A concerned citizen saw Trayvon Martin wearing a hoodie in the cold/rain as suspicious enough to call the cops on him. A concerned citizen found John Crawford III carrying a toy gun in the toy section of the Walmart that sold the toy gun as suspicious enough to call the cops on him. It was also a concerned citizen who saw 12-year-old Tamir Rice playing with a pellet gun outdoors [where pellet guns are actually supposed to be played with] as suspicious and called the cops on him. In all of these cases, there are three commonalities: the concerned citizens were all White, the suspects were all Black, and ended up shot/killed for having done nothing criminal. Being in NYC Im familiar with If you see something, say something, but how many unarmed persons of color have to be shot/killed by cops based on the tip of a concerned citizen observing them committing NO crime before we address the complicity of the [often White] concerned citizens who called the cops on the victims or took the law into their own hands? See here an absolutely mind-boggling example of how the concerned citizen and cop connection can result in a person of color being rousted (or worse) by a cop for doing even the most benign thing. This man was stopped and harassed by a cop because a concerned citizen found him walking down the street in the snow with his hands in his pocket to be suspicious. It didnt occur to them that he had his hands in his pockets for warmth; to the caller, they were concerned that he may have a weapon! Of course, the cop rousted the man, asked for ID, informed him that he had to be sure he wasnt an armed robber, based on the concerned tip, took his pic with an iPhone for reasons unknown, and as if the experience wasnt degrading enough, offered to high five the frustrated [Black] man. Nothing racist about that at all. *side eye* All of this set in motion because a concerned citizen and a cop decided a random Black man walking with his hands in his pocket in the snow required police intervention. If you still think that all of the fuss about Ferguson is only about Fergsuon, be advised... #dontBSyourself
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 23:34:49 +0000
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