Statement attributable to:
Susan R. Bailey, M.D.
American Medical Association President
“The killing of Daunte Wright and pepper spraying of Army officer Caron Nazario show how police violence is a manifestation of structural racism that deliberately and disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. History shows and research confirms that significant harms are inflicted by police violence. Often times, this violence occurs following targeting profiling and use of excessive force of Black and Brown people for minor infractions. Not only do the impacts of this continuous violence have far-reaching consequences on society as a whole, but marginalized communities are doubly harmed because of the compounded effects of witnessing and experiencing inter-generational trauma.
“Last year, in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, the AMA called for an end to police brutality and for uniform training, transparency in reporting, and accountability for law enforcement. Our House of Delegates also recognized the detrimental public health consequences of violent law enforcement interactions and adopted policy addressing the need for policing reform. These latest incidents—along with countless others, reported and unreported, seen and unseen—were avoidable and demonstrate that more must be done to dismantle structural racism in our society.”
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