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Action Center
Along with legal action, Ben Crump advocates in support of new laws and policy reforms that help us get justice on behalf of marginalized people in America. But he can't do it alone. Join Ben and take action today on high-profile cases and issues.
Valentina Orellana-Peralta
Two days before Christmas, 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was shopping with her mom at a department store when LAPD officers opened fire with their assault rifles in the store. Their bullets went through the dressing room wall and hit Valentina, who died almost immediately in her mother’s arms – the collateral damage of an overly militarized police force.
Meaningful police reform is well past due. Please join us in breathing new life into the struggle to change community policing in America with enhanced training, standardized practices and protocols, demilitarizing police, and a commitment to default to the least force necessary to prevent loss of life.
Christian Hall
Police are in our communities to serve and protect. When someone is experiencing a mental health emergency, they are supposed to help defuse it and keep them safe.
On December 30, 2020, Pennsylvania State Police failed their community and they failed Christian Hall. The unredacted video definitively establishes that the Pennsylvania State Police and Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso violated the public’s trust and abdicated their official duties by misrepresenting what occurred on the bridge during the fateful moments.
Jamal Sutherland
In January, Jamal Sutherland arrived at Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center after receiving treatment at a mental health facility. Hours of Charleston County Jail surveillance footage and body camera video revealed Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and Detention Dep. Brian Houle repeatedly pepper-sprayed and tasered Jamal Sutherland as they forcefully attempted to extract him from his jail cell to a courtroom.
Adding insult to injury, deputies placed a spit hood over his head and dragged Jamal’s motionless body out of his cell. Demand Detention Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and Dep. Brian Houle be charged for Jamal Sutherland’s death.
Henrietta Lacks
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks turned to Johns Hopkins— one of the only hospitals that would treat Black patients — to get treatment for cervical cancer. Henrietta was found to have immortal cells.
The cells taken from Henrietta were collected without her knowledge or permission, and the shameful exploitation of her immortal cells continues to this day. Many pharmaceutical companies, including Thermo Fisher Scientific, unjustly profited billions off her immortal cells & have yet to compensate Henrietta’s heirs.
George Floyd Police Reform
During his presidential campaign, President Joe Biden made numerous promises to marginalized minorities in America. Now that he is president, we need him to show up for us by upholding his promises.
We have the optimal opportunity to pass much-needed police reform in our country, but we need President Biden’s help. Encourage President Biden to break the silence and push for the urgent passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
George Floyd Senate
We can make lasting change by passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. This vital legislation would require police officers to engage in all the steps necessary to de-escalate situations before using deadly force and mandates the use of body cameras and dashcams, which can help hold police accountable.
As proven by the masses who have taken to the streets, we are at a historic tipping point, and Americans are expecting meaningful, lasting change. Urge the senate to follow the needs of our people at this pivotal moment and embrace the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Flint Water Crisis
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden showcased environmental protection as a key element of his platform. Presidential candidate Biden spent days leading up to Election Day in Flint, Michigan, telling residents, “What happened in Flint will never happen again.”
Months later, the infrastructure problem is still a very real concern for residents. The responsibility to see through the attainment of clean water for Flint falls on the Environmental Protection Agency that, since January, has been overseen by President Biden’s administration.
Daunte Wright
Daunte Wright was pulled over for a minor traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, a suburb outside of Minneapolis, on Sunday, April 11, 2021. Seconds later, police officer Kim Potter fired her duty weapon at Daunte Wright at point-blank range, killing him.
She claimed she thought she was firing her taser, but let’s be clear: Daunte Wright’s killing was NO mistake. This was an intentional and unacceptable use of force when a simple ticket would have sufficed, but police too often forget the realities of life when you’re Driving While Black.
Tampa Lead Exposure
In March 2021, the Tampa Bay Times uncovered the horrors of a Tampa smelting plant, owned by Gopher Resource, that has exposed hundreds of its employees to lead poisoning at astronomical levels for many years. They say the lead in the air is so prevalent that it looks like a cloud of smoke looms over workers.
But the worst part is that employees may be unknowingly poisoning their children and families by tracking the lead-laced dust home on their clothing or shoes. These hardworking employees are simply trying to earn a living but are being seeped with toxins in the process.
Pamela Turner
Pamela Turner was walking through her apartment complex in Texas. Just a few moments later, she was tasered by Baytown Police ofc. Juan Delacruz.
Pamela Turner was unarmed, lying on the ground helplessly, and the officer was out of harm’s way. But Ofc. Delacruz STILL shot at Pamela EIGHT times while she was on her back.
Taylor Bracey
On Jan. 26, 2021, Deputy Ethan Fournier, a school resource officer for Liberty High School, brutally body-slammed Taylor Bracey, a 16-year-old Black girl. She lost consciousness upon hitting the school’s hard concrete floor.
Instead of rendering medical aid, Deputy Fournier handcuffed her unconscious body. There’s no excuse for his overzealous behavior, which could have killed Taylor. We will not tolerate these actions in our schools.
Police Reform
Civil justice movements have arisen in the past yet failed to produce lasting meaningful reform. Building trust between communities and police will require comprehensive change and a set of federal standards common to all law enforcement.
Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci have developed a comprehensive model for how we can create lasting police reform in America, including specific steps to increase professionalism in policing, create greater accountability and transparency, and establish specifications for hiring and training practices to create national standards for law enforcement.
Breonna Taylor
After breaking into her home, police officers engaged in a shootout with Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, who claimed that he believed the police officers to be armed intruders. In an era in which killers like George Zimmerman have avoided justice using the “stand your ground” law, Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police officers who allegedly failed to announce themselves before breaking into her apartment.
After her boyfriend, who is licensed to carry a firearm, shot at what he suspected were burglars, according to NBC News, the unannounced police officers fired 20 rounds into the apartment, murdering Ms. Taylor.
Jacob Blake
Kenosha Police shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, multiple times in the back on August 23, 2020. His three young sons sat a few feet away and witnessed the entire incident.
The officers involved in this shooting clearly violated the Kenosha Police Department's Use of Force Policy, which says that "sworn personnel use only the amount of physical force reasonable and necessary to arrest, apprehend, or restrain a person."
Keyon Harrold
Renowned Jazz musician Keyon Harrold and his 14-year-old son were assaulted at Arlo SoHo, an upscale New York City hotel on December 26, 2020.
Keyon Harrold Jr. will live with this trauma for life, the weight of racism on the shoulders of another generation. He deserves better than this treatment!
AJ Crooms and Sincere Pierce
On Friday, November 13th, Brevard County Deputy Santiago-Miranda fatally shot 16-year-old A.J. Crooms and 18-year-old Sincere Pierce, two Black teens who were terrified as Brevard Sheriff's deputies approached their car with guns drawn.
Police say they suspected the boys were driving a stolen car and had violated traffic laws. Since then, both of these claims have been found incorrect: AJ and Sincere were NOT driving a stolen car and followed all of the rules of the road.
Papa Renty
Papa Renty was born in Africa and brought to South Carolina as a slave. Renty and his daughter, Delia, were forced to strip naked and pose for these dehumanizing photographs.
Today, Harvard uses the images for its own prestige and profit while denying its complicity in Agassiz’s terrible crimes. They also continue to celebrate Agassiz as a great scientist. Renty has been kept in captivity by Harvard for 169 years, used for Harvard’s benefit while being denied his own identity.