“I can’t breathe” - enough is enough

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us  "There comes a time when silence is betrayal[...]Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter. In the end, we will remember not the words of the enemies but the silence of our friends."

By now you’ve likely heard of the murder of a handcuffed George Floyd crying out, "I can't breathe" as a police officer kneeled on his neck for more than 8 excruciating minutes. The unlawful and inhumane killings of innocent and unarmed Black individuals such as George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are only a few examples of the police violence perpetrated against the black community.

Turo stands beside our Black community of hosts, guests, and employees. It is essential to build empathy and find ways to take action to fight for equity and social change. Nothing can be done to bring back the lives lost by systemic racism, but we can support our brothers and sisters who are working hard in the Black Lives Matter movement. Thus, Turo is proud to support California bill AB 1196 authored by Asm. Mike Gibson*.

Assembly Bill 1196 seeks to eliminate the use of carotid artery restraints by law enforcement statewide. The carotid artery restraint also known as the “stranglehold”, is different from the chokehold that many Police Departments have banned, however, most departments have not banned the “stranglehold.” The carotid artery restraint was the very tactic that was used inGeorge Floyd’s killing. Although it is not a peer-to-peer car sharing bill or a tech bill, Turo is proud to take a stand against police brutality and be an ally in supporting the Black community.

Supporting AB 1196 is a step in the right direction. We recognize there is much work to be done to stop systematic racism in our society and we hope to be a small part of the solution.

*Introduced by Assembly  Members Gipson, Carrillo, Chiu, Grayson, Santiago, and Weber. Principal coauthors: Senators Durazo and Wiener. Coauthors: Assembly Members Bloom, Bonta, Burke, Cervantes, Eggman, Gabriel, Eduardo Garcia, Gloria, Gonzalez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Levine, Low, McCarty, Nazarian, Reyes, Robert Rivas, Ting, and Waldron. Coauthors: Senators Allen, Caballero, Chang, Dodd, Lena Gonzalez, Mitchell, Stern, and Umberg.