–Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Our experiences define us, events we’ve witnessed as well as those that have impacted us directly. They inform us and guide our decision-making process in the future, helping us to avoid making the same mistakes.
As a young man, I lived in an apartment with a hard-working guy who drank like a fish and love loud music… and so did all his friends. One night, sometime after midnight, one of our neighbors called the cops because of the noise, and they came out to shut the party down.
My friend Chris didn’t like the way the situation was unfolding, so he decided to jump off our second-story balcony and try running from the police. I don’t know exactly what happened, but it wasn’t long before one of those officers escorted him back into the living room of our apartment.
Winded, he sat down on the floor with the rest of us. Unharmed.
And he is STILL alive to this day. Well… I haven’t spoken with him in quite a while, so I can’t say that with certainty. But after that night, he lived to see another sunrise.
He ran from the cops and lived to see another DAY.
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Why did he run? We were all underage… he didn’t want to lose his JOB or ruin his chances of going to SCHOOL… he worried about the expense of legal fees and diversion… he didn’t want to face the look of SHAME from his family…
I doubt he ever feared being killed by a Law Enforcement Officer while being held in custody.
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As a child, I was taught to respect Law Enforcement. “… to Protect and Serve.” That means all of us, criminal AND civilian. Once the cops come, they have a JOB to do, and it should be ‘Yes sir/No sir/Thank you sir’ until they’ve secured the situation. Whether you’re in the wrong or not, once they’ve been called to the scene… they are in control. They’re the ones with the WEAPONS.
In essence… submit. Have FAITH in the Justice System.
Have FAITH in Our Rule of Law.
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After watching that footage… of Law Enforcement Officers, beating an UNARMED man… how could anyone recommend that course of action? Those officers… they made the mistakes that aggravated that situation. They sprayed themselves with pepper spray, and as more officers drove by the scene of the initial encounter, they saw one of their own in distress.
They roused themselves into anger.
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All based on assumptions… about who Tyre Nichols was, about the events that had just transpired, as well as the potential ongoing threat posed by Mr. Nichols to his community.
IF Mr. Nichols was driving recklessly, then the potential threat to the community was resolved the minute they pulled him from his CAR… but he was STILL perceived to be a threat. Why.
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What would motivate someone to RUN. Whether you’re in the wrong or not, why run? Why make the situation worse… for yourself and the officers involved. They’re just trying to make it through their day as well.
But TWO THINGS can be true at the same time. What motivates someone to do what was done to Tyre Nichols, whether he was in the wrong or not. What crime did he commit that justified that response? What will happen when we are allowed to see ALL the evidence, and fully understand why that encounter took place.
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Convenient spy camera, spying on a residential neighborhood… is convenient. Where’s the footage from the camera where the initial encounter took place.
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Because you heard them… they thought he was on drugs. Erratic driving. Crossing the yellow line. What happens if that turns out to be TRUE? What if there’s evidence that justifies the stop?
My mother-in-law was hit by a drunk driver 15 years ago and she will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair… must we now stop pulling over drivers who show signs of intoxication? The man who did that to her… he lived to see his court date. So, what’s the difference?
The Officers who encountered Tyre Nichols that night, threw him into a silo. They decided who he was based on the information they had, then filled in the rest of the story based on stereotypes they had learned, utilizing their base of knowledge and experiences.
They made an assumption based on LIES, and it led to the death of Tyre Nichols.
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The profile they painted of Mr. Nichols was based on facts and evidence… facts and evidence that were skewed from the start. From the very moment they were collected.
They acted on instinct… and their instincts were wrong.
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Evidence collected, manipulated through omission and selective interpretation. To benefit the needs of the few… over the needs of the many.
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“About 55 percent of fatal encounters with the police between 1980 and 2018 were listed as another cause of death.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/us/police-killings-undercounted-study.html
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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/us/african-americans-sickle-cell-police.html
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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/warrior-cop-class-dave-grossman-killology.html
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I am no saint… far from it. I am merely a man, susceptible to fallacy and vice like all the rest. But that is the genius of our system… these faults are to be expected. Justice. Rehabilitation. Perfection is Of Divinity alone. The rest of us… we must seek forgiveness for our mistakes.
How many more mistakes will we allow before we hold our Elected Officials accountable and demand the changes we need. If it can happen to ONE of us, it can happen to us ALL.
We thought the answer was CLEAR… white cop murders black citizen… must be racism. Obviously, we were wrong. Law Enforcement Officers of all stripes… from all backgrounds… and the outcome continues to be the same…
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https://jackcharbonneau.com/2021/04/24/justice/
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It’s not the COPS, it’s the TRAINING.
The problem is SYSTEMIC… and it must change.
-JC
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It is with deep sympathy and respect that I write these words. I will not patronize anyone with thoughts and prayers, but I do pray our Elected Officials… the people who actually have the power to make change happen… will do more than just pray.
I hope they will ACT.
