I cried this morning. After saying my morning prayer and thanking God for waking me, I cried for people who won’t see the new day.
I cried for George Floyd, the most recent poster man for police abuse. I cried for Sandra Bland and Philando Castile. I wept for all of the people listed below whose lives resulted in unnecessary and senseless deaths at the hands of rogue law enforcement officers, and as in the case of Trayvon Martin, wanna-be-cops.
I no longer watch the video showing a policeman with his knee, pressing George Floyd’s neck to the ground, applying his full body weight, squeezing the life out of the helpless man lying prone with his hands cuffed behind his back. Once was enough. I am tired of seeing videos of black people, particularly black men being murdered by the boys in blue, who, without courage fueled by a badge and gun, might otherwise be quivering cowards.
All seasons are open season on black people. Some cops – and I emphasize some because not all of them are bad – appear to take pleasure in using lethal force and lethal weapons against unarmed black men. You need a license to hunt animals, but black men are fair game. Shoot them. Stun them to death with a taser. Hang them in a jail cell or suffocate them on the street. Hands up, hands down, hands cuffed behind their backs, it doesn’t matter to corrupt officers. They spot their prey and slay it.
The unmerciful killing of black people is happening in cities across the country. Will it ever stop? Amerikkk have you no conscience?
On May 24, The New York Times ran a list of people who succumbed to COVID-19. How about we start compiling and publishing lists of the black people who have been murdered by law enforcement officers or hate monger racists like those who killed Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr?
In these contemporary times, high-profile police brutality cases draw public attention and protests. Still, I suspect that numerous cases are so well covered-up that the public never learns about them.
It doesn’t matter if brown-skinned targets happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time or the right place at the wrong time. Any time or any place can be a kill zone for a cop on a mission, including one’s own home.
If you have a relative or friend who you haven’t seen or heard from for a while, do not, I repeat, do not call the police and ask them to do a wellness check. Last year, a neighbor of Fort Worth, Texas resident Atatiana Jefferson, after noticing her door ajar, called the police and asked them to look in on Atatiana. According to reports, a responding officer saw a movement through the window of Atatiana’s home and fired. She was shot dead — in her own home. In September 2018, Botham Jean was murdered by a Dallas policewoman in his home. She claims she thought it was her apartment. In February 1999, Amadou Diallo was mowed down by four plain-clothed police officers. They blasted him with 41 shots as he was preparing to enter his apartment building. They claim to have mistaken him for a rape suspect, a claim that was never confirmed by any evidence.
When I began researching this subject, I was determined to find and list enough related cases to produce a list at least half as long as the corona list published in The New York Times. A list of black citizens who have been haphazardly murdered for decades would surely fill up several issues of the paper. In that regard, Coronavirus ain’t got nothing on us.
While researching the subject, I read so many stories about people who unjustly suffered death by cop until I couldn’t read anymore. Every story tugged at my heartstrings. My emotions were too raw for me to complete the task. In some cases, the officers were charged and convicted, but many times, they were not criminally charged. I read the line “No officers have been charged with a crime,” so often, I thought I’d vomit. Many rogue cops get off Scot-free to live to kill another day. During a recent newscast, I heard a man say, “Being black in America should not be a death sentence.” Oh, but unfortunately, it is.
If you aren’t familiar with some of the names in the list below, Google them. Read their stories, pray for their soul, and say their name.
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Akai Gurley Albert Davis Alonzo Smith Alton Sterling Alvin Haynes Amadou Diallo Andre Larone Murphy, Sr. Ahmaud Arbery Anthony Ashford Artago Damon Howard Arthur McDuffie Askari Robert Asshams Manley Atatiana Jefferson Bettie Jones Billy Ray Davis Botham Jean Brandon Glenn Brandon Jones Breonna Taylor Brian Acton Brian Day Brian Pickett Bryan Overstreet Charly Leundeu Keunang Christian Taylor Christopher Kimble Cornelius Brown Dajuan Graham Dante Parker Darrell Brown Darrell Gatewood Darrius Steward David Felix De’Angelo Stallworth Denzel Brown Deontre Dorsey |
Dominic Hutchinson Dominick Wise Donald Ivy Dontre Hamilton Eric Garner Eric Harris Ezell Ford Felix Kumi Frank Shephard III Frank Smart Freddie Gray Freedie Blue George Floyd George Mann India Kager Jamar Clark James Carney III Jason Moland Jerame Reid Jeremy Lett Jeremy McDole Jermaine Benjamin Jonathan Sanders Junior Prosper Keith Childress Keith McLeod Kevin Bajoie Kevin Garrett Kevin Matthews Kris Jackson Lamontez jones Laquan McDonald Lavante Biggs Leroy Browning Leslie Snapp Lorenzo Hayes Matthew Ajibade |
Michael Brown Michael Lee Marshall Michael Noel Michael Sabbie Miguel Espinal Natasha McKenna Nathaniel Pickett Norman Cooper Paterson Brown Philando Castile Phillip White Rayshun Cole Reginald Moore Richard Perkins Roy Nelson Rumain Brisbon Salvado Ellswood Samuel Dubose Samuel Harrell Sandra Bland Spencer McCain Tamir Rice Tanisha Anderson Terence Crutcher Terry lee Chatman Terry Price Tiano Metron Tiara Thomas Tony Robinson Trayvon Martin Troy Robinson Tyree Crawford Victo Larosa III Walter Scott Wayne Wheeler William Chapman II Zamiel Crawford |