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Thinking about #JacobBlake and his family tonight and reading some reflections.
It may be worth explaining, to anyone who doesn’t get it, exactly why it’s so important to (appropriately) inform the *public* of how many times officers fired their guns when they killed someone.
It may be worth explaining, to anyone who doesn’t get it, exactly why it’s so important to (appropriately) inform the *public* of how many times officers fired their guns when they killed someone.
It’s important because officers who fatally shoot civilians usually produce a defense for what they did. They rarely need to make this defense in a real courtroom—whether a soft, internal administrative trial or a criminal court. But they might defend their actions to the public.
And if the police officers who shot someone even feel the need to defend their actions, they’ll typically say that they shot that unarmed Black person because the officer feared for his own life. Maybe they’ll say that he *thought* the unarmed Black person was armed or dangerous.
Putting aside other reasons for why we might cast doubt on that officer’s claim, the number of times officers’ fired their guns is meaningful (even if dreadful to think about) because it can indicate the intent of the shooter/s.
Ex: Why did they fire *41 rounds* at Amadou Diallo?
Ex: Why did they fire *41 rounds* at Amadou Diallo?
Why did officers fire at least *seven rounds* into Jacob Blake’s back?
Even though it’s very legally difficult to prove that officers intentionally killed a person, the number of shots fired should make it abundantly clear that this man’s life did not matter to these officers.
Even though it’s very legally difficult to prove that officers intentionally killed a person, the number of shots fired should make it abundantly clear that this man’s life did not matter to these officers.
If you read this and you think, “Yeah, no kidding,” then this isn’t for you. It’s for the many people in our country who still don’t get it. It’s for every person I’ve heard obliviously or callously mock #BlackLivesMatter 
by saying, “Of course they do...” or “All lives matter...”
by saying, “Of course they do...” or “All lives matter...”
We should know that 51 rounds were fired at Sean Bell when he was killed, that 41 rounds were fired at Amadou Diallo, that 6+ bullets were fired into Michael Brown’s body, that Mohamed Bah was shot 10 times. Because it’s abundantly clear: that is brutal disregard for Black lives.
And lastly—because I don’t think it is responsible for a legislator to merely pontificate—this is why we can’t support incremental changes. Because almost NONE of these officers faced real consequences for taking Black lives. And that systemic problem demands systemic changes.
This is why we call for defunding police departments like the NYPD, which boasts a budget larger than city agencies like ACS, FDNY and DHS *combined*. It is why we say that we need to invest in first responders who are not armed and who will not seek to harm or escalate.
