The tragic killing of Rayshard Brooks on the heels of the killing of George Floyd further illustrates the need to drastically redo policing in America. Time to start over. There have been too many “just a few bad cops”, to be one offs. It’s a systemic problem that requires a systemic solution. 

Rayshard Brooks should be alive today. He actually told the police he could and offered to lock his car and walk away. Why didn’t the police just let him walk home? The police patted him down. He has no weapons. He wasn’t a threat to anyone. But he was shot in the back three times anyway for trying to flee. Police cannot shoot someone when they are not in danger and these cops were clearly not in danger. The killing cop has been terminated but as of this writing not arrested for murder.

In the United Kingdom, very few police officers have guns. They operate under the model of police by consent. Among the many policy proposals being thrown around, we need to seriously consider disarming the majority of cops. Should the cops responding to a man sleeping off a few drinks in his car at a Wendy’s parking lot even be armed with lethal force? 

The death of Rayshard and George puts yet another spotlight on the horrific policing toward black and people of color in the United States. Policing that states that to be black in America and have any encounter with the police. It can lead to death. Followed by hashtags, protests, and the next one.

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