Ben & Jerry: We white people need to use our power to fight police abuse - USA TODAY

In Euclid, Ohio, police officers found a young unarmed Black man sleeping, woke him up and killed him.

In Ocean City, Maryland, police officers tased and beat teenagers for vaping on the boardwalk. 

In Louisville, Kentucky, police officers kicked down apartment doors with a "no-knock" warrant and killed someone. 

When we were growing up, our mothers taught us the policeman was our friend. Black mothers have no choice but to teach their children to fear the police. 

Following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year, politicians and business leaders made bold statements like Black Lives Matter. Protests erupted in the streets. Despite spending more than $1.5 billion per year  to influence Congress, Big Business didn't make passing police reform a priority.

And Congress failed to meet the moment with a national solution.

Qualified Immunity: He was asleep in his car. Police woke him up and created a reason to kill him.

Since our national failure, the crisis has only gotten worse. More than 1,000 people have been killed by police since George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020. And hundreds of thousands more have faced inhuman abuse. 

USA TODAY Opinion: Faces, victims, issues surrounding qualified immunity

If we choose to use it, we white people have the power to hold rogue cops accountable and create a society where Black mothers can also teach their children that the policeman is their friend.

Qualified Immunity: Not above the law: Supreme Court can protect citizens by striking down qualified immunity

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are the co-founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and the co-chairs of the Campaign to End Qualified Immunity.

This column is part of a series by the USA TODAY Opinion team examining the issue of qualified immunity. The project is made possible in part by a grant from Stand Together. Stand Together does not provide editorial input.