UMass Lowell Connector Logo

Let’s talk about police brutality

Ashney Saint-Hubert
UML Student

I sat in the dining hall with the drone of replays and commentary about the most recent Patriots game in the background.  I was eating, more focused on my food than anything but still aware that others were more focused on our recent victory.  That was when someone changed the channel and broadcasters went from talking about a sports team that holds Massachusetts pride and ego on their back to talking about something many people do not want to talk about.

Now, let’s get this clear.  Not only do some people not want to talk about it but they also do not want to acknowledge the fact that it is even happening.  If you have not realized it yet I am talking about police brutality and its impact on the black community.  While sitting in the cafeteria the only people I saw sitting at attention at the news of Charlotte, North Carolina being in a state of emergency where people of color.  There were maybe one or two students that were not of color paying attention to the heart wrenching news of riots, protests and the National Guard being deployed into the town of a little less than 800,000 residents.

The reason why Charlotte, North Carolina is in a state of emergency is because on September 20, 2016, Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed.  Whether he was armed or unarmed has yet to be determined.  What is crystal clear and certainly undeniable is that he was the 164th black male shot by police in 2016.  Let us say he did have a weapon, so what?  North Carolina allows open carry, the act of wielding a firearm in the open, without a permit or a license.  It was reported that Scott was not listening to orders to exit his vehicle and drop a weapon that only officers claimed to see.  So why not talk about this?  Why be afraid to admit that this officer and many others in shootings involving black males are in the wrong?

Even the footage proves that he was not carrying anything and was shot with his hands by his side.  Rakeyia Scott, Keith Lamont Scott’s wife, released video footage taken on her cellphone out on social media.  You can hear her telling her husband to exit the vehicle and telling the officers not to harm, shoot and kill her husband.  Even though this footage was readily released the footage taken by the Charlotte Police Department via police dashboard and body camera has still yet to be seen by the public.  Mrs. Scott, relatives, and family attorney’s did see the footage however and still do not understand why an innocent mans life had to be taken.

In all honesty I do not understand either.  I do not understand how the same situation, maybe under different circumstances, can keep happening and yet people are still afraid to speak on it.  Silence is a part of the problem, no matter what you identify as if you do not speak on an issue you are making it worse.  There are judges, officers and even those in the military that have been stripped of their badges and power because they decided to speak on police brutality in the black community.  Is that not enough of a sign that there is an issue that needs to be discussed and resolved?

Ashney Saint-Hubert is a psychology major at UMass Lowell.

Related posts