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I grew up in a very high crime town, where we probably have one gang murder/shooting a day.
When I was 10, my neighbor was murdered during a cocaine deal.
We had drive bys at my grade school, and there is a bullet lodged in my 2nd grade classroom wall. Still there. 1/x
When I was 10, my neighbor was murdered during a cocaine deal.
We had drive bys at my grade school, and there is a bullet lodged in my 2nd grade classroom wall. Still there. 1/x
Ethnically, our local PD reflects our community. This was done in part because our town needed LEOs who could communicate with the population. (Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese, Cantonese, etc.) 2/x
Because we have a diverse PD, when we have officer involved shootings (of which there are many given the amount of violent crime in my town) the community doesn& #39;t rise up against the PD. Our LEOs are FROM the community. 3/x
Just last month, LEOs showed up at my mother& #39;s door because there was a gang member on the loose hopping fences with an AK-47. Not kidding. Not exaggerating.
Oh, and we are from the relatively *nice* part of town. 4/x
Oh, and we are from the relatively *nice* part of town. 4/x
There was a gang related stabbing in the park down the street, and the victim (also a gang member) took shelter behind my mom& #39;s car and bled all over the place. 5/x
When I was ~ 14 yrs old, someone attempted to rob our house. The robber was headed to the back door with my siblings & I sleeping inside. My mom was in the room above the garage, heard the robber, dialed 911 drew her pistol & went on the balcony to face the guy down. He left. 6/x
When I was in 5th grade, my friends & I were trick or treating when we were basically mugged as part of some stupid gang initiation. My stupid friend wanted to fight the guys, and I begged & #39;em to just handover whatever they wanted. We ran to the nearest house and dialed 911. 7/x
Of the 60 or so kids who were part of my 6th grade graduation class, < 10 of us finished HS.
At least one is on death row for murder in a gang related shooting, a bunch more have been in and out of jail. Kids joined gangs when they were 9-10 yrs old. Child soldiers. 8/x
At least one is on death row for murder in a gang related shooting, a bunch more have been in and out of jail. Kids joined gangs when they were 9-10 yrs old. Child soldiers. 8/x
So, I have a much different perspective on improving law enforcement, violent crime, gangs, and gun control vs gun rights than someone who grew up in a very safe neighborhood.
We all see things through the lens of our life experiences. 9/x
We all see things through the lens of our life experiences. 9/x
For the most part, the community still rarely calls the police when they have a problem because they don& #39;t want be targeted as snitches. People who cooperate with law enforcement tend to have their body& #39;s dropped off bridges into the river. 10/x
You can see why most of my siblings joined the military, we basically already grew up in a war zone. How else would you describe a place with child soldiers etc etc etc. 11/x
(We do volunteer work, mentor at-risk youth, and my parents were founding members of our local NAACP chapter.) (BTW, one of the kids I tutored father was in prison for murder in a gang related shooting.)
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12/x
This is the most identifiable information I have ever shared on Twitter, and I don& #39;t care to go into any more detail because I want to keep this account anonymous. But I just wanted to get all this off of my chest.
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