10 Years After Michael Brown’s Death, This Organization Is Working To End Police Violence

It’s been ten years since the tragic killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Michael Brown was 18 years old and had just graduated high school several days before he was killed. The Midwestern town of Ferguson — a suburb just 10 miles northwest of St. Louis was in the national spotlight with harrowing images of people protesting in the streets and buildings being set on fire, all while Brown’s body lay lifeless in the middle of the street.

His death came two years after Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed on Feb. 26, 2012, in his neighborhood by a self-proclaimed neighborhood watcher. Martin’s death sparked one of the largest social movements in U.S. history: #BlackLivesMatter. That social movement spilled into Ferguson following the death of Brown as people protested in the streets, calling for justice and systematic police reform.

Brown’s death — and others — sparked conversations and organizations like Campaign Zero to launch as an initiative to end police violence.

While leadership says there is still work to be done to achieve justice and accountability, the organization’s members have made some strides in implementing fundamental changes across various cities in the United States.

Campaign Zero Successes To End Police Violence

8 Can’t-Wait

This campaign has successfully passed use-of-force legislation in 24 states, including Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, and Virginia, and major cities, including Minneapolis and Kansas City, Kansas, to reduce police violence. According to Campaign Zero, this is the single largest change to the power of the police in U.S. history.

In addition, organizers have created the first-ever database of use-of-force policies through 8 Can’t-Wait and continue to be at the forefront of reviewing, grading, and influencing policy and legislative change. Hundreds of city policies are publicly available at 8CantWait.org, alongside state laws impacting use-of-force.

End All No Knocks

Leaders working on the End All No Knocks campaign have worked to ban dangerous police raids and institute stronger restrictions on law enforcement searches. So far, six states and two cities (Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Virginia, as well as Minneapolis, and Birmingham, Alabama) have adopted more restrictive no-knock raid laws.

Mapping Police Violence

Campaign Zero developed and launched the most comprehensive accounting of people killed by police in the United States and made the database a resource for advocates, policymakers, media, academics, and the public.

Police Union Contracts

Campaign Zero has created the first-ever database of police union contracts. The organization has analyzed more than 4,000 contracts, and leaders continue to be at the forefront of reviewing, grading, and influencing the discourse on police union contracts.