Petitions that are demanding justice over the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor have received over 18 million signatures.
Most of the signatures for these three Change.org petitions belong to the "Justice for George Floyd" campaign, which alone has amassed over 13.8 million signatures. The "Justice for Breonna Taylor" campaign has over 2.2 million signatures and the "Justice for Ahmaud Arbery! I Run with Maud!" petition has over 2 million signatures.
Ansa Edim, senior brand marketing manager at Change.org, told Newsweek in an emailed statement that the "success of these petitions show that people around the world are ready to stand up and fight against racial injustice. This is not just a moment but a movement and Change.org is proud to host a place to amplify and unite these voices."
Floyd died on May 25 after being arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Police officer Derek Chauvin can be seen on video kneeling on Floyd's neck, even while Floyd says multiple times that he could not breathe and eventually becomes unresponsive. A fire department report later stated that they could not detect a pulse on Floyd before he was put in an ambulance that took him to the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Chauvin was arrested four days later when he was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. He and three other officers involved in the arrest were also fired from the Minnesota Police Department on May 26.
The medical examiner listed the manner of Floyd's death as a homicide and stated he died due to "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression," meaning that the stress Chauvin put on Floyd's body strained his heart's ability to pump blood.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Emergency Medical Technician, died in her Louisville, Kentucky home on March 13 after three police officers forcibly entered the apartment unannounced when carrying out a search warrant. Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, opened fire on the officers that he mistook for intruders, hitting one. The officers fired off about 25 shots in response, approximately eight of which hit Taylor.
The "no-knock" search warrant carried out in the incident was for drugs believed by police to be stored in Taylor's apartment. The three police officers who carried out the warrant were placed on administrative leave. Charges have yet to be filed against law enforcement with regard to this incident, though the Federal Bureau of Investigation is now investigating the shooting.
Arbery died on February 23 after he was allegedly shot by Travis McMichael, who along with his father Gregory, is accused of chasing Arbery down in a pickup truck as he ran down a road in Brunswick, Georgia. The father, a retired police officer, and son stated to authorities that they believed Arbery may have committed a burglary in the area.
The McMichaels were charged with murder and aggravated assault May 7, and William Bryan, who recorded the incident, was charged with murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment May 21. The charges came after the case was taken over by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.
Newsweek reached out to attorney Ben Crump, who represents all three of the victims' families, for comment on the mass amount of support for these petitions, but he did not respond back in time for publication.
