This is not okay.

I have been defending my statement that the police brutality issues in the United States are racist for a few weeks now, and quite honestly it's getting tiring repeating myself over and over and over, but I will not stop. This problem of injustice needs to be addressed. I can't possibly write a post just answering the question:

"If you were on a consulting committee to a police force, what would you suggest as a means to address the problem of police officers killing unarmed citizens? Is this a matter of improved training, restricted weapons, stronger consequences following incidents, or something else?"

 I can't just answer the question and be done with it because I strongly believe it is a matter of something else. It's a matter of eliminating the prejudiced mindset of police officers.

I'm sure by now everyone has heard of Mike Brown. He was wrongfully accused of thievery and shot multiple times while his hands were up. This is not okay. So what do the courts do? They let Darren Wilson, the man who murdered Mike, off with no charges. This is not okay. Although Darren and the courts won't admit it, this is a matter of race. Darren targeted Mike because he was African American, and the courts ruled in favour of Darren due to the fact that they believe Mike's life was worth less because of the pigment in his skin.


Some people still believe it isn't about race, even though the internet is flooded with proof. I'd like to point out just a few of the millions of individuals whose lives matter, yet were still shot in cold blood.

Eric Garner: a man, who was often described as a gentle giant, was harassed by officers after he broke up a fight on the street. The multiple officers put him in an illegal choke hold, and continued to hold it even when he said he couldn't breathe, inevitably taking Eric's life. None of the officers were charged with anything. Note that the link takes you to a heartbreaking video of the occurrence. This is not okay.

Miyekko Durden-Bosley: a woman who was being arrested and, obviously scared, kicked the officer. Police are trained to deal with this behavior, yet this particular police officer felt it was fit to punch her face, breaking her eye socket. She wasn't just given a black eye, her eye socket was broken. The officer received no charges. This is not okay.

Rumain Brisbon: a man whose pill bottle was mistaken for a gun. He was shot without given a chance to defend himself. There is question about the justification of his murder. This is not okay.

Tamir Rice: a twelve year old boy who was playing with a toy gun when he was shot and left on the ground for four whole minutes without any medical care, until he passed away. The officer was not charged. This is not okay.

Cameron Tillman : a fourteen year old boy who was with his friends and brother in an "abandoned" house, with permission from the owner. When he heard a knock on the door, he answered and was shot multiple times in front of said friends and brother, resulting in his death. The shooting was deemed a "freak accident". This is not okay.
 
Alfred Wright : a man who was found dead with body parts missing and multiple puncture wounds. Despite his injuries, police say he died from a drug overdose, which his family denied, and wild animals are the cause of the body's conditions, when they clearly were not. This is not okay. 
 
Aiyana Jones: a seven year old girl who was sleeping on the couch in the front room of her house when a police officer entered, without consent, and shot her. This is not okay.

Akai Gurley: a young man who was leaving an apartment building with his girlfriend via the staircase. Two police officers, who were supposed to be patrolling and reducing crime rates in stairwells, shot him without warning. Akai stumbled down three floor levels before he collapsed and passed away. The police and their supporters are calling it an "accident". This is not okay.

John Crawford:  a young man who had been shot without warning while holding a rifle in Walmart. This is not okay. 
 
Tanisha Anderson:  a 37 year old woman with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, who was taken by police officers to their vehicle, where she felt uncomfortable and tried to escape, most likely due to her mental illnesses. She was shoved to the pavement and handcuffed when she closed her eyes for the last time, right in front of her mother and brother. This case needed to be "examined". This is not okay.

Dymond Milburn: a twelve year old girl who went outside one night to flip a switch on the breaker box to restore electricity to her family's house. Three police officers came from their vehicle and started attacking the girl, accusing her of prostitution, and ordering her to follow them. Dymond called out for her father, who heard her and came rushing out of the house in time to see them beating her head and neck. The link takes you to an article that goes into more detail about her injuries, which also states that she was left with PTSD, reoccurring nightmares, and loss of concentration. In the end, the twelve year old girl was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer. This is not okay.

If you click on any of these names, you will be taken to an article with more detail about the injustice they received. I cannot even tell you how many other heartbreaking stories I have read about that I unfortunately can't put in this post due to the length of all them.

"But white people are killed by police too!"

Yes, it does happen. Our class was given this example of police brutality towards a Caucasian youth:

Sammy Yatim: a young, Caucasian man who sexually and violently threatened passengers of a streetcar. He pulled out his genitals and knife, and attempted to slash a woman's throat. When police arrived, Sammy was given multiple warnings to put the knife down and not take a step towards the crowd, who miraculously managed to escape the streetcar. After Sammy refused again and again to put the knife down, he started to walk in the direction of the crowd, which triggered the officer to shoot him multiple times.

Am I saying the officer should have killed Sammy? No. If anything, maybe shot in the thigh to prevent him from attacking the crowd. I do not think Sammy should have been murdered.

However, there is a major difference between Sammy's story, and the stories of all those mentioned before him. Firstly, Sammy almost killed a woman, was given multiple warnings, and was shot when he made a move towards the crowd. The other people, on the other hand, were shot when they were playing in the park, hanging out with friends, and even sleeping. Sammy was given a chance because of his skin colour.

Tumblr user expresses their opinion

Secondly, you need to look at the verdicts. None of the officers were charged in any cases where the murdered person was African American. In fact, in Dymond's case, she was charged. Sammy's murderer was instead charged with second-degree murder, which is an automatic sentence with no chance of parole for 10-25 years. Sammy's life was valued by the courts because of his skin colour.

Still need more proof? White people that have shot and murdered children at school have been seen as the victims of society. Now imagine if the shooter had been black. Do you honestly think they would be treated the same way?

 As a last example of why this is a racial matter: A black man is killed every 28 hours.

Eric Garner's last words, recorded by video

So to answer the initial question, I don't really think there is anything we can do. I mean, body cameras seemed like a good idea until the courts dismissed the Eric Garner incident, which was videotaped. As Twitter user scottacquavella tweeted, "I guess a video of a cop choking a man to death isn't enough evidence to prove a cop choked a man to death." Quite honestly, I think the only way the amount of unnecessary shootings by police officers will go down is if racist police officers and court members get a grip on reality and realize that African American people have lives, too. Darren Wilson referred to Mike Brown as an "it" and a "demon" in an attempt to justify what he did. We need laws that defend the statement: "Murder is illegal." The consequences for taking a life must be intensified.

I apologize for the long post, as I know we were not supposed to rant, but I cannot just state my opinion and be done with it. It is important that everyone knows where my opinion comes from. Things need to change. I will never let the lives of these people or the unjust actions of the police be forgotten. As Dr. Seuss has said:

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."