I founded RAHEEM after losing my life partner to police violence during a routine traffic stop. His love was radical, unapologetic, and it changed my life. The officer that killed my partner had a history of being abusive, but he was never reported. Ninety-five percent of people who experience police violence do not report it.

The process of reporting police misconduct is unnecessarily difficult and often intimidating. As a result, officers are not held accountable, and policies meant to govern police and keep communities safe do not reflect the experiences of the people most impacted by police violence.

RAHEEM, Arabic for mercy, is an independent service for reporting police in the U.S. to help people abused by police get justice and heal.

We work to translate the lived experiences of people impacted by police violence into effective policy, officer accountability, and new narratives about how to keep our communities safe. Partners in our work include community-run oversight structures and advocacy organizations.

RAHEEM is currently working to provide reporters—people who have been victims of police violence—with support, resources, and recommendations on what courses of action they may want to take. These recommended actions can include filing a formal complaint, publicizing their story, connecting them with a local advocacy organization, or connecting them with a volunteer lawyer.

We need a lawyer to help us build out a platform that connects people abused by police to volunteer lawyers. The deliverable(s) may include a written brief outlining (a) a strategy for recruiting and training volunteer lawyers, and (b) the process by which an attorney will be connected with a person.

An integral part of our work involves the framework we have built for making the recommendations above; input from a lawyer would be much appreciated to refine this framework further. We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to getting started!