As law enforcement continues to claim the lives of unarmed individuals across the country, officers are increasingly shielded from accountability due to qualified immunity—a legal doctrine that strictly limits the right to sue police officers and other public officials for constitutional violations such as excessive force. The Supreme Court has upheld this loophole, denying victims of police brutality recourse.

In some of these cases, the officer involved in the shooting can hide behind the claim that they feared for their lives–even if the victim was shot in the back, as has become the case for so many deadly episodes involving law enforcement. With impunity and zero accountability, police officers will sometimes spin a false narrative victimizing themselves, even when caught on video camera, while criminalizing the person they have murdered.

In the midst of the continued inhumane assaults–especially for Black, brown and Indigenous people, who are nearly three times more likely to be fatally shot by police–we must demand the protective shield over police be lowered and we must demand justice for impacted families.

Congress can and must act now to ensure accountability from law enforcement by passing the Ending Qualified Immunity Act–legislation that would eliminate the unjust and court-invented doctrine of qualified immunity, and restore the ability for people to obtain relief when state and local officials, including police officers, violate their legal and constitutionally secured rights.

No one is above the law, not even law enforcement. We must have accountability and stop protecting cops with qualified immunity.

Sign the petition to Congress: Pass the Ending Qualified Immunity Act NOW!