The Black Lives Matter movement began as a response to police violence against Black communities and individuals. In the eight years since the decentralized organization was formed, there has been no shortage of Black trauma at the hands of police.
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Since 2013, Black Americans have been killed by police at three times the rate white Americans have been killed. In 2021 alone, police have killed 482 people. In 2020, 28 percent of police killings involved a Black victim. Twenty-eight percent may not seem like a lot, but consider that Black Americans only make up 13 percent of the population.
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So when it comes to police violence, there is no shortage of data to back up what Black Americans have been telling us for decades: they are disproportionately targeted by police.
Another video of police violence is making the rounds and receiving extra criticism for how the officer used excessive force against a 16-year-old boy.
A black teen was on his girlfriend’s back porch when a Florida state trooper tased him from PublicFreakout
Security footage showing the police attack was uploaded to the subreddit r/PublicFreakout, where it went viral, receiving 110K upvotes.
The footage shows a Black teen named Jack waiting in his girlfriend’s backyard. To the right is a trooper with a weapon drawn.
The weapon goes off and Jack immediately falls back, hitting his head on the firepit behind him.
Then, a young woman — possibly Jack’s girlfriend — comes outside. The trooper seemingly signals her to stay back.
The video caught the eye of multiple news outlets, and Jack and his mother were able to tell his story.
“He was profiled because he is Black in black clothes. There is no doubt in my mind,” Jack’s mother, Kristina Rodeman told NBC News. “He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He literally was just walking down the street going to his girlfriend’s.”
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Rodeman also provided NBC News with the trooper’s probable cause statement, which explains why the arrest (oh yes, there was also an arrest) happened. The trooper cited wearing all black as a reason to physically hurt someone.
“I saw the defendant (a suspicious person) dressed in black pants, black sweater/hoodie, and black tennis shoes.”
The statement went on to say Jack “appeared to be a burglar.”
“His behavior, demeanor, and body language appeared to be a burglar. It looked to me like he had just committed a crime or was about to commit a crime.”
The trooper motioned for Jack to come over and Jack, most likely understanding how police treat Black bodies, said no. That was enough for the trooper, identified as George Smyrnios, to deploy a weapon on a child.
“The red dots were placed on his back and I deployed the Taser. The probes struck his upper, right shoulder and upper, right buttock. The defendant fell to the ground. I told him to place his hands behind his back. He failed to comply so I activated the Taser again.”
Maybe he failed to comply because you just tased him.
*First Published: June 25, 2021, 6:10 am
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