Thanks to the tireless work of local organizers, community leaders are paying long overdue attention to systemic racism and the need for police reform. In Lincoln, progress has been made with the appointment of a public defender as city attorney and promise of prosecutorial reform. Likewise, Lincoln Police have taken some encouraging steps forward regarding use of force, albeit not enough.
Much more remains to be done. Protesters are still facing unjust charges. Police remain on track to receive more resources even as community members call out for divestment or defunding. We still have police in our schools, fueling the school-to-prison pipeline.
To help Lincoln residents be heard, the ACLU of Nebraska commissioned area organizer Kamryn Sannicks to develop sample scripts, contact information and a summer calendar.
- Download elected officials' contact information (including social media profiles).
- Download the summer calendar.
Jump to sample script:
- Mayor Gaylor Baird, Pardon Protesters Now
- City Councilmember, Oppose More Funding for LPD
- Commissioner, Demand Use of Force Reform
- School Board Member, Get Police Out of Schools
- State Senator, Support Police Oversight
Pardon Protesters Now
Dear Mayor Gaylor Baird,
My name is _____________ and I live at ____________, Lincoln, NE 685__.
I am writing to you today to ask that your administration pardon everyone who was charged while protesting in our city at the beginning of June. Last month you told protesters who had been arrested that they could apply for a pardon and you would consider their fate in six months. This decision is unfair to everyone charged while protesting as it gives you the ability to put their lives on hold. Many of these arrests were a direct result of your decision to implement a city-wide curfew. That curfew aided in law enforcement official’s ability to agitate protesters and as a result arrest some of the people present beyond curfew. I am urging your administration to immediately pardon all protesters charged in conjunction with any protest in order to show compassion and own the harm you caused with your decisions.
I am also writing to you to ask that you reconsider your position on the federal grant that was awarded to our city to hire five new officers. Your position on this grant is inconsistent with the requests of many leaders in the Black community. Along with this grant, the additional funds you are allocating to increase the Lincoln Police Department’s budget are unnecessary. Instead, those funds should be cut from the budget and in turn be used to benefit historically underserved communities in our city. Those funds could be better used to facilitate more mental health resources, restoring services in our most underserved neighborhoods, providing real resources to the Citizen’s Police Advisory Board in order to truly hold our police accountable, and so much more.
Oppose More Funding for LPD
Dear Councilmember __________,
My name is _____________ and I live at ____________, Lincoln, NE 685__.
I am writing to you today to talk about the upcoming vote on the city’s budget. I am concerned that the addition of funds to the Lincoln Police Department will do more harm than good for many of our community members. These funds can be better used benefiting historically underserved communities in our city. The increased funds being directed toward our police department are inconsistent with the requests that many Black community leaders are making and have been making. These calls for justice should be heard and responded to by cutting this funding increase in the city’s budget for the upcoming year.
Demand Use of Force Reform
Dear Commissioner _______,
My name is _____________ and I live at ____________, Lincoln, NE 685__.
I am reaching out to you to ask that you review and reform the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department use of force policies as well as their internal investigations process.
As I am sure you are aware, on the night of the first curfew - several sheriff’s deputies responded to protesters who remained in front of the Hall of Justice past curfew with extreme tactics and violence. I am concerned that these deputies are receiving inadequate training and that the use of force policy is not clear enough for these law enforcement officials to be able to appropriately do their job of protecting community members. Body cameras are not a sole solution. In practice, we saw the deputies on live local news responding to protesters with aggression and a lack of care that they were being filmed. Across the nation we have seen this trend with law enforcement officials and our community is no different.
Get Police Out of Schools
Dear Board Member __________,
My name is _____________ and I live at ____________, Lincoln, NE 685__.
I am writing to you today to show my support for amending the current interlocal agreement and ending the School Resource Officer Program. The most recent amended contract maintains School Resource Officers in many of our school buildings throughout the city while also defining what they can and cannot do in the building. While this amended agreement sought to provide better control over these officers' actions in the building it still neglects the generational struggle of Black and Brown students to fully control their autonomy from a young age. School districts around the country have ended their agreements with the local police department in their community for this reason. By ending this partnership, Lincoln Public Schools can foster better learning environments for all students as well as decrease the opportunity for students to fall victim to the school-to-prison pipeline.
Support Police Oversight
Dear Senator __________,
My name is _____________ and I live at ____________, Lincoln, NE 685__.
I am reaching out to show my support for Senator Justin Wayne’s Municipal Police Oversight Act, which responds in a timely manner to the unjust police actions we have seen in our community and across the nation in response to George Floyd’s murder. This bill will provide better oversight and empower communities to understand who is policing them and how. When this bill makes it through the hearing process and reaches the floor, I hope that you will vote for this bill and allow our Legislature to start responding more effectively to current events in our state.
