Opinion: Same as it ever was

For African Americans, the decision in the Philando Castile trial is a reminder that the sad history of Police violence in the commnunity hasn’t changed much.

As I was contemplating new topics for my next article, a news story that broke got my attention and solidified my decision on what to write about. In St. Louis, MO, a Black Police officer was shot and injured by a White officer while attempting to help apprehend armed suspects who had fired on other officers while being chased in a stolen car. The Black officer was off-duty, but lived in the area and heard the disturbance, so he rushed to the scene to help. The officers at the scene ordered the Black officer to the ground, but allowed him to get up and approach them after he was identified. A third officer arrived on the scene abruptly and, not recognizing the Black officer, shot him in the arm. His explanation to Police investigators was the familiar line “I feared for my safety”. After reading this story, there was no doubt in my mind that I needed to get some things off my chest about controversial Police shootings in the Black community.

As a young Black man, I was told by my parents in no uncertain terms that if I was ever stopped by a Policeman, I should be deferential, polite and compliant, no matter what. I was not to give them any reason to overreact and become violent with me. In fact, I can’t think of one of my Black friends who was not given the same lecture by their parents. It was a common rite of passage issue in the Black community.  As Black men moved from childhood to manhood, you were advised to be wary of the Police, but at the same time, always be a “good” Negro. No back talk, no attitude, just “Yes sir!”, or “What can I do for you, officer?” Failure to comply could open the opportunity for verbal or physical abuse or even death. A well-known truism that the entire community was aware of.

And that history of Police mistrust goes back to the Reconstruction era. Many of the thousands of Black people lynched by the KKK were victims of Police officers. Certainly, if a lynch mob was out to get someone, Police officials would usually look the other way and let the killing happen, even if they weren’t Klan members themselves. Often, lynching in the South were a source of entertainment for local Whites, with large crowds gathering to watch. More than 600 recorded race riots happened from the 1860s to the 1960s, often supported by Police. Of course, during the Civil Rights movement, the televised brutalization of Black protestors by police caused many Whites and people around the world to take notice and support the movement. And most of the post-Civil Rights era urban riots were sparked by the abuse of unarmed Black people by Police, such as Rodney King, Michael Brown, etc. Given this history, it is small wonder that Black people are often mistrustful of Police.

Yet, nowadays many Whites react to the constant parade of Black people gunned down under mysterious circumstances with indifference, insensitivity and even contempt. A look at the message boards of any internet article about a controversial shooting tend to reflect support of the Police, no matter the details. You often see comments along the lines of “If they just listen to the cops, they wouldn’t get shot”, or “Black people are always complaining”, or “they shouldn’t be committing so much crime in the Black community”, or cynical observations about gangs, children without fathers, welfare, etc. Also, quotes from conservative media sources such as Breithbart, Infonews, etc., with questionable statistics about crime in Black communities. The misinformation is skewed and way out of control, but no matter.

To address this, I wanted to cite some statistics that should be more accurate. The most recent available figures on violent crime broken down by race from the FBI date back to 2013. In this study, Black/African Americans are responsible for 28 percent of all violent crime in America. Now, that is a fairly high number, given the fact that Blacks make up about 13 percent of the population, but it is also a much lower percentage than is perceived by the public. And here are some other eye-opening numbers: Blacks are more than 3 times more likely to be killed by police than Whites, 69 percent of Black killed by Police were non-violent, unarmed offenders, and 99 percent of the decisions in Police shooting cases from 2015 resulted in no officers being convicted of a crime. So far in 2017, 461 people have been shot and killed by Police officers, with a quarter of those being Black.

Though it is true that more Whites that Blacks get shot by Police, it hardly explains the killing of Philando Castile, a young Black father who worked in a school cafeteria. A man who was pulled over for a broken tail light, who politely followed officers’ instructions, including telling them that he was a registered gun owner and that he had one in the car. Clearly, in the now-public Police video, the officer overreacted and shot Castile multiple times within seconds, with his girlfriend and 4-year old daughter in the car. Yet, despite the evidence, the accused officer was acquitted by a jury of his peers, based on the defense that he “feared for his safety”. And today, even though there was an acquittal, the St. Anthony, MN, Police offered a 3 million dollar settlement to the Castile family.

These events should remind all Americans that Police should be held accountable for their misdeeds if they commit a crime. However, the pattern of continued Police violence just reinforce the idea within the Black community that, in the grand scheme of things, not much has really changed…same as it ever was.