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Below is the text of the letter that The Scientist has sent to the governor of Missouri, asking him to stop the police from using weapons of war against the people of Ferguson. If you like what The Scientist has written, please feel free to use this letter yourself.  If we all write, the Governor can't ignore us, and we can all send a message that what has happened in Ferguson, not only to Mike Brown, but to the rest of the community is WRONG, and Governor Nixon is heading to the history books as "another idiot Nixon". 

You can send physical letters to this address:

Office of Governor Jay Nixon PO Box 720 Jefferson City, MO 65102

Email/Contact form located here:

https://governor.mo.gov/get-involved/contact-the-governors-office

August XX, 2014

Dear Governor Nixon,

The world is watching your state right now. The police force in Ferguson has ceased to protect the citizens and instead has used weapons of war against them. The action of the police force has been beyond excessive, starting with the death of Mike Brown, and extending into the treatment of the people protesting his death. The world is watching you now, watching as your state declares war on its citizens, watching as the police force kills and injures innocent people, watching YOU to see what you will do. Please do not condone the extremely excessive actions of the police force in Ferguson. I am imploring you to stand up, take action and implement measures to prevent another death such as Mike Brown’s from happening again, and ensure that the police force, not only in Ferguson, but in all of Missouri, returns to protecting and serving the citizens. Please implement the following changes:

1. The shooting and killing of an unarmed citizen who does not have an outstanding warrant for a violent crime should be an offense.

2. If they are not already, choke holds and chest compressions by police (what the coroner lists as the official cause of death for Eric Garner in New York) should be banned.

3. All police officers must wear forward-facing body cameras while on duty. They cost just $99 and are having a significant, positive impact in several cities around the United States and the world.

4. Suspensions for violations of any of the above offenses should be UNPAID.

5. Convictions for the above offenses should have their own set of mandatory minimum penalties.

Please take a stand and make it clear that in the state of Missouri police brutality will not be acceptable, and the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.  

There is already a petition going around directed at President Obama, calling for an end to police brutality on a Federal level. This letter is directed at governors, calling for change on a state level.  Email your governor, write your governor, and tell them that you want to live in a state where police brutality DOESN'T HAPPEN. The more elected officials contacted, the more people in government know that we, the citizens demand change.  This letter is for ANYONE to use. Just copy it, add the details for your state, and send. It's just a generic template right now, so feel free to add your thoughts! The more of us who stand up and say innocent ment/women dying is unacceptable, the better!