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Charles Kinsey: At Least He Survived?

via nydailynews.com

Today, Charles Kinsey was shot in the street by a North Miami police officer for complying orders. When asked why he felt the need to shoot Kinsey, the police officer responded, “I don’t know.” We live in a country where police officers are killing us for no apparent reason. It is not a ‘win’ for the black community that Kinsey survived because his life should have never been put in jeopardy in the first place.  I truthfully cannot think of a single reason that justifies this shooting of another unarmed black man. The only thing I see is that this black man was shot for complying orders and helping the mentally disabled. So to say ‘well, at least he survived’ is not okay because all though his survival is extremely fortunate, it’s also something that didn’t deserve to be put at risk. After the recent police shootings, we were bombarded with tips on how to survive a police encounter. We were taught that if you just obeyed commands, you’d be okay. But what happens when you follow all of the rules and you still get shot? What happens when you are on the ground, your hands held high, no weapon in sight, yet you still leave on a gurney?

I can only imagine what would have happened if there was no video recording of the altercation. If Charles Kinsey didn’t miraculously survive this cruel twist of fate. Because we all know that this event would have been a whole different story if the only witness was the cop that pulled the trigger. We’ve seen this in the past, we’ve seen the trigger-happy cop play the victim card once they realized that their word was the only word we were left with. Fortunately, this time, any claims of ‘resistance’ or ‘intimidation’ simply won’t hold up, given both the video and the victim’s rendition of the event.

Too many times in the past, the victims of police brutality are not given a chance to tell their side of the story. Too many times, they are killed and left for dead, simultaneously diminishing any truths that they held. However, for once, the victim has survived and we are all too eager to listen to what he has to say. His voice is just a small portion of what could have and should have been, a small portion of all those who were wronged in the past because of police brutality but didn’t get the opportunity to tell their story. For once, we aren’t forced to listen to one biased version of a tragic event and accept it as truth. For once, the voice of the wronged survived, and that is amazing.

I truly can’t say that we will receive proper justice for this shooting. I can’t say that the officer will be indicted or even charged. I can’t say that the justice system will work in our favor when it has failed us so many times in the past. But at least we have a fighting chance, and that is all we can ask for at this point.

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