Campaign Zero
Campaign Zero is an American non-profit advocacy organization founded in August 2015 by activists DeRay Mckesson and Samuel Sinyangwe, among others, with the goal of curtailing police use of lethal force and advancing alternatives to conventional policing practices.[1][2] The group emerged amid protests following high-profile police-involved deaths, such as that of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and proposed a suite of policy reforms grounded in data analysis, including the "#8 Can't Wait" initiative that urged departments to adopt measures like banning chokeholds, mandating de-escalation tactics before using force, requiring warnings prior to shootings, and establishing a duty for officers to intervene against excessive force by colleagues.[2][3] Campaign Zero claimed these eight policies could reduce police killings by 72%, based on an analysis of use-of-force data from select departments, though the study's reliance on only 18 months of data from 91 agencies has drawn methodological critiques for overstating causal impacts amid confounding factors like varying local crime rates.[4][5] Among its notable outputs, the organization developed the first comprehensive database of over 4,000 police union contracts to expose barriers to accountability, such as provisions shielding officers from investigations, and provided model legislation for reducing no-knock warrants and solitary confinement.[6] These efforts influenced reforms in various municipalities, yet empirical assessments of broader outcomes remain mixed, with some research linking de-escalation requirements to lower reported force incidents but no clear evidence of sustained declines in fatalities attributable solely to the policies.[7] Campaign Zero has faced internal controversies, including leadership departures in 2022 amid allegations of data misuse and interpersonal disputes among cofounders, as well as external pushback on the efficacy of its incremental reforms versus more transformative "defund the police" approaches favored by some within the broader movement.[8][9] Despite these challenges, it continues to advocate for shrinking police roles in non-violent responses, such as mental health crises, through support for civilian-led interventions.[10]History
Founding and Launch
Campaign Zero was established by Black Lives Matter activists DeRay Mckesson and Samuel Sinyangwe as a policy platform focused on reducing police violence through targeted reforms. The initiative originated amid nationwide protests following the August 9, 2014, shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, which highlighted concerns over police accountability and use of force. Planning discussions involving black activists, nonprofit leaders, and donors occurred as early as late September 2014 in Washington, D.C., to identify actionable steps beyond street demonstrations.[11][6] The campaign officially launched on August 21, 2015, via a dedicated website presenting ten evidence-based proposals for federal, state, and local policy changes, including stricter use-of-force standards, body camera requirements, and increased data reporting on police interactions. Mckesson announced the launch on social media, describing it as a "comprehensive plan to end police violence" informed by research into killings by law enforcement.[12][13][14] While primarily driven by Mckesson and Sinyangwe, the effort drew collaboration from associated activists such as Brittany Packnett and Johnetta Elzie, who had co-launched the Mapping Police Violence database in April 2015 to track officer-involved fatalities. This foundational project provided data underpinnings for Campaign Zero's methodology, emphasizing empirical analysis over ideological advocacy alone. The launch positioned the organization as distinct from the broader Black Lives Matter network, though its leaders maintained ties to that movement's origins in Ferguson protests.[15][1][2]Founders and Early BLM Ties
Campaign Zero was founded on August 21, 2015, by Samuel Sinyangwe, DeRay Mckesson, Johnetta Elzie, and Brittany Packnett Cunningham, all of whom had emerged as prominent activists during the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the August 9, 2014, fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.[14][8] These individuals connected amid the Ferguson unrest—Elzie and Packnett Cunningham initially linked up there, later introducing Mckesson—and channeled their activism into a structured policy initiative aimed at reducing police violence through specific reforms, distinct from broader calls for police abolition that later divided parts of the movement.[8][16] DeRay Mckesson, a Baltimore native and former Minneapolis public schools administrator, gained national attention as a lead organizer in Black Lives Matter, leveraging social media for real-time updates from protest sites and launching the Ferguson Protester Newsletter to coordinate activists.[17][8] Johnetta Elzie, from St. Louis, attended early Ferguson demonstrations with friends and described the experience as transformative, subsequently co-founding efforts like Mapping Police Violence alongside her Campaign Zero collaborators to document officer-involved fatalities.[8] Samuel Sinyangwe, a Stanford University graduate with expertise in data analysis, contributed technical skills to track police accountability issues, having previously worked on economic policy research.[8] Brittany Packnett Cunningham, executive director for Teach For America in St. Louis, brought policy experience from education reform and community outreach, helping frame Campaign Zero's proposals as evidence-based alternatives to unchecked policing.[8] The founders' early ties to Black Lives Matter positioned Campaign Zero as an outgrowth of the movement's response to high-profile deaths like Brown's, though it was initiated not by the formal Black Lives Matter network but by these independent activists within the broader coalition.[16][18] Mckesson, in particular, was identified as a BLM lead organizer, using platforms like Twitter—where he amassed over 300,000 followers by mid-2015—to amplify demands for transparency in use-of-force incidents and civilian oversight.[17] This foundation in street-level BLM activism informed Campaign Zero's emphasis on data collection, such as crowdsourced reporting of police encounters, to substantiate claims of systemic issues while advocating for targeted interventions over wholesale restructuring.[8]Internal Ruptures and Organizational Evolution
Campaign Zero experienced significant internal tensions beginning in the mid-2010s, primarily revolving around leadership dynamics and credit attribution among its founders. Johnetta Elzie departed the organization by the end of 2016, citing DeRay Mckesson's erasure of her contributions and his prioritization of personal visibility over collective efforts, including disagreements over Mckesson's 2016 Baltimore mayoral campaign.[8] These frictions escalated in 2017 amid backlash to Mckesson's media appearances, such as a podcast interview with Katy Perry, which Elzie and others viewed as detracting from substantive reform work.[8] Further ruptures emerged in 2020 during the launch of the #8CantWait initiative on June 4, prompting Brittany Packnett Cunningham's resignation on June 9 due to concerns over the campaign's rushed rollout and insufficient data verification.[8] Samuel Sinyangwe expressed similar frustrations, alleging that Mckesson sidelined his input on policy timing and failed to credit his contributions, including an unacknowledged chapter in Mckesson's 2018 book On the Other Side of Freedom.[8] Mckesson countered that his public profile amplified the group's message and acknowledged errors in execution but defended the overall approach.[8] By 2021, Campaign Zero underwent a marked organizational evolution toward formalization to support scaling operations. The group expanded its board of directors, hired a chief operating officer and chief people officer, implemented an employee handbook, and developed a 10-year operating plan, transitioning from an informal activist collective to a structured entity with over a dozen full-time staff and 58 researchers or consultants.[19] Mckesson assumed the role of executive director in 2021, reflecting a consolidation of leadership.[8] Tensions culminated in the severance of ties with Elzie and Sinyangwe that year. The board terminated Elzie's involvement for cause, citing her refusal to perform assigned work, while ending Sinyangwe's business relationship in September 2021 over allegations of unauthorized use of funds and attempts to sabotage operations.[19] Sinyangwe disputed these claims, attributing the break to irreconcilable differences in vision between reformist policies and more abolitionist approaches.[8] In February 2022, the board issued a statement refuting external accusations of financial impropriety and affirming the organization's stability, with over $40 million in donations fueling ongoing and planned campaigns.[19]Policy Platform
Original Ten Proposals
Campaign Zero's original ten proposals, unveiled on August 21, 2015, formed a comprehensive policy agenda designed to minimize police violence by addressing enforcement practices, accountability mechanisms, training, and resource allocation. These solutions were developed by a team including activists DeRay Mckesson, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe, drawing on data from police records and prior incidents like the 2014 Ferguson unrest. The proposals emphasized data-driven changes, such as requiring detailed reporting on use-of-force incidents, while advocating for shifts away from aggressive tactics associated with higher violence rates in certain communities.[14][20] The proposals included:- End Broken Windows Policing: Decriminalize or deprioritize enforcement of minor, non-violent offenses such as jaywalking or small amounts of marijuana possession to curb over-policing in communities of color, which proponents linked to escalated encounters.[20]
- Community Oversight: Implement fully civilian-led review boards with independent authority to investigate and discipline officers, allocating at least 5% of police budgets to such bodies for effective monitoring.[20]
- Limit Use of Force: Restrict deadly force to situations of imminent threat to life, mandate de-escalation as a prerequisite, prohibit chokeholds, and require comprehensive reporting of all police-involved killings.[20]
- Independent Investigations and Prosecutions: Establish dedicated state-level prosecutors for police misconduct cases and ease federal civil rights charging standards to improve conviction rates, addressing perceived local biases.[20]
- Community Representation: Recruit more officers and first responders reflective of local demographics and integrate community surveys into policy development to enhance trust and responsiveness.[20][21]
- Body Cameras and Filming the Police: Equip all officers with body-worn cameras for every interaction, ensure public access to footage within set timelines, and codify the right to record police actions without interference.[20]
- Training Reallocation: Redirect funds from outdated programs to community-informed curricula emphasizing de-escalation, cultural competency, and bias reduction, despite mixed evidence on training's isolated impact.[20]
- End For-Profit Policing: Eliminate quotas for tickets or arrests, cap fines relative to income levels, and ban civil asset forfeiture without criminal convictions to remove financial incentives for excessive enforcement.[20]
- Demilitarization: Terminate the federal 1033 program transferring military surplus to local departments, limit equipment like armored vehicles to rare emergencies, and restrict SWAT deployments.[20]
- Fair Police Contracts: Reform union agreements to eliminate barriers like lengthy appeals that delay discipline, maintain public access to misconduct records, and impose financial liability on departments for officer violence.[20]
Data-Driven Methodology and Claims
Campaign Zero employs a methodology centered on compiling comprehensive datasets from public records, freedom of information requests, and crowdsourced reports to track police use-of-force incidents and departmental policies across U.S. jurisdictions.[23] Their primary tool, Mapping Police Violence, aggregates data on fatal police encounters since 2013, drawing from news reports, official statements, and eyewitness accounts to estimate annual killings, such as the 1,232 recorded in 2015 and the record 1,365 in 2024.[24] This database enables cross-jurisdictional comparisons, with analysis focusing on rates per million residents or per officer to account for population and force size variations.[23] In policy analysis, Campaign Zero codes use-of-force standards from the largest police departments, examining 18 specific requirements like de-escalation training mandates and restrictions on neck restraints.[3] They conducted this for over 100 major agencies, using qualitative review of policy documents to classify compliance, followed by quantitative correlation with violence outcomes. For instance, their examination of collective bargaining agreements involved reviewing 2,700 contracts to identify provisions shielding officers from accountability, such as limits on body-camera access.[25] Statistical methods include simple bivariate associations and multivariate regressions to isolate policy effects, though they emphasize observational data limitations without randomized controls.[3] Key claims assert that adopting targeted policies reduces police violence rates. Campaign Zero's Police Use of Force Project found departments requiring officers to exhaust alternatives before shooting had 7.2% lower killing rates, while those mandating warnings prior to lethal force saw 8.3% reductions, based on 2013 data from 100 cities.[3] Their "8 Can't Wait" framework aggregates eight policies—such as banning chokeholds and shooting at moving vehicles—claiming jurisdictions with all eight experienced 72% fewer killings than those with none, derived from a 2015-2020 dataset of 91 departments.[26] Similarly, they report that 340 cities updated use-of-force rules post-2020, correlating with localized declines, though causation remains inferred from temporal and policy variance rather than causal experiments.[23] These assertions underpin broader advocacy, positioning policy standardization as empirically superior to increased training budgets alone.[12]Major Initiatives
8 Can't Wait Use-of-Force Policies
The 8 Can't Wait initiative, launched by Campaign Zero on June 4, 2020, promotes the immediate adoption of eight targeted use-of-force policy restrictions by police departments to curb killings by officers.[27] Originating from the organization's 2015 Use of Force Project, which examined over 1,000 police departments' policies alongside data on approximately 1,100 killings from 2013 to 2015, the campaign posits that stricter guidelines correlate with fewer fatalities.[3] Campaign Zero's analysis, derived from regression models controlling for factors like department size and crime rates, claims that jurisdictions enforcing all eight policies could see up to a 72% reduction in police killings compared to those with none.[28] This evidentiary basis draws from public records and incident databases, though it relies on observational correlations rather than randomized trials.[26] The eight policies, designed for swift implementation without requiring new training infrastructure, are:- Ban chokeholds and strangleholds (prohibiting neck restraints except in life-threatening situations for the officer).
- Require de-escalation (mandating officers to employ verbal and tactical calming techniques before escalating force).
- Require warning before shooting (obligating a verbal announcement of intent to use deadly force, barring imminent threat).
- Require exhaustion of all alternatives before shooting (ensuring non-lethal options are attempted when feasible).
- Duty to intervene (requiring officers to stop colleagues from using excessive force and report violations).
- Ban shooting at moving vehicles (forbidding gunfire at occupants unless the vehicle poses an immediate deadly threat).
- Require use-of-force continuum (establishing graduated response levels matching the threat posed).
- Require comprehensive reporting (demanding detailed documentation of all force incidents for review and transparency).[3][28]