CLEVELAND, OH – Protests and frustrations are mounting due to the fatal shooting of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell. Thirteen police officers were involved in the shooting. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12 were white and 1 hispanic. There’s a lot of pushback from other races when members of the Black community point to race as a motivator for many of these recent cases. It’s hard not to when the assaults seem to be so hate driven. When is the last time you heard of an unarmed white man or white woman being shot 137 times by the police? Cleveland’s Police Chief voiced at a press conference that he is saddened that his officers were involved in such a shooting. Further investigation into this case shows that Malissa Williams had a very troubling history with the police. Her family charges that this shooting was their way to finally get rid of her, but it’s not clear whether or not she was recognized before the shooting. She suffered from schizophrenia and drug abuse and her family struggled to keep her in treatment. So in their efforts to protect and serve over the past 11 years, where Ms. Williams had approximately 50 run-ins with the law, could there have been a stronger effort to get her the treatment that was needed? It doesn’t seem that any of this had anything to do with the events that led to her death. No matter your stance on this, you must agree that 137 shots into a car of unarmed individuals in 20 seconds is excessive! If there are any officers of the law reading this, please know that we are not bashing the police. Those who are called to protect and serve have a job that most of us would not want and I commend them for the bravery that they display every day. However, the rogue officers and “neighborhood watch” wanna be officers that unjustly take lives must be stopped! So what must we do? More violence is not the answer. We must demand justice for each and every one of these cases. These are modern day lynchings! The constant shedding of light on lynchings is what finally stopped (or at least slowed) them. As long as these things keep going unpunished, they will continue. So we have the case that everyone in America was talking about this year, Trayvon Martin. We have now the Jordan Davis case. Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. states it well in a recent commentary. Are these cases of ‘black blindness’…seeing threats that aren’t there because you feel threatened by the dark-skinned person in front of you? That doesn’t seem to hold true for the mystery of a 21-year old Arkansas man, Chavis Carter, that police said somehow shot himself in right temple while handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser, even though he was left-handed and had been searched for weapons. The two officers involved in that arrest were reinstated after a month of administrative leave. Clearly they wouldn’t feel threatened by someone who was handcuffed and had been found not to have weapons. Yet the facts surrounding his so called suicide don’t add up. These incidents are not limited to young Black men who look suspicious out in the streets! Kenneth Chamberlain was a 68-year old Marine veteran and retired corrections officer who had a heart condition. He accidentally set off his life alert pendant in his sleep. The police were alerted of a possible medical emergency, but when they arrived at his apartment they immediately were aggressive with him. Even though he told them and the life alert operator that he was fine and didn’t need any help. They taunted him, calling him the “N” word after he told them that he was a veteran and retired corrections officer. His niece was an onsite witness as she lived in the building. Eight police officers were involved in this attack. Although they were aware that he was a heart patient, they taunted him, threatened him, knocked down his door, used a taser on him, shot bean bags at him and then shot and killed him IN HIS HOME! A teenager in the Bronx, Ramarley Graham was also killed in his home. Police claim that he ran into a house after fleeing from a suspected drug buy. However, surveillance video from outside his home show him walking in. Police then broke into his home without a warrant and shot and killed him in the bathroom. No drugs or weapons were found in the home. His mother was there at the time of the shooting. Unfortunately, we can go on and on about racial injustice, police brutality, and unjustifiable homicide. The racial tension in this country is higher than we have seen it since the civil rights era. All of these cases and more transpired in the past year. Is there an increase or is there just increased awareness? Many other cases stay under the radar and are never brought to light. The cover-ups, the lies, the incomplete investigations and standard procedures that are not followed lead us to believe that something is awry. We must continue to shed flood lights on these situations. If perpetrators feel that they won’t be punished, nothing will change. When there is injustice, we must continue to raise awareness and hopefully the “lynchings” will stop. When you hear about it on your local news stations, lend support. Join in the fight for justice, if in no other way than to spread the word so that more attention is brought to it. You can start by sharing this article. So far, the coverage seems to be limited to local media in Cleveland. And while we’re outraged with white on black crime, once again we must be equally outraged with the crimes and fratricide within our community! Sound off! What do you think can or should be done to reduce violence in and against our community?
