I’m assuming that most of you know the name Michael Brown. He is the 18 year old African-American who was gunned down by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.
The incident has provoked massive, daily street protests by members of the Ferguson community asking for justice. Mike Brown was killed while unarmed and indicating surrender to the officer. So far, Officer Wilson remains free, having yet to be charged with anything. In fact, he has yet to be indicted, although the video and the witnesses have indicated a cold blooded execution.
This is not new. George Zimmerman walked around free after murdering Trayvon Martin for being black while in his neighborhood. This is often the police and Justice Department response to those events when a white man kills a black person. What is the response when we have a black person kill a white? Does anyone doubt that there would be an immediate arrest and imprisonment?
But, here is the icing on the cake . . . a fund raising effort has been initiated to support Darren Wilson. They have so far raised over $300,000 to help him in his defense. These are some of the comments made by donors:
“Waste of good ammo. It is my privilege to buy you a replacement box.”
“I thank all police . . . protecting normal Americans from aggressive and entitled primitive savages.”
“Black people can be their own enemy and I am not white . . . He was shot six times because the giant wouldn’t stop or die. Evil people don’t die quick.”
So much for brotherhood.
Who is Kajieme Powell? This is a 25 year old African-American man who was shot and killed by police from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police, just a few miles from Ferguson. His death doesn’t seem to be attracting much attention but is an interesting story.
According to the official story, the two police who had arrived on the scene had no choice but to shoot Powell because he wielded a knife and came at them in a threatening manner.
It began when Powell walked out of a nearby convenience store with 2 doughnuts and 2 cold drinks without having paid for them. The store owner might have called the police because they drove up while Powell can be heard yelling and talking to himself in the street.
Two cops emerged from the car and immediately drew their guns pointing them at Powell who then begins shouting “shoot me, go ‘head, shoot me.” And, they did, firing several bullets into him and killing him. Fewer than 20 seconds elapsed between the time the police arrived and when they opened fire.
Unfortunately for the police, there are videos recorded by neighbors that show the full event. What I noticed was this man standing in the driveway of a home in a residential neighborhood and people standing around watching him, seeming more amused by his antics than frightened.
The police claim that Powell raised his arm, holding a steak knife, and came at them and that when he was within 5 feet, they were justified in discharging their weapons.
The problem I have, after viewing the video several times, is identifying when Powell came at them with his arm raised in a threatening manner. He never seemed close enough to the officers to present a danger to them. Yet, they opened fire and discharged several bullets into him at point blank range. To add insult to injury, they then cuffed him while he lay on the ground dead.
The people watching can be heard expressing their shock that the police killed Powell. One man is heard saying, “They could have Tased the man or shot him in the leg.”
These events are not limited to Ferguson. Black men are being assassinated by police at an increasingly rapid rate in communities throughout this country. Powell may very well have had a knife in his hand but he clearly did not come at the police as if he were attacking them.
I walk up and down Broadway every day and see emotionally unstable people roaming the streets, some who are intimidating. They are usually escorted off the streets and taken to psychiatric facilities in local hospitals. Usually, after being stabilized and medicated, they are back on the streets in a few days.
I mention this because this was my first thought when I saw Powell in action. He seemed mentally unstable and needed psychiatric help, not execution. This man was executed for shoplifting.
I am certain that if he were white, the cops would have been reluctant to open fire. They could have called for back-up and gotten professionals, with experience in dealing with emotionally unstable people, to intervene. But, as we have seen throughout our history, black men are expendable.
If you are still under the illusion that racism is dead in the U.S., you might want to buy a bridge I’m trying to sell.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.
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Post racist America?
Posted on August 27, 2014 by Dave Alpert
I’m assuming that most of you know the name Michael Brown. He is the 18 year old African-American who was gunned down by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.
The incident has provoked massive, daily street protests by members of the Ferguson community asking for justice. Mike Brown was killed while unarmed and indicating surrender to the officer. So far, Officer Wilson remains free, having yet to be charged with anything. In fact, he has yet to be indicted, although the video and the witnesses have indicated a cold blooded execution.
This is not new. George Zimmerman walked around free after murdering Trayvon Martin for being black while in his neighborhood. This is often the police and Justice Department response to those events when a white man kills a black person. What is the response when we have a black person kill a white? Does anyone doubt that there would be an immediate arrest and imprisonment?
But, here is the icing on the cake . . . a fund raising effort has been initiated to support Darren Wilson. They have so far raised over $300,000 to help him in his defense. These are some of the comments made by donors:
“Waste of good ammo. It is my privilege to buy you a replacement box.”
“I thank all police . . . protecting normal Americans from aggressive and entitled primitive savages.”
“Black people can be their own enemy and I am not white . . . He was shot six times because the giant wouldn’t stop or die. Evil people don’t die quick.”
So much for brotherhood.
Who is Kajieme Powell? This is a 25 year old African-American man who was shot and killed by police from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police, just a few miles from Ferguson. His death doesn’t seem to be attracting much attention but is an interesting story.
According to the official story, the two police who had arrived on the scene had no choice but to shoot Powell because he wielded a knife and came at them in a threatening manner.
It began when Powell walked out of a nearby convenience store with 2 doughnuts and 2 cold drinks without having paid for them. The store owner might have called the police because they drove up while Powell can be heard yelling and talking to himself in the street.
Two cops emerged from the car and immediately drew their guns pointing them at Powell who then begins shouting “shoot me, go ‘head, shoot me.” And, they did, firing several bullets into him and killing him. Fewer than 20 seconds elapsed between the time the police arrived and when they opened fire.
Unfortunately for the police, there are videos recorded by neighbors that show the full event. What I noticed was this man standing in the driveway of a home in a residential neighborhood and people standing around watching him, seeming more amused by his antics than frightened.
The police claim that Powell raised his arm, holding a steak knife, and came at them and that when he was within 5 feet, they were justified in discharging their weapons.
The problem I have, after viewing the video several times, is identifying when Powell came at them with his arm raised in a threatening manner. He never seemed close enough to the officers to present a danger to them. Yet, they opened fire and discharged several bullets into him at point blank range. To add insult to injury, they then cuffed him while he lay on the ground dead.
The people watching can be heard expressing their shock that the police killed Powell. One man is heard saying, “They could have Tased the man or shot him in the leg.”
These events are not limited to Ferguson. Black men are being assassinated by police at an increasingly rapid rate in communities throughout this country. Powell may very well have had a knife in his hand but he clearly did not come at the police as if he were attacking them.
I walk up and down Broadway every day and see emotionally unstable people roaming the streets, some who are intimidating. They are usually escorted off the streets and taken to psychiatric facilities in local hospitals. Usually, after being stabilized and medicated, they are back on the streets in a few days.
I mention this because this was my first thought when I saw Powell in action. He seemed mentally unstable and needed psychiatric help, not execution. This man was executed for shoplifting.
I am certain that if he were white, the cops would have been reluctant to open fire. They could have called for back-up and gotten professionals, with experience in dealing with emotionally unstable people, to intervene. But, as we have seen throughout our history, black men are expendable.
If you are still under the illusion that racism is dead in the U.S., you might want to buy a bridge I’m trying to sell.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.