Biden calls for justice after footage released of police killing Black woman
Biden calls for justice after footage released of police killing Black woman
Lawmakers ‘must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act now’, Biden says, amid shock over Sonya Massey death
Joe Biden has called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, moments after shocking police video was released showing an Illinois officer fatally shooting Sonya Massey after she called police fearing a home intruder.
In his first public statement since dropping his bid for re-election, Biden said the shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by white Sangamon county sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, in her home in Springfield, after a dispute over a pot of boiling water, “reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not”.
Biden, who is recovering from Covid at his home in Delaware, said Massey, “a beloved mother, friend, daughter and young Black woman … should be alive today”.
The thing I found most interesting about the whole interaction is that the first thing the police say to her when they make contact is "we looked around outside and didn't find anyone". Like they're challenging her to contradict them.
That is technically true, but it omits some very relevant information, i.e. that they found a vehicle parked nearby which had very clearly been broken into. That might not have happened that evening, but they don't know that. And they don't mention it when they talk to her. They instead start by saying that the reason she called (she heard a prowler) could not be confirmed. This statement sets up the entire tone of their interaction. There's nobody for them to arrest, so now they're clearly annoyed that she's wasting their time. They start treating her like a suspect instead of a victim. They want her name, her ID. They invite themselves in without cause and start looking through her house. It escalates from there, and ends in murder. The shooting officer then outright lies about the circumstances of the shooting, saying Massey was coming at him with a pot of boiling water and threatening him. She had put the pot down in the sink and was just standing in the kitchen. See, he'd turned his body camera off and didn't realize his partner was still recording.
This was a fucking extra-judicial execution.
I saw the video, the cop had absolutely no justification for it. I don't care what his religious believes are, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus" is not a valid reason. What's heartbreaking is what her last words were: "I'm sorry".
In a just world the cop would get a minimum of 20 years and possibly even a life sentence or capital punishment.
That was worse than I was picturing. She immediately dropped to her knees while saying sorry (twice, panicked) , with her hands up and they shot her. She had released the pot the moment they got aggravated. It's such a shame that this keeps happening and the only response police have is "more money please."
"Away from the hot steaming water? Oh, I’ll rebuke you in the name of Jesus." was apparently enough for a white police officer to pull out his gun and shoot an innocent black woman three times.
What the fuck?
This is legitimately worse than what happened to George Floyd. Like... I genuinely feel angry for the relatives of this poor woman after watching that bodycam footage.
For anyone wondering how this happens, please watch this, yeah, I know, it's 30 minutes... I assure you it's worth it.
NSFW language.
The important bit:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-fund-the-police-biden-says-at-state-of-the-union
How quick will mainstream Dems forget about police reform after THIS election? It was already a weak point for Harris.
Everything we saw in 2020 and no (AFAICT) meaningful change.
they are messing around with this
Biden made police reform part of his campaign promise
That's rich coming from a guy who just hosted a genocidal, racist fascist at our capitol. Fuck Genocide Joe and his psuedo-concern about human rights.