It's with a heavy heart that I start this thread. In fact, I meant to start it a week ago but I had to take a break from all of the news concerning the George Floyd case and similar events. I have seen comments by Forum members who seem to feel that if Mr. Floyd wasn't committing a crime, he wouldn't have been killed by police.
@rgp even had the nerve to reply that I was making up the fact that several innocent people (of color) have died at the hands of police. As the saying goes "you can't make this s**t up"! I wouldn't want to make up something so heartbreaking anyway. There are many who's tragic stories stand out and I can't post them all in the OP but will keep adding them to this thread.
First let me start with two cases that broke my heart when my son was just 3 years old. I don't know their names because it was 49 years ago. The major news channels didn't feel these stories were newsworthy back then. Jet magazine a publication by Black print media mogul Johnson Publications carried the stories.
~An
8 year old boy and his father were out for a stroll one evening. A cop shot the little boy claiming he "looked like the perp". WTF??!! The cop was never charged.
~A
14 year old boy stole a bike. He was riding away from the police when the cop shot him in the back. This boy had no gun and posed no threat to the officer. Did he deserve to die for stealing a bike?
~In my hometown, a
15 year old brown skinned Hispanic boy was busted for smoking marijuana. This was in the early 1980's. He was taken down by two officers and was on the ground, hands over his head, face up. The cop shot and killed that boy point blank in cold blood. Again he posed no threat according to witnesses. Again...no charges for the officers.
~Fast forward to the horrific 1999
Amadou Diallo case in New York City. Mr. Diallo was shot 19 times (41 shots fired) by plainclothes officers who mistook him for a rape suspect as he arrived home from having a meal. A witness said that they didn't give a warning before starting to shoot, claiming that Diallo reached for a gun in his pocket when in fact he was reaching for his wallet. No gun was found on him. The officers were charged with 2nd degree murder and acquitted.
~In March of this year
Breonna Taylor was in her bed sleeping when plain clothes cops, operating on a "no knock search warrant" busted into her apartment. Her boyfriend got his gun, thinking it was a home invasion was in progress since the officers didn't identify themselves. The commotion brought Breonna out of her room and she was shot 8 times and killed. It turns out that the two people they were looking for were already in custody!
~In 2018, 26 year old
Botham Jean was sitting his his own apartment watching T.V. and eating ice cream when police officer Amber Guyger burst in, shot and killed him. She claimed she thought he was an intruder in her apartment. Another WTF??!! She lived on a completely different floor and would a burglar really be watching T.V. and eating ice cream rather than getting the hell out of there? How does a trained police officer mistake someone else's apartment for her own? Her alcohol and drug testing results were not released. She was eventually charged with murder and sentenced to 10 years. In a gesture I'm not sure I could have made, the victims brother forgave her then hugged her in court as did the judge (yet another WTF!).
~
Philando Castile was pulled over during what should have been a routine traffic stop in 2016 . He had his girlfriend and 4 year old daughter in the car. He informed the officer that he did have a firearm in the car which was licensed. The officer told him don't reach for it and he said he wouldn't. The officer then asked for his license and registration. Mr. Castile tried to tell the officer he was reaching for the requested items when he was fired on 8 times at close range; he was hit 5 times. His girlfriend recorded the entire event and it was posted on Facebook. The officer was charged but acquitted. No surprise. I just want to note that after he killed Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman was caught riding around with a gun on the seat of his car. He is still alive after that traffic stop.
~
Kwame Jones, 17 was killed in January of this year under suspicious circumstances after a traffic stop. Cops fired several shots into the car killing Kwame and wounding his friend. The cop claimed a rifle was in the car but didn't say either of the boys reached for it, if it was in fact there. His parents are suspicious of that claim due to the photo "evidence" they were shown.
~
Anthony Hill, an Air Force veteran, was unarmed and naked
when he was killed at 26 years old in March of 2015. Former officer Robert Olsen was found guilty of aggravated assault, one count of making false statements and two counts of violation of oath by a public officer — but not murder or manslaughter.
~
Jamarion Robinson was killed by police in East Point, Georgia, in August of 2016. He was shot 76 times after refusing to open the door of his girlfriend’s home when officers knocked. Police then kicked in the door and began firing.
