A coalition of community activists, clergy and others have issued an open letter to Birmingham city and police leaders concerned about recent officer-involved shootings, including the deaths of a man and a woman one month apart.

“As families grieve the losses of Vanessa Ragland and Jamal D’Angelo Williams, it has become clear that this administration must reckon with the reality of individuals being killed, harmed and hurt by police,” said the Rev. Eric Hall, co-founder of Black Lives Matter.

“Both Jamal and Vanessa were living with mental illnesses at the time of their murders,” the open letter states. “Their loss exposes the fragile conditions under which Black residents are forced to live in this city and illustrates the failure of city systems designed to protect the most vulnerable.

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