All the while American people have been raging against the police brutality and murder – the police has murdered another black person.
Rayshard Brooks, a black man, who was asleep at a Wendy’s drive-through, was shot three times in the back by white police officers. Although, the situation of this murder is not as simple as the murder of George Floyd, and many people have blamed Rayshard Brooks for threatening a police officer’s life.
But what’s really true? There have been many opinions but now the bodycam footage of the cops has been released and we can see what really happened.
Disaster has followed after Brooks’ murder and for good reason
Aftermath of Brooks murder has been ugly, and protestors set fire to the Wendy’s building whose manager had called the cops just after seeing a black man asleep in his car.
The killer cop Garrett Rolfe was fired, while the other officer from the event was placed on a desk job. Police Chief of Atlanta resigned from her job, and the Mayor has expressed regrets.
“There is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do. I do not believe this was a justified use of deadly force.”
But it is still not clear whether the police officers will be charged with murder. Most likely chance is that they won’t be charged. This is how it works, isn’t it?
Here’s how things went down (Warning: Graphic content)
There were many bodycams, surveillance cameras, dashboard cameras, and even bystanders who saw what happened.
When the police reached Wendy’s after receiving a call that a black man was asleep in his car. Officer reaches to Brooks and wakes him up, “Hey man, you’re parked in the middle of the drive-thru line here.”
Brooks woke up after another rapping at his window shield, he seemed drunk and a bit incoherent. After which, Brooks was asked to move his vehicle into parking spot.
Brooks resisted arrest, and he had a valid reason
After that, Officer Garrett Rolfe arrived on the scene and they decided to take a DUI test. And then Officer Rolfe tells Brooks “put your hands behind your back.”
But then Brooks seemed to be resisting, and this is where things get shady.
Right-winger racists have claimed that Brooks should not have resisted arrest but they seem to forget that George Floyd was murdered while he was not resisting and handcuffed. Breonna Taylor was murdered by cops in her own home while she was sleeping.
This is how the killing happened
So obviously, Rayshard Brooks was right in being suspicious of the cop’s motives. As the struggle continued, other officer took out a taser and threatened to tase Brooks.
After this, Brooks grabbed the Taser and tried to escape.
Then the surveillance camera from outside the Wendy’s showed that Officer Garrett Wolfe switched the taser for his gun and then shot Brooks three times in the back.
Here’s what people need to understand
Rayshard Brooks was scared, and understandably so. He knew that George Floyd was murdered while agreeing to all of the cops’ orders. Breonna Taylor was murdered by cops while sleeping in her own home. He feared that cops might kill him even if he agreed to all their orders, so he tried to escape.
If a half-drunk man can best two officers, grab their taser and “put their lives in danger” as they said – then are these officers even fit for duty? Are they even capable if they get their backsides handed to them on a silver platter by a half-conscious man?
They could have easily chased him and tackled him if all they wanted was to arrest him.
The best solution to the drunk-driving situation is to charge them a fine, and send them home in a cab. After that, make them attend a therapy class where they are taught how to be more responsible towards society. Cops are not even needed here, another reason why police should be defunded.
Why did they burn Wendy’s though?
Wendy’s manager was the one who called the cops, though. When the simplest solution would have been to walk up to his car, wake him up, ask him to take a cab and go home. Imagine that even if he refused, they could have asked him to move to the parking lot and sleep there.
There was absolutely no reason to call the cops since Brooks wasn’t hurting anyone. But Wendy’s still called the cops even after knowing what the cops do to black people.
All Featured Image Courtesy: Common Media