“If you think being a police officer is a difficult profession, try to be a Black man.”

Brut America

"If you think being a police officer is a difficult profession, try to be a Black man."  Amir Locke was gunned down by police serving a no-knock warrant. At his funeral, his aunt gave this heartbreaking speech ...

Transcript

00:00And if you think being a police officer is a difficult profession, try to be a black man.

00:19I simply say, woe to the Minneapolis Police Department.

00:24Woe to police departments across America, woe to judges, political figures, and personnel

00:32who see atrocities that are being committed in various departments but turn a blind eye

00:39for a cold. Woe to those who refuse to pass legislation to ensure that we are not gathering

00:50at funerals like these, hashtagging our loved one's name, or rallying behind my sister and

00:58my brother for the murder of their child. Woe to you. And please, please stop the rhetoric

01:09that police officers need more training because you do well to escalate, de-escalate situations

01:16when our white brothers and sisters are at the receiving end of guns being pulled.

01:23We are just asking that you utilize that same trained restraint when you are dealing

01:31with people of color. That's all that we're asking. And if it's something that you simply cannot do,

01:38we just ask that you resign today as opposed to resigning another brother or sister to their

01:45grave. That's simply all we're asking. You cannot, you cannot train away racism.

01:57You cannot, you cannot train somebody to be empathetic about black and brown lives.

02:04It's either in you or it's not. Officers do not need more training. They need to be relieved of

02:12their duties. These officers who continue to look on while your colleagues are creating these

02:20unjust murders, you too should be persecuted because you are an accessory to murder.

02:28We don't want to continue to hear about being a police officer. It's a difficult job. You have

02:35to make split decisions. You fear for your life. You are not drafted into the police department.

02:43You chose that profession. And if you think being a police officer is a difficult profession,

02:51try to be a black man. Amir is the one who feared for his life. You entered his dwelling uninvited

03:00with guns already drawn to shoot. And Amir, Amir, my nephew, a registered gun owner,

03:10who was in his dwelling, in his secret place where he dwelled, you did the breaking and entry

03:20into someone else's home. You cannot continue to sanction laws like these as no-knock warrants.

03:29Cannot. No-knock warrants have taken more lives than they have saved. And usually those lives

03:37are people of color. It is by far the most intrusive, intrusive form of government against

03:47our citizens, against us. We should be outraged. This cannot continue to happen.

Category

Transcript

Recommended