Police Brutality
The Root of Demonizing the Victims of Police Brutality
The recent murders by police of a young Black male and a Latino teenager expose the underbelly of America’s inherent racism
It’s not uncommon to witness the criminalization of people murdered by police. We see it all too often. It’s such a regular occurrence that even the majority in America acknowledge witnessing it in nearly every instance of Black, Latino, or Indigenous people murdered by police. In most cases, the information provided to the media comes from sources that are too often police union lawyers, union bosses, and police departments themselves.
In the murder of Adam Toledo, you didn’t just have a cop-friendly prosecutor who lied about the specifics of how it happened but you also had Mayor Lori Lightfoot initially backing up the claim that Toledo was shot while holding a gun and posing a threat to the officer. A claim that later proved to be a lie after footage was released. Toledo was, in fact, compliant. He knew he couldn’t run anymore. He dropped the weapon and turned around with his hands up as he was commanded to do.
He complied and he was killed anyway.
