When I heard the news about the three officers found not guilty for fatally beating Tyre Nichols, I logged off of social media and called it a day. What more could I say that wasn’t already said? These stories are exhausting. They drain me so much that I have to take a minute to collect my thoughts so I don’t say the first slick thing that comes to mind. There are too many times when I don’t think people — such as the 12 jurors in Chattanooga — take into account Black people as living, breathing human beings who have as much right to feelings as anybody else. The “defund the police” and the racial profiling stories get misinterpreted all the time without paying attention to valid examples of why people say this.
So, in this video, I give you a real-life example of something that happened to me and why de-escalation matters. This story happened when I was either 15 or 16, and it is a perfect example of why I look at Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith the same way as I do former Memphis officers Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin. All five should’ve been found guilty because not one of them tried to stop the other four. And if they were not police officers, they would’ve been guilty for participating.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday. Thanks for reading!
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