In response to questions regarding protests following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, the ACLU of Maine issued the following statement. It can be attributed to Alison Beyea, executive director, ACLU of Maine:
"All of us at the ACLU are feeling the pain and anger of this moment. We stand in solidarity with communities that are reeling. We join in the call for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all those who have been needlessly killed by police. We join the Movement for Black Lives in calling for a reinvestment of resources out of police departments and into communities. We know that true justice will not be served until we have dismantled the historic and pervasive racism present in all of our systems.
"The most important thing is that we focus on the issues that are driving people into the streets. For hundreds of years, systemic racism in this country has brought pain and trauma to communities of color. People have been marching and kneeling and putting their bodies on the line to call for change, yet the police continue to kill Black people with impunity. If we truly want a path forward, our focus must remain on ending police brutality against people of color."
