr. Benjamin Spock has stated, “ Most middle class whites have no idea what it feels like to be subjected to police who are routinely suspicious, rude, belligerent, and brutal.”

So far this year, 715 people have been killed by police, Because many of these police killings have been protested and widely covered in the news broadcasts and social media, trust of law enforcement is very low. Although I have not had my trust in law enforcement affected by these killings, many people in our country obviously have. Some will argue that the police have a very difficult job and some mistakes are just bound to happen. However, whether or not the killings are justified or understandable mistakes is not the issue. The lack of trust exists.

In order to restore trust, you must show strong leadership on this problem. First, you should require every member of law enforcement to wear a body camera and use it. Second, The police should be required to make body camera film public when requested in a killing. Third, trust can be rebuilt by you requiring every police department and sheriff's office to hold monthly listening sessions or community activities in which they are interacting with their public. I urge you to take these actions as quickly as possible in order to restore trust between law enforcement and the public.

Sincerely,

Benji