1 RESOLUTION #1F 2020 FALL SESSION 2 3 Legislative Action: 4 Introduced by: Senator R. Regalado (A)(S)(E), Senator R. Harper (A)(S)(E), Senator J. Silva 5 (A)(S)(E), Senator E. Hotz (A)(S)(E), Senator S. Musa (A)(S)(E) 6 7 1st Reading: 06/10/2020 Referred To: Full Senate (Special) 8 2nd Reading:________ Committee Action:______________ 9 3rd Reading: _______ Senate Action: _________________ 10 11 12 Executive Action: 13 14 __________________________________ _________________________ 15 ASUNM President Date 16 17 WHEREAS, the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM) Government 18 is the representative body of the undergraduate students and promotes student success; and 19 20 WHEREAS, George Floyd, a forty-six (46) year-old Black man, was murdered on May 25th, 21 2020, by a white police officer from the Minneapolis Police Department who forced his knee on 22 Floyd’s neck for eight (8) minutes and forty-six (46) seconds1; and 23 24 WHEREAS, George Floyd’s death is the latest of many Black lives lost at the hands of an 25 inherently flawed and racist police institution that also allows white civilians to feel as though 26 they have the authority to take the law into their own hands; Breonna Taylor, a twenty-six (26) 27 year-old emergency room technician was shot and killed when police entered her residence 28 during a “no-knock” raid2; Ahmaud Arbery, a twenty-five (25) year-old was chased and shot to 29 death by two white civilians while jogging;3 Tamir Rice, a twelve (12) year-old was shot to 30 death by a white police officer within two (2) seconds of arriving at a park where he was 31 playing;4 Trayvon Martin, a seventeen (17) year-old was shot and killed by a white 32 neighborhood vigilante while walking home from the store;5 Oscar Grant, a twenty-two (22) 1https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/05/29/derek-chauvin-arrested-george-floyd-death-minneapolis- police-officer/ 2 https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html 3https://www.npr.org/2020/05/26/861992342/arbery-shooting-sparks-racism-corruption-questions-about- georgia-county 4https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/us/in-tamir-rice-shooting-in-cleveland-many-errors-by-police-then- a-fatal-one.html 5https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/07/31/631897758/a-look-back-at-trayvon-martins-death- and-the-movement-it-inspired 33 year-old, was shot and killed after being restrained by police officers;6 Eric Garner, a forty- 34 three (43) year-old, was placed in a chokehold by a New York Police Department officer and 35 was killed as a result, and at the time of Garner’s death, he was crying that he could not breathe, 36 just as George Floyd was in his last moments;7 Philando Castile, a thirty-two (32) year-old St. 37 Paul School Employee, was shot by a police officer four (4) times while in the vehicle with his 38 girlfriend and child during a routine traffic stop;8 Samuel Dubose, a forty-three (43) year-old, 39 was shot and killed by a white University of Cincinnati police officer during a routine traffic stop 40 while sitting in his car;9 Sandra Bland, a twenty-eight (28) year-old women, was pulled over for 41 failure to signal, arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer and was found dead in her cell 42 three (3) days later;10 Walter Scott, a fifty (50) year-old, was shot in the back and killed by a 43 white police officer while running away after a traffic stop for a broken tail light;11 Terence 44 Crutcher, a forty (40) year-old, was shot and killed by a police officer while waiting for help on 45 the side of the road, because his SUV had broken down;12 46 47 WHEREAS, institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism expressed 48 in social and political institutions that can be reflected in areas including but not limited to 49 wealth, income, criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, and education, in addition to 50 biases against homeless and mentally ill individuals’ needs; and 51 52 WHEREAS, the horrendous and uncalled-for murders of Black men, women, and children 53 display the systemic racism and racist violence that has plagued the United States of America 54 since its establishment; and 55 56 WHEREAS, in 2019, out of one thousand ninety-nine (1,099) people were killed by a police 57 officer, twenty-four (24%) percent of those killed were Black, despite Black people making up 58 only thirteen percent (13%) of the population13; and 59 60 WHEREAS,2019 saw only twenty-seven (27) days in which a civilian was not killed by a police 61 officer14; and 62 6 https://www.thoughtco.com/shooting-death-of-oscar-grant-721526 7https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eric-garner-mom-george-floyd-plead-i-cant-breathe-reoccurring- nightmare/ 8 https://www.startribune.com/aftermath-of-officer-involved-shooting-captured-on-phone- video/385789251/ 9https://www.newsweek.com/grand-jury-indicts-officer-ray-tensing-shooting-death-samuel-dubose-358043 10https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/12/sandra-bland-documentary-more-questions- answers/578380/ 11 https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/07/us/michael-slager-sentencing/index.html 12 https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/20/us/oklahoma-tulsa-police-shooting/index.html 13 https://mappingpoliceviolence.org 14 https://mappingpoliceviolence.org 63 WHEREAS, Black people are three (3) times more likely to be killed by a police officer than 64 white people; and 65 66 WHEREAS, ninety-nine percent (99%) of killings by police between the years of 2013-2019 67 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime15; and 68 69 WHEREAS, the killing of George Floyd, and the result of public anger toward systemic racism, 70 racial profiling, and a lack of officer accountability, has sparked an array of protests and activist 71 displays around the world and throughout the United States, including New Mexico; and 72 73 WHEREAS, the University of New Mexico (UNM) students and organizations have spoken up 74 about racial inequities and have begun organizing and participating peacefully, standing up for 75 human rights and racial equality; and 76 77 WHEREAS, the police and the National Guard have committed grievances (i.e. shooting 78 protestors with rubber bullets, tear gassing protestors, committing physical assaults, and violating 79 civil liberties by keeping people detained on streets and in buses) all while protestors were 80 gathering peacefully, across the country in response to these events and protests; and 81 82 WHEREAS, during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affects the Black 83 community, has highlighted the systemic racism against the Black community in the health care 84 system and their overall lack of proper resources; and 85 86 WHEREAS, there has been evidence of snipers on top of UNM buildings and local police 87 accessing UNM buildings during the time of peaceful protests, causing confusion and discomfort 88 from students and the community; and 89 90 WHEREAS, UNM Police released a statement that UNM shared, that inadequately addressed 91 student safety, offering protection from protestors and seeking that students assist the police, 92 discrediting and not supporting students at the protest and Black students during this time; and 93 94 WHEREAS, the University as well as UNM leadership has responded slowly to national events, 95 without substantially addressing police brutality as well as the conversation about police force on 96 UNM’s campus and issues facing our students on a daily basis; and 97 98 WHEREAS, individuals are using their platforms to voice concerns and spread awareness in 99 support of the Black Lives Matter movement, however, individuals at the University and across 100 the world are making statements and sharing graphics that are performative and do not address 15 https://mappingpoliceviolence.org 101 the events at hand, while also not sharing resources or action items for people to get involved; 102 and 103 104 WHEREAS, individuals have had the privilege to ignore systemic racism and not speak up about 105 events that have affected the Black community in this country since the founding of the United 106 States, and while it is long overdue, white people and other minorities must become allies and 107 need to become informed and educated of these injustices and elevate the Black community; and 108 109 NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED, that ASUNM denounces the murder of George 110 Floyd and all acts of racial violence, and wholeheartedly stands in solidarity with the Black 111 community and the Black Lives Matter movement; and 112 113 NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED, that ASUNM supports and 114 encourages those who are using their platforms on social media and through other means to 115 spread helpful information and resources in abstract and creative manners, utilizing talents and 116 highlighting Black voices; and 117 118 NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED, that ASUNM denounces the 119 militarization and unethical tactics used by police against people involved in protests, including 120 violently using non-lethal rubber bullets and tear gas, destroying protestors’ water and medical 121 supplies, and making wrongful arrests, among other tactics; and 122 123 NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED, that ASUNM supports the effort to 124 dissipate police unions, and defund police departments in an effort to redirect funds to 125 communities who have suffered from systemic racism; and 126 127 NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED, that ASUNM advocates for the 128 abolishment of the American policing system, and redistributing