Angela Underwood Jacobs, a former Lancaster City Councilwoman and congressional candidate, testified in front of the House Committee on the Judiciary on Wednesday after her brother was killed while serving as a federal security guard during protests that turned violent in Oakland.

On Wednesday morning, Jacobs testified during the Judiciary Committee’s Oversight Hearing on Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability after David Patrick Underwood, a federal security guard and Jacobs’ brother, was killed during protests that turned violent in Oakland. 

“What I do know, when I think about all of this, is that my brother wore a uniform, and he wore that uniform proudly,” Jacobs said before the committee. “I’m wondering, ‘Where is the outrage for a fallen officer that also happens to be African American?’”

Underwood, a contract security officer for the Department of Homeland Security, was shot and killed on May 29 while guarding the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland. The shooting took place as protests broke out several blocks away over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The shooter reportedly fired from a vehicle in a targeted attack, and law enforcement officials say that they are looking for a white van in connection with the shooting. 

“I’m heartbroken,” Jacobs said. “I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye to my brother either before he was killed.”

Jacobs, who was the first African American woman to serve on the Lancaster City Council, testified alongside Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd.

“We sit here today at somewhat opposite ends of the spectrum to a certain degree, but yet there is so much commonality amongst both of us,” Jacobs said. “The heartbreak and the grief is unexplainable because it is very, very hard to articulate when your entire world has been turned upside down.” 

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Wednesday’s hearing was meant to help lawmakers gather information and different perspectives as they prepare to attempt to reform policing in the U.S. in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.

“I truly hope that you take your positions, your offices so seriously that you want to go back and really work together and collaborate, because if you can’t get it right, there’s no hope for the rest of us,” Jacobs told the committee. “So when you go back, and you convene, and you talk through everything that’s going on, I hope that we’re just not people on paper, but the fact that you can be able to see our faces and feel our pain, and feel it enough that you want to make change for all of the citizens of the United States of America.”

Jacobs previously ran as a Republican for California’s 25th Congressional seat, which represents the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys, as well as portions of Simi Valley. She dropped out of the race in late 2019 following the resignation of then-Congresswoman Katie Hill, which led to a sudden influx of multiple Republican candidates.

Her testimony, as well as the entirety of the hearing, can be viewed here.

A memorial is scheduled to be held in Northern California for Underwood on Friday, June 19. A GoFundMe page has been set up for his family, raising over $13,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

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