In this video, Wisconsin police shoot a Black man named Jacob Blake in the back several times times as his children look on. Those who support unrestricted police actions will argue that Jacob Blake should have stopped. He shouldn’t have gotten in his car. The cops felt in fear of their lives. Before you go there, watch this second video.
In the second video is a man who threatens cops with a knife for twenty minutes before any real action is taken. The police seem afraid to use deadly force on the knife-wielding white man. It isn’t until many minutes later and after repeated attempts to have the man drop his weapon do the police take any significant action.
There is a special type of evil in America, cloaked in bad intentions and police uniforms.
When Jacob Blake began walking to his car, the police could have headed him off, preventing him from opening his car door. They could have pulled their tasers. They could have taken him down. Instead, they shot him in the back several times while his children watched in horror. Who knows if he will live?
There is a special type of evil in America, cloaked in bad intentions and police uniforms. They tell us Black men are dangerous animals and must be kept in order with deadly force. That’s why 17-year-old LaQuan McDonald was shot to death by a cop and called a “man” in the media. Had McDonald been a white kid from the suburbs, he would have been described as a boy, not a man, and his killer would have been put away forever.
Cops must be held accountable, and laws must change to reflect that.
Cops are supposed to be professionals. It is up to them to fairly de-escalate situations. For some reason, cops tend to shoot or murder Black men for the same offense as their white counterparts. We can no longer make excuses for discrepancies and bias in criminal justice. We need criminal justice reform. Cops must be held accountable, and laws must change to reflect that.
*Jermaine Reed, MFA is a writer from Chicago who writes fiction, local news stories and national news stories. Please join his email list to get updates on blog posts, writing advice and free books.
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