My name is Sawyer Sarcot, and I am in 8th grade at The Overlake School in Redmond, Washington. For my middle school capstone project, I am researching, presenting on, and advocating for the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 (GFJPA), including demonstrating in the Downtown Park in Redmond for a month. The bill already passed the House of Representatives on March 3. 

In general terms, the GFJPA aims to hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct in court, improve transparency through data collection and reform police training and policies. Some of the most important changes the GFJPA would bring are;

1) Establish a national registry of police misconduct complaints and disciplinary actions.

2) Restrict the application of qualified immunity for police officers. 

3) Require uniformed police officers to have body-worn cameras. 

4) Prohibit police officers from using chokeholds. 

5) Prohibit no-knock warrants.

6) Mandate that police officers use de-escalation tactics first, and deadly force as a last resort only.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is endorsed by more than 100 civil rights groups, including Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Urban League, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the NAACP. When you sign this petition, you are helping to combat police misconduct, excessive force and racial bias in policing. Further, when you sign this petition, you are making sure that the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Tamir Rice, as well as countless others killed by the police, mattered. 

At the conclusion of my capstone project, I will write to my two senators, Maria Cantwell (D) and Patty Murray (D), and submit all the signatures I have collected, including yours. Please help me reach my goal of 100 signatures, and most importantly, please join me in making the United States a safer, more just country for all, no matter what their skin color.