Ma’khia was fighting. She likely had a knife in her hand while fighting. Police arrived on the scene and killed her.

I don’t care about whether or not youve ever been in a fight. I don’t care whether or not you’ve ever held a knife as a weapon.

I don’t care about whether or not you identify with Ma’khia.

I care about whether or not I can trust the police to arrive on scene, de-escalate a situation, and not make things more violent.

I’m not a trained police officer. I’m not a trained public official. But I’ve worked with those who are unhoused, teens living in group homes and college kids. Fights happen. And they are rather frequent, honestly. I was expected to get to the bottom of the situation.

I am sincerely shocked that the officer asked a couple times “what’s happening here” and that was the extent of taking control of the situation before pulling his gun.

Who wants to live a world where if teenagers are fighting, the acceptable de-escalation tactic is one of them must die? I don’t.