Police Brutality
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Family of Jamal Sutherland, Schizophrenic Black Man Who Died in South Carolina Jail, to Receive $10 Million Settlement
Cities across the country are finding out the hard way that if nothing is done about police violence committed against its Black citizens, the streets will continue to see protests and civil unrest, and the taxpayers will continue to have their pockets burdened by lawsuit settlements to police brutality victims or their families. Earlier this…
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The George Floyd Janga
George Floyd is dead. No amount of memorials, court cases, T-shirts with his face, Ad Council-sponsored commercials, candlelight vigils, social media hashtags, street activism, presidential camera op meetings, or high-minded speeches about the need for police reform changes that fact. I don’t like to use the word anniversary when it comes to George Floyd. The…
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Ex-Minnesota Cop Sentenced to 6 Years for Beating Unarmed Black Man While Police Dog Mauled Him
A common misconception about the movement against systemic racism in policing is that the only thing being addressed is Black death. I think this is in part because white people have found their “what about Black-on-Black crime?” strawman to throw out there in response to our complaints about the extrajudicial executions of Black people, but…
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Sister of Atatiana Jefferson Files Lawsuit Against Fort Worth Mayor, Ex-Police Chief and Ex-Officer Involved in Death
Last November, The Root reported that a lawsuit was filed against the city of Fort Worth, Texas, and ex-police officer Aaron Dean, who fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson on Oct. 12, 2019, while she was watching her 8-year-old nephew at her mother’s house and after a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report an open…
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Body Camera Footage Shows Louisiana State Troopers Punching and Tasering Black Man in Fatal Arrest
Details regarding the 2019 death of Ronald Greene after an altercation with Louisiana state troopers have been shrouded in mystery, with Greene’s family accusing the State Police of attempting a cover up. Police officials initially said that Greene died on impact after his car crashed into a tree. Recently released body camera footage of the…
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Federal Trial Arraignment Date for Ex-Minneapolis Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane Set for July
A federal trial arraignment date has been set for former Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane, three of the four officers involved in the death of George Floyd. As The Root previously reported, Minneapolis Judge Peter Cahill ruled Thursday that the state trial for the three defendants—in which they are…
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Video Footage Shows What Led to Death of Schizophrenic Black Man Who Was Taken to Charleston Jail From Mental Health Facility
On the morning of Jan. 5, 2021, 31-year-old Jamal Sutherland died at the Charleston County jail in Charleston, S.C. He was there because he had been arrested the previous night on misdemeanor assault charges after allegedly being involved in a fight at the mental health facility where he was being treated. Already, I have questions.…
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Tyler Perry Is Right. We Shouldn't Hate the Police
I have a Black dog. The B is capitalized because, in this specific case, the word “Black” does not designate the hue of my 165-pound, gangly sack of floppy ears, fur and dookie. Omar is a negro dog. He casually forgets that the kitchen is off-limits every time he smells fried chicken. Unlike Caucasian-raised canines,…
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68-Year-Old Black Woman Sues NC Police After They Pulled her by her Hair and Allegedly Dislocated her Shoulder During Traffic Stop
At this point, I’m convinced that cops can’t wait for an excuse to go berserk on Black people. And we’ve seen report after report after report that indicates that among cops’ favorite excuses to go way overboard in their uses of force is anything they perceive as a car chase. We saw this when Black…