.jpg "Hank Johnson Logo") |
|
John, Rayshard Brooks fell asleep in a car in a drive-thru. 40 minutes later he was shot dead by a police officer while trying to flee the scene. How did this happen? Why did this have to happen? These are questions that Atlanta and the entire country are grappling with in the aftermath of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and now Rayshard Brooks. The one thought that keeps running through my mind is that this never would’ve happened in a suburban, white neighborhood. After all, Mr. Brooks was initially compliant with the police. He asked to be allowed to leave his car and walk to his sister’s house for the night. He just wanted to go home. And had Mr. Brooks been a white man in an upper-middle-class white neighborhood, there’s little doubt in my mind that the police would’ve allowed him to do just that. Instead, as he tried to run away, police shot him in the back twice. Because police officers have been trained to think of themselves as warriors instead of protectors. A protector would have assured that Mr. Brooks got home safely and issued a summons for him to appear in court to account for any alleged legal violations. We need change, John. This week, I worked to markup the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 in the Judiciary Committee, which was successfully voted on last night. That’s a first step. Officials also announced they were charging the ex-officer who killed Rayshard Brooks with felony murder. That’s another first step. But we need to do more, and one bill or prosecution won’t solve all our problems. We need to keep pushing for justice for Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all the others whose names we know -- and those we don’t. That’s why I’m pushing for a re-imagination of our policing system in the United States not just in Congress, but through the media where we can reach millions of people at a time. If you have a moment, listen to my recent appearance on MSNBC and forward the video to friends or family so we can keep pushing for change. In solidarity, Hank
|
|
