 |
| Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, John Crawford and Trayvon Martin were killed by law enforcement. Their names became symbolic with the Black Lives Matter Movement. |
We reflect on the need for better policing in the wake of three high profile incidents where the unarmed or unintended were gunned down by the law.
July 17 - Eric Garner was a father of six who lived in Staten Island. He was accused of selling cigarettes on a corner when the NYPD confronted him. While being filmed on camera, one of the officer placed a restraining hold around his neck. Eric would utter the words "I Can't Breathe".
As they take him down on the ground, the law was shocked to find out he wasn't breathing. They would call for an emergency crew. He would die at a local hospital.
This officers Daniel Pantaleo and Justin Damico were let off the hook. The prosecutor Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. found that the officers didn't do anything that caused Eric's death.
Donovan, a Republican went on to become a U.S. Representative in a special election.
The family was awarded $6 million in wrongful death lawsuit.
August 5 - John Crawford was a father of two. He lived in Hamilton, Ohio. He was shopping in Walmart in Beavercreek, a suburb outside of Dayton. He was on the phone when he picked up an opened air rifle. While on surveillance camera, you see him walking through the aisles on the phone with the air rifle, A man calls 911 claiming that John was pointing a AR 15 at shoppers. Beavercreek police arrive on the scene. They enter through the garden center and without proper warning fired two shots at John. John yelled to the officers it's not a real gun.
As they take him down to the ground, the law was shocked to see he wasn't holding a real rifle. They would call for an emergency crew. He would die at a local hospital.The officer who fired his weapon Sean Williams is in the freezer. He was let off the hook when the Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine found that the officer did nothing wrong. The grand jury said that even though Ohio is an open carry state, John caused his own death.
DeWine is a Republican who sides with the law on most issues.
The family sued Williams, DeWine, Beavercreek and Walmart for wrongful death.
August 9 - Michael Brown was a teenager who lived in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb outside of St. Louis. He was walking down the street when an officer stopped him. The officer claimed that Michael was acting menacing. There was a struggle and the officer fired his weapon. Out of twelve shots, six of them hit Michael.
As the officer takes him down, he realized that Michael was unarmed. He would call for backup and then an emergency crew. Michael died on the scene.
The officer at first said that he stopped Michael for being in the street. But he would change his story saying that he was told of a robbery and the suspects were nearby. Michael was on surveillance allegedly stealing a cigarillo from QuikTrip.
This event sparked unrest. The QuikTrip that Michael visited was burned down.
The grand jury found that the officer Darren Wilson didn't commit a criminal act and he was spared trial.
That launched another night of unrest. The rioting cost millions, people were injured.
Michael Brown's family is suing Wilson and Ferguson.
Wilson would resign from the force and go into hiding.
You notice that these events happened one year ago. These events have sparked the Black Lives Matter Movement.Black Lives Matter is an American activist grassroots movement that can be traced back to the July 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Florida shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin.
It received fresh impetus from the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, an African-American teen, and the death of Eric Garner, as well as the acquittals of both of the officers who killed them. The Black Lives Matter movement also speaks out and organizes against police brutality against African-Americans in the United States.
Some of the unarmed African-Americans who died at the hands of law enforcement have had their deaths protested by the movement, including Tamir Rice, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, and Freddie Gray (which sparked the 2015 Baltimore protests).
The movement was co-founded by three black activists: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi.
The shooting of Walter Scott by a white policeman was recorded by a bystander, who contacted a local activist involved with Black Lives Matter; they, in turn, contacted Scott's family to take possession of the video. Soon after the video was released to the public, the officer was arrested and charged with murder. The case is pending.
When you look at how many officer involved shootings in which lead to the death of unarmed suspects, you might want to question why do this stuff continue to happen despite the outcry from Trayvon Martin.
So many names in the news being killed by gun violence.
Shame we're still not making progress on gun control. The United State leads in gun violence.
Over 4,000 people were injured by gun violence. About 2,400 of them died because of gun violence.
Gun violence is more of a threat than terrorism. The discussion is often muted because of Republicans, some spineless Democrats and the NRA.
I am a gun owner and I am a voter. But seriously, we need to do something about this.
When will the next shooting occur. Will the junk food media follow this shooting like they've done with John Crawford, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice?
When will we hold those responsible in law enforcement for unintended deaths of unarmed citizens such as Eric Garner and Sandra Bland?
When will we finally recognized that everyone killed by gun violence matters?
World News Today send our condolences to the families of Eric Garner, John Crawford and Michael Brown. We send our condolences to everyone who died in gun violence.
