this is ridiculous. another innocent black man who is a FATHER of a two year old murdered by police earlier today. killed him because of air fresheners. not too many people are talking about this. this is sick and he deserves justice. my heart is broken. #DaunteWright pic.twitter.com/PwfNHKtJf0
— kًe nt! (@stayednumb) April 12, 2021
Brooklyn Center: just a few miles away from where George Floyd died last year, the police killed another Black man.
As always, first excuses are tweeted by conservative folks on social media: there was a warrant, he tried to run away, and the cops had no other choice.
While the nation is watching the ongoing trial on Derek Chauvin, another Black man gets killed by the police.
This is #DaunteWright and his son Duante Wright Jr.
Earlier today Duante Sr. was shot to death during a traffic stop reportedly about an air freshener obstructing a mirror.
He was 20 years old and killed by a Brooklyn Center Police Officer in MN. He was unarmed. pic.twitter.com/p3VOOiaLK8
— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) April 12, 2021
Again, there are people defending the police, and it just blows my mind. Police officers have to protect themselves and execute the law, but maybe, just maybe, it is time to have a conversation about what is reasonable and what is not.
Sure, there are situations when officers would need to use their weapons.
Let’s say someone is threatening someone else’s life, takes hostages, or plans a terror attack—then it could be reasonable to use serious force. But when someone allegedly uses a fake $20 bill (George Floyd) or has too many air fresheners in his car (Daunte Wright), I am pretty sure that’s not a reason to kill someone.
At the same time, cases like Kalief Browder—who got arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack and suffered years of abuse at Rikers Island—create an atmosphere where citizens have a hard time trusting the police.
“But he shouldn’t have resisted his arrest,” is what the average fan of Fox News would probably take as an explanation or excuse for these tragedies we are witnessing on a regular basis.
And all of that is happening while a guy like Matt Gaetz is accused of sexual relationships with minors, a former president accused of inciting domestic terrorism, and one of the founders of QAnon is accused of hosting child pornography on one of his servers—while Black men die because of air fresheners, $20 bills, and stealing backpacks?
Enough is enough. We can’t continue like this. It is time for every police station in the country to reassess its strategies.
I’m in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, where about 100 people are still protesting in the street after a 20-year-old man was reportedly shot by the police and then died. pic.twitter.com/dMdnyxVG6S
— Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs (@NickAtNews) April 12, 2021
Everyone who believes that the police should not tolerate anything that goes against the law should take a look at the Spring Break celebrations in Miami Beach, the recent party rioting in Boulder, or white college students committing drug offenses.
It seems clear that there is a double standard at play.
Until we change these racist dynamics in law enforcement, we will continually see tragedies like the one in Brooklyn Center. The police should protect the citizens and enforce the law, and not scare entire parts of the population to death (or actually kill them).
We need change—now.
This is not about “defunding the police;” this is about solving the problem.
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