WHITE ACTIVIST THOUGHTS ON POLICE SHOOTINGS OF BLACK PEOPLE

How many Black people will die before police departments police themselves in America?

Terence Crutcher, an unarmed father of four, walking slowly away from police and toward his stalled car with his hands up in the air, is the most recent victim who died for being Black. Killed in the streets by Tulsa police.

Their police department claims he was not complying with officer's orders; yet police don’t have carte blanche to kill anyone who doesn’t show perfect compliance. In fact, a ruling in Boston Tuesday by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court stated that blacks in Boston who escape run-ins with police officers may be justifiably motivated by a desire to “avoid the recurring indignity of being racially profiled,” and their flight should not be automatically interpreted as evidence of “criminal activity.”

Can Hartford citizens count on their Police Department to do the right thing? Will Hartford speak out about this latest tragedy by issuing a clear and timely statement condemning rogue police actions and police departments that perpetrate or condone racially-motivated profiling, predatory policing and overreach, brutality, and killings in the streets of US cities? 

It’s long past time to change the policing culture and practices of silence.

JoAnne Bauer, Hartford