Killing of Sonya Massey Marks One of the Many Recent Incidents of People Shot and Killed by Police

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - On July 6, Sonya Massey, a 36-year old Black woman in Springfield, Illinois, was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer responding to a 911 dispatch call Massey herself placed. This horrifying tragedy was the latest incident of police gun violence, highlighting the significant problem of police gun violence and the need for the strong use of force and de-escalation policies and training, including accountability measures for abusive and bad actor officers. Everytown for Gun Safety, and its grassroot network Moms Demand Action, released the following statement in response to Massey's homicide at the hands of police and the recent trend of police violence across the country.

"Sonya Massey called the police for help, but instead, they ended up fatally shooting her," said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. "It is outrageous that as we approach a decade since Michael Brown's murder, unchecked police gun violence and racism continue to devastate Black communities. Until use of force practices are reformed and action is taken on police accountability, law enforcement will continue to perpetuate racist gun violence. My heart is with Sonya's family and our Black communities - especially Black women - across the country who are grieving this loss."

Police gun violence continues to devastate communities, especially Black communities, across the nation. Here is a snapshot of recent incidents of police gun violence from the Midwest region:

• In Minnesota, there have been multiple recent incidents of police gun violence, including the killing of Christopher Junkin at a homeless shelter on June 30 in Crookston, where police also shot and killed another person wielding a non-firearm weapon in May. In Brooklyn Park, officers shot and injured a father, responding to a 911 dispatch made for the health of the man they shot's seven-month-old baby.
• In St. Louis, Missouri, an officer shot a woman as she fatally shot herself on June 27 after responding to a domestic disturbance call.
• Just outside of the perimeter of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last week, out-of-state police officers shot and killed a man wielding a non-firearm weapon.

August 9 will mark 10 years since Michael Brown, 18-years-old at the time, was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. July 17 marked 10 years since Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black man, was killed by a New York City Police Department officer in Staten Island, New York City. In the wake of their murders, communities across the nation demanded action on police reform and police violence prevention.

In an average year, police fatally shoot 22 people in Illinois, and across the country, police shoot and kill nearly 1,100 people annually. Black people are victims of police gun violence at a disproportionate rate, and Black people are nearly three times more likely to be shot and killed by law enforcement than their white counterparts. According to Mapping Police Violence, in Illinois, Black people are over six times as likely to be killed by police as white people - and over four times more likely in Minnesota and Missouri.

Police violence is gun violence, and in order to prevent future tragedies, it is essential that law enforcement agencies adopt meaningful use of force policies, which encourage de-escalation, utilize early intervention systems, and ensure that abusive officers are held accountable.

Research suggests that implementing specific use-of-force policies can save lives. One 2016 study of 91 large police departments found adoption of use-of-force reform policies-exhaustion of other means prior to shooting, bans on chokeholds and strangleholds, use-of-force continuum, de-escalation, duty to intervene, restrictions on shootings at moving vehicles, and warning before shooting-was associated with fewer people killed by police.