John,

Over four months ago, Second Lieutenant Caron Nazario, a Black man, was pulled over by police in Windsor, VA allegedly for failing to display his license plate. During that stop, he was threatened and treated with utter disrespect—and then pepper sprayed in the face for no reason, all while in his Army uniform.
 

It took the public release of bodycam video from the encounter for the Windsor Police Department to punish the officer who assaulted Lt. Nazario. At one point, Lieutenant Nazario says “I’m honestly afraid to get out of the car,” to which the officer in charge, Officer Gutierrez, responds “Yeah, you should be.” 

As a retired Marine Corps Officer, Lt. Nazario’s assault sickens me. Those serving our country deserve better—and people of color across this country deserve a police force that protects and serves them, too. 

Congress must work to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and additional legislation to ensure that America’s police force is accountable. The aftermath of George Floyd’s death, and the recent guilty verdict handed down for Derek Chauvin, the white officer who knelt on his neck for over 9 minutes, should prompt us all to take a much harder look at policing and race in this country. 

This issue should be bipartisan. Unfortunately, we already know what many Republicans in Congress will do to address police brutality and institutional racism: nothing. I pledge to work for racial justice and police accountability if elected to Congress. But first, we must organize and remove members like Ken Buck and Lauren Boebert who work against justice and equity for people of color in America. I need your help to do this.