I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. I WASN'T THERE.
But I understand the reaction to what happened. 16-year-old
Kimani “Kiki” Gray was shot and killed by police officers. By the police
account, he was in a group of other teenagers and was acting suspiciously. When
they left their car to approach him, he reached into his waistband and pulled
out a gun. He raised the gun and pointed in the police officers’ direction.
They pulled their weapons, discharged, and now this boy is dead.
Kimani is a black kid. Given the history of racial tensions
not only by the NYPD but in this country, again, I understand the reaction. Being honest, I have to wonder 2 things
from the start, though:
1.
If Kimani Gray was Ken Gray, white kid, would
there be a protest? AND
2.
If it was Ken
Gray, white kid… would the police have even tried to approach him, setting the
string of events into motion?
The honest-to-God’s truth is that despite all of the
“progress” we’ve made in the realm of race relations, people of color are still
disproportionately profiled by law enforcement… especially young black males.
But that’s not the purpose of this
blog. I’m writing about the Kimani Gray shooting and the subsequent
protests, riots, and outpouring of anger.
Here's what we “know”:
·
Kimani has a criminal record that included grand
larceny, possession of stolen property, breaking into a car, and rioting.
·
Kimani WAS ARMED.
Here’s what the police reported about the incident:
·
Plainclothes officers were undercover, in a
vehicle in East Flatbush.
·
Kimani was one kid in a group of kids standing
on a street corner. The kids noticed the officers, at which point Kimani
“fidgeted” with his waistband, separated from the group, and began to act
“suspiciously”. (This is the part where, if it was Ken the white kid instead of
Kimani the black kid, I have to wonder IF the police would have tried to
approach him.)
·
As the 2 undercovers tried to approach, Kimani
pulled his gun and raised it, causing both officers to pull their weapons and
discharge.
·
Kimani was struck ELEVEN times and was pronounced DOA at Kings County Hospital.
Again, I understand the anger and frustration. I feel it
too! We, as a society, are burying too many of our children because of
violence. We cry over their graves… lament about the lives they will never get
to live. And we should.
But what do you think would have happened if that incident
played out differently. Let’s say, for just a moment, these officers had
hesitated before drawing and discharging their weapon. In that moment, Kimani raised
his weapon, pointed and shot, killing
one or both of these officers. How many “suspicious-acting” young black men
would have been killed by police in the aftermath, as they hunted for the
cop-killer?
And let’s be honest. This kid has a criminal record and a
gun. No, that should not equate to a death sentence, but he is not the sweet,
innocent little angel that people are trying to make him out to be. Was this
“murder”? Maybe… that has yet to be determined.
Which brings me to another factor that makes it impossible
for us to ever really know the truth. The NYPD cannot investigate itself. No
law enforcement agency can! The results of such “independent” investigations is
always the same: it was a good shooting. The cops never do anything wrong.
Really? How convenient! There needs to be a true independent
investigation comprised of a team of individuals that serve the entire nation.
The best of the best. A random drawing of a number of investigators from every
corner of the country who are assigned to wherever the shooting occurs. THEY
investigate independently and submit their findings. Every team is different to keep things on the
up-and-up. Now, can they investigate EVERY shooting? Of course not. There’s too
many police departments and shootings. But I think we can start with some of
the higher-profile places: NYPD, Miami, LAPD, Chicago, and Washington DC, to
name a few. And limit the scope to fatal shootings. Teams of 5-7 investigators
who maybe never worked together before, and may never work together again. No
alliances. Can’t investigate in the same city on consecutive shootings. Can’t
investigate your home-based departments. Let’s REALLY find out what’s happening
in these incidents. We cannot keep sacrificing our citizens, regardless of
race, age, gender, orientation, financial status. We just cannot keep
sacrificing folks.
Perhaps if we can build some confidence and trust in the
investigative process and findings, we can avoid the rush to judgment on these
cases. Here's a sampling of what I've
seen on Twitter and Facebook:
·
In aftermath of police shootings, it's common to
slander victim w/ racialized terms. He's 'gang member' w/ 'criminal history'.
·
16 year old murdered
·
police are paid to protect our kids, not kill
our kids
·
I don’t care what you say, he won’t be able to
rob (or worse) me or anyone I know or care about.
·
Live by the gun, die by the gun
Gang member does immediately make one assume the person in
question is a person of color, but criminal history does not. (And really, to
call it slander would mean that police alleged a criminal history when there
was none. This kid HAS a criminal record. It’s not slander. It might be
irrelevant to the situation, but it is not slander.)
We don’t know if it was murder. He was killed… but murder
carries and entirely different meaning than murder. And the police are paid to
protect and serve the citizenry. They are not babysitters! And again, this is a
kid with a criminal history walking around carrying a concealed weapon. By
approaching him, if he was acting suspiciously… weren’t the police doing their
job?
At the same time, just because this kid has a record, we
can’t just write him off as a career criminal escalating in the severity of his
crimes. We cannot keep the old adage of “live by the gun, die by the gun”. We
have to do better and want better for ourselves and our children.
SO… at the end of the day, do I understand the protesting?
Yes, I do. And I understand the demand to know what happened, and to get
justice for this kid if it was not a clean shoot. But we have to find plausible
solutions if we are going to fix this problem.
A better investigative system is certainly needed. But we
(meaning the NYPD) also need to find a way to not pump a ridiculous number of bullets into people. ELEVEN bullets hit this kid… I don’t know how
many rounds were fired. I think back to the cases of dead black men, at the
hands of the NYPD, like Sean Bell (50 shots, hit 4 times) and Amadou Diallo (41
shots, hit 19 times). It’s simply unacceptable.
THIS DESERVES AND REQUIRES ANGER, FRUSTRATION, AND A DEMAND
FOR CHANGE. There has to be a better option. Stun guns. Beanbag pistols. Better
accuracy! If a 16 year old boy seems to be reaching for a gun, and the police
officer on the scene is in a position where additional force is required, can’t
he shoot for the shoulder? the knee? perhaps the hand or arm? Why is everything
a head/neck shot?
I am curious though… why was this kid carrying a concealed
weapon? Doesn’t anyone who’s protesting and crying out that Kimani is a
“victim” care about that??
Rest in Peace, Kimani. No matter what, your life had value
and the world will forever be different and altered because you are no longer
with us.
