Don't Shoot
By Sydnee Brown
Our constant exposure to tragedy lead us to become inadvertently desensitized to news reporting crimes involving sexual assault, violence, and murder. Specifically, stories of police brutality all start to sound the same. A black man or woman. Unarmed. Doing nothing wrong. Killed by police who get away with murder. On repeat.
Botham Jean. A passionate 26-year-old accountant, singer, and volunteer in his community.
“‘He was the light in a dark room’,” said pastor Michael Griffin at Jean’s funeral.
Shot and killed by a police officer in the comfort of his own home in Dallas, Texas. Amber Guyger, the white officer responsible for his death, was sentenced to 10 years and will be eligible for parole in 5 years. An outcome most of us would not be expecting as 99% of police violence cases in 2015 resulted in no convictions for the officers who committed murder, according to an organization called Mapping Police Violence.
Less than two weeks after Guyger’s sentence, another killing in Fort Worth, Texas sounds too similar to that of Botham Jean.
Atatiana Jefferson. A loving 28-year-old Xavier University of Louisiana graduate who cared for her sick mother and played video games with her nephew. Shot and killed by a police officer in the comfort of her own home. Aaron Dean, the white officer responsible for her death, faces murder charges, but has resigned and been arrested in the meantime.
The fact that these cases involved preventable deaths of these individuals in their own homes is especially disturbing, but the public incidents we hear about are no less painful.
Though the Sandra Bland Act - a provision actually enacted in Texas in 2017 that requires police training in de-escalation tactics - has been put into place, clearly it has not been enforced well enough. Officers are making the same choices that are costing human lives. Officers should not be jumping to conclusions without proper evidence.
Officers should be following the ‘Use of Force’ Continuum, which details the steps to take amidst hostile situations - firearms being the last resort. Officers should announce their presence and knock on the door upon arriving to investigate an unknown situation. Officers should be thinking with their heads before their hands.
Conversations surrounding the killing of African American men and women on social media platforms, dinner tables, and news outlets are absolutely necessary. Police brutality is a leading cause of death in black males in the U.S.
“‘About 1 in 1,000 black men and boys can expect to die at the hands of the police’,” said sociologist and study leader, Frank Edwards from Rutgers University.
It is incredibly unfortunate to think that there are people who die by the hands of those meant to serve and protect our communities. These men and women who die by the hands of police go on about their day and become a hashtag the next. They all had contributions to society, promising futures and families that may forgive, but will never forget.
More recently, we protest for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. We say their names. We fight for justice. Because although stories of police brutality may start to sound the same, they never will be. And we must ensure they do not end in the same way either.