Dr Punch’s criticism of deaths due to police firearms as “gun violence” are unimpeachable and factual.

Death by guns is gun violence, it doesn’t make a difference if that gun is in the hands of police, and black Americans die from it at a disproportionate rate. https://twitter.com/mcbridetd/status/1198608682952642566

Denial that there are real problems here - structural and institutional racism, escalation of violence rather than de-escalation, and the reality of privilege for people like me - doesn’t help anyone. Electing someone like @laurie_punch to address them is looking for solutions.

Finally, to suggest that acknowledging the reality of racism is somehow criticism of police generally isn’t defending our officers. Instead it suggests that police are beyond criticism. This is authoritarian and such attitudes will alienate the community - worsening the problem.

Medicine shares many of the same problems - as Dr Punch points out!

When we acknowledge medical care is delivered unequally by race, or implicit bias affects physicians - we’re not showing bias against medicine or doctors! We’re trying to improve medicine.

Everyone is subject to implicit bias, many of us work in systems that affected by racist social structures - including medicine. We aren’t tryung to hurt people by pointing this out, we’re trying to design better systems that don’t perpetuate racism.

We can not deny that policing can be improved, or that it could be more equitable, or that black Americans’ experience of police is different.

Denial doesn’t help our police, it delays the solutions that can save lives, including theirs.

So if you agree let @DrSamPage, our county executive, know Dr. Punch’s statements are not biased against police or any individual, but advocate against racist systems. Her statements, as always, are factual, and she enjoys our full support.