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1/ Footage of Minneapolis police killing #GeorgeFloyd has again focused international attention on violence by law enforcement and the failures of police reform. It’s a deep-seated and widespread problem, including in Texas.
2/ Content warning: This thread is a recent history of police violence against Black people. Please proceed with caution, and be considerate when sharing.
3/ The 2015 arrest and subsequent death of #SandraBland continues to illustrate why so many don’t trust law enforcement to deliver justice when Black people are victims of state-sanctioned violence. https://www.texasobserver.org/four-years-later-sandra-blands-arrest-continues-to-sow-distrust-in-law-enforcement/
4/ In fact, accountability for killer cops is so rare that it was nothing short of extraordinary when a Dallas County jury convicted the officer who shot up a car full of Black boys and murdered 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. https://www.texasobserver.org/roy-oliver-jordan-edwards-murder-conviction-dallas-police-shooting-unarmed/
5/ In other cases, Texas police and their lawyers have jumped through hoops to justify their killing of Black men, as was the case with Norman Cooper in San Antonio. https://www.texasobserver.org/excited-delirious-dead/
6/ In Texas and across the country there are institutional barriers to reforming law enforcement and holding police accountable, and police groups have a long history of blocking reforms and pushing tough-on-crime policies. https://www.texasobserver.org/the-big-blue-obstacle-to-bipartisan-criminal-justice-reform/
7/ Hence the push in recent years to enforce a system of civilian oversight to hold police accountable in cities like Dallas: https://www.texasobserver.org/botham-jeans-death-could-lead-to-an-overhaul-of-police-oversight-in-dallas/
8/ and Austin: https://www.texasobserver.org/expiration-austins-police-union-contract-rare-opportunity-reform/
9/ Heavy-handed policing has continued to deepen distrust between police and communities of color in Texas. https://www.texasobserver.org/dallas-police-botham-jean-amber-guyger/
10/ This weekend, a rally is planned in Austin to protest the police shooting of #MikeRamos last month. Background from @Grits4Breakfast: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2020/05/manley-exonerates-mike-ramos-shooter-in.html
11/ Other demonstrations protesting the killing of #GeorgeFloyd and denouncing state-sanctioned violence against people of color are planned in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.
