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LULAC Calls For Major Changes To Law Enforcement In America Following Guilty Verdict In George Floyd Killing

Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Jury’s Decision Can Be the First Step Towards Different Policing Policies and Oversight by Communities

George Floyd

Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued the following statement after the jury issued a verdict of guilty on all counts in the May, 25, 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin.

Domingo Garcia - LULAC National President
“Nothing can erase the pain and frustration that the family of George Floyd has suffered during this past year and today’s verdict is one step in what will be a long and difficult healing for them. I was with them at his funeral and the feelings were and are very strong that this must be a moment of significant change in our nation. It is far too long that we have seen the deaths of civilians including George Floyd, 12-year old Santos Rodriguez in July 1973 and 13-year old Adam Toledo on March 29, 2021. Change must happen in our country having to do with how police are trained and when they are allowed to use deadly force in encounters with civilians. Also, there is a need for more oversight of how police are allowed to operate in their cities and communities.

LULAC will continue to work with other civil rights leaders to make sure that justice is a guarantee for all men and women in America without regard to how they look, where they’re from or what language they speak. This is not the end. It is only one more step in a journey we started in 1929 and we continue all these years later, still determined to make justice for all more than an empty promise.”

Sindy Benavides - LULAC Chief Executive Officer
“LULAC’s cornerstone is education and only through the intentional transformation of law enforcement by conducting a thorough assessment of its internal system, establishing effective training programs and committing to a mechanism for accountability that includes the local community, can we begin to instill a sense of safety within our nation. Our call is that we move away from an adversarial, us-versus-them, way of thinking to one of community policing and preventative strategies that improve the socio-economic conditions that can fuel a sense of despair in our neighborhoods.

This will not be an easy road to a more unified America but we are working daily to address the disparities that have existed historically and brought us to the point where we are today. Only by overcoming a sense that we live on a land of dual standards can we build a better country and a better future for our children and grandchildren. LULAC calls upon our elected leaders to come together in that work. We stand united with George Floyd’s family in this moment and the many victims who have died due to excessive police force.”

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About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit https://lulac.org/