Enough is Enough. How many people must die before someone is held accountable?
This week two black men were shot by police officers. #AltonSterling was selling CDs out side of a store and two police officers pinned him down to the ground and shot him 6 times. When I saw the video, it reminded me of the movie “Fruitvale Station” because Oscar was also pinned down and the police officer took out his gun when he didn’t need to. They say that he was carrying a gun, but Sterling did not have his gun out and if he is already on the ground then there is no way that he could have reached for it even if he wanted to. Once he was on the ground, they could have handcuffed him and put him in the police car and the situation would have been over. He would still be alive today to take care of his five children.
The videos were hard to watch, but I couldn’t look away because I had to see how they wrongfully killed this man. I could hear the people in the car crying as they witnessed what happened and even though they were filming they still had to take the camera away because even they could not bear to see him get shot. In the second video that wasn’t in the car, I saw the police reach into Sterling’s pocket to pull out the gun. His gun wasn’t even visible, meaning that the police ASSUMED that he had a gun and took action without knowing anything except that he was a black man.
Although the videos were already painful to watch, the clip with Sterling’s girlfriend having the press conference evoked so much sadness and anger within me. She told us that Sterling’s eldest son was only 15, but he was at an age of understanding what had happened to his father. She also said that all five of his children would now have to grow up without a father. However, it was the image and the sound of his son crying that upset me because here was a teenage boy crying out for his father that was no longer alive. He wasn’t a little boy crying. He was at an age where most people would expect him to show no emotion and keep it together in front of the cameras and yet he was completely vulnerable. Honestly how could he not be? His father was murdered unjustly and he will never be able to see him again.
As I go to sleep that night after crying and releasing my anger about the situation by speaking to my friends, I get on instagram to see if there is anything else about #AltonSterling. Instead, I see a video of another man that is murdered due to police brutality. This man is #PhilandoCastile.
Here’s another powerful video that clearly shows what is wrong with police officers that cannot do their jobs properly. In the video, #PhilandoCastile’s girlfriend is in the car seat next to him while he is bleeding and the cop is still pointing his gun at him instead of helping him get medical attention. His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds is calmly narrating what has happened and the police officer is telling her to keep her hands where he can see them. The officer sounds so afraid as if he is the one in danger. As if he is not the one holding the gun. As if he did not just murder a man. Instead of the officer realizing that he has made a mistake and needs to call an ambulance to help save the man’s life, he continues to point the gun at the victim and watches him die.
Diamond Reynolds explains what happened before that point. Apparently, #PhilandoCastile had a gun, but he told the officer that he had a license to carry and was merely letting the officer know that he had one within his possession. But as soon as Castile reached to get his license and information or pull out the gun to show the officer, the officer shot him 5 times and killed him. Why did the police officer already have his gun out and ready? If he was supposed to stopping them for a broken tail light, the gun should have never been out.
The other aspect of this murder that makes it even more disturbing is the fact that Reynolds’s daughter was in the backseat and had to witness Castile die at such a young age. No child should be exposed to murder! The child may be traumatized with the sight of that murder for the rest of her life. However, she did show maturity when she calmed her mother after they were handcuffed and placed in the police car. Even though they did nothing and did not deserve to be there. Furthermore, who handcuffs a child with their mother? That’s just absurd!
I am sorry for both of the families that had to lose their loved ones due to the incompetence of police officers with hate in their hearts. Hopefully justice will finally be served. #BlackLivesMatter
