12,
July 2016 Police Brutality
In response to scores of incidents of police
brutality against unarmed African Americans, riots have erupted across America
with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets and blocking roads,
bridges and highways. In Baton Rouge, multi videotapes showed two white police
officers killing Alton Sterling multiple times while he was pinned to the
ground.
In Minnesota, Philando Castile was killed by
police during a traffic stop for a broken tail light. While Castille’s
girlfriend was video streaming the tragic killing, the police officers turned
their guns on her and her 4 year old daughter.
In a blatant act of racial profiling and
harassment, Castille was pulled over 52 times in recent years. These two
incidents are palpable reasons why black Americans feel a deep rage against law
enforcement. Sadly, all police officers are tarred with the same brush for the
misdeeds of a few rogue cops. The trials of police officers and subsequent
acquittals for the most egregious acts send a chilling message that such behavior
is tolerated and the guilty are immune from prosecution. There should be zero
tolerance for these new ‘Jim Crow’ laws.
The vigilante killing of 5 police officers in
Dallas is symptomatic of the deep malaise that is engulfed much of America. In
response to the uprisings, three countries, including the majority-black
Caribbean nation, The Bahamas, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have issued
travel warnings to their citizens to exercise extreme caution when interacting
with the police. This is a national disgrace.
No comments:
Post a Comment