Arrest the SYSTEM That Killed Breonna Taylor.
If the system built the cops that killed Breonna, isn’t it time to kill the system that built the cops?
“The system did not fail today. It did exactly what it was built to do. We don’t need another system… we need humane policies and people who work in the interest of justice and for the health, safety and welfare of humanity WITHOUT DEVALUING BLACK LIVES”
- Bernice A King, 9/23/2020
Activist/Daughter of Rev Martin Luther King, Jr.
image courtesy standwithbre.com
Much of our country is left confused and angry by the complete ignorance of justice in the murder of Breonna Taylor. The range of emotions for Black Americans is rightfully broader: distrust; met low-expectations of our criminal “justice” system; rage; love; sadness.. all words we’ve seen and heard from friends, online, and in the news with the latest story of mostly-white, mostly-male cops getting away with murder. AGAIN.
So if the system won’t arrest the cops, then
LET’S ARREST THE DAMN SYSTEM.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ARREST?
I typed arrest into Google definition to give some substance to this argument. Here’s a breakdown of the term.
first as a verb
seize (someone) by legal authority and take into custody.
USE: ""the police arrested him for possession of marijuana"
HERE’S A GOOD POINT: marijuana possession is an interesting “use” here, as a 2020 analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union, concluded, “Black people are 3.64 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession”… a number that has INCREASED since 2010 even though marijuana possession is becoming increasingly legal…stop or check (progress or a process).
USE: ""the spread of the disease can be arrested"
HERE’S A GOOD IDEA: Let’s say the disease in this instance is a system of racist institutions, laws and the people that created and worked towards racism. OK. Let’s arrest it.
then as a noun
the action of seizing someone to take into custody.
USE: "I have a warrant for your arrest"
CONSIDER THIS: The officers who killed Breonna Taylor DID have a warrant. They did not, however, wait to tell Breonna and Kenny that they had a warrant for their arrest, and instead, rammed down their door. What if the cops did their research to find that the person they were looking for didn’t live in that apartment?a stoppage or sudden cessation of motion.
USE: “a respiratory arrest”
HERE’S A GOOD THOUGHT: What would have happened if the officers involved arrested their behavior, changed course and served the warrant during the day, and not the early morning hours? Wouldn’t that have been a really simple process that would have likely prevented Breonna’s murder?
SO, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ARREST THE SYSTEM?
Says Tanisha Long of BLM, Pittsburgh:
“While we continue to stress the importance of fighting for Black Lives, we must focus on changing the laws and systems that allow these officers to continuously walk free.”
SO LET’S CHANGE THE LAWS AND ARREST AND CONVICT THE SYSTEMS.
NOTE: The Grand Jury in Breonna’s case as presented by Daniel Cameron had to petition the courts to release the full info presented to them, calling in to question whether they received all of the information.
BUT… If all of the facts in the Grand Jury presentation and subsequent statement by Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron are accurate, then the “law” was and “procedures” were followed. But let’s break that apart for a second: the current law and procedures are OKAY WITH the following:
not effectively performing due diligence to obtain a warrant for the home invasion
issuing a no-knock warrant in the first place
not waiting for the home’s inhabitants to answer the door if you do knock
ramming down a door in the middle of the night
returning 16 SHOTS from three officers in rapid succession in exchange for one shot inflicted in the thigh by the home’s resident who had a license to carry a gun in their own home
randomly firing shots through a patio door into the victims home
shooting through the victims home and into the neighbors home
KILLING AN INNOCENT UNARMED WOMAN IN HER OWN HOME.
protect and serve? hmmm.
This.
Should.
Never.
Be.
Okay.
SO, ARRESTING THE SYSTEM SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD, RIGHT?
If you’re with me, or at least willing to learn some more, below are three concrete measures you can take to help create what Bernice A. King refers to as “humane policies and people who work in the interest of justice and for the health, safety and welfare of humanity without devaluing Black lives.”:
LEARN WHAT IT MEANS TO DEFUND THE POLICE
What does that mean? Check out this podcast from the NY Times the Daily to get a better understanding. And here’s how I look at this: taking money away from the more harmful aspects of policing like mass weaponization and move it towards:
doubling the amount of training police officers get before getting on the force and extending the training of existing officers.
Mental Health 1st Aid training and annual recertification for every officer
every officer has a body-cam and it’s always on
officers live in the communities they parole
a team of first responders which includes officers, social workers, and mental health professionals
investing in communities, ESPECIALLY Black and Brown communities, with community-building activities, recreation, mental health, job-training & assistance, and EDUCATION
elimination of no-knock warrants
visiting arrest and conviction records for people convicted of minor charges deemed inherently racist/classist
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a great start.
CALL YOUR SENATOR AND TELL THEM TO WORK TO GET CONGRESS TO PASS THE GEORGE FLOYD JUSTICE IN POLICING ACT (HR 7120)
The Justice in Policing Act is sitting on the desk of Mitch McConnell, more or less. *insert mind-blown, eye-roll, angry emoji trifecta* BUT calls to your senators WILL still help. We can’t sit this one out.
WORK TO GET ELECTED OFFICIALS TO PASS “THE BREATHE ACT”.
This act is simple, straight-forward, and holds officers and elected officials responsible for making sure the world doesn’t have to lose another Breonna, Elijah, Philando, Sandra, George, etc.
Take a look at the video below, which beautifully explains The Breathe Act
And then take actions to learn even more about, and support, the Breathe Act, here.
And finally, TAKE A STAND
When the current Commander-in-Chief tells a group or radical white supremacists to “stand by”, it’s more imperative than ever to STAND UP: Stand Up to Hate, to Racism, to White Supremacy, to Lies.
One way you can do that every day is to join the effort we launched, Take a Knee | Take a Stand, filled with daily reminders to provide accountability-in-actions in ending racism. This includes important and innovative ways to vote, learn, act, support and also do the above in focused areas like LGBQT+, Theatre, and Women's Issues.
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So, as John Lewis said, “Find a way to get in the way, and get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble.” Keep fighting the Good Fight.
And as the kids say, “Thank you for Coming to My Ted Talk.”