(Todd A. Smith)
Brandon Drenon of BBC News reported, “A Florida sheriff’s office has suspended an officer who punched a driver in the face during a traffic stop.
“William McNeil Jr. posted a video of himself sitting in his car as the policeman smashed the window, hit him and dragged him to the ground in the city of Jacksonville on 19 February this year.
“After the clip spread online, police released bodycam footage that shows McNeill, 22, refusing demands to exit the vehicle after being told he (had) been pulled over for traffic violations.
“The sheriff’s office said a state prosecutor had found no misconduct by the officers, but an internal review was also (underway).”
Although an internal view is underway and prosecutors saw no misconduct, an internal review of people’s humanity needs to be underway because some police officers see Black motorists and civilians as threats even when pulled over for the slightest infractions.
The problem is not always the danger that police encounter daily.
The problem is not always compliance.
The problem is not always there is allegedly more crime in the Black community than the White community.
The problem is that when some people see Black people, they think danger, even if that person is as innocent as a newborn baby.
Likewise, when some people see White people, they see safety regardless of how dangerous and violent they are.
Thankfully, I have not written about police brutality in quite some time.
I naively thought I was finished writing about police brutality and how it affects Black lives more than any other demographic in the country.
I gave my testimony about my experiences with police harassment as a child.
I even shared stories about how a former middle school and high school teammate died at the hands of the police in the Acres Homes neighborhood in Houston.
I have heard all the critics of the Black Lives Matter movement talk about the dangers that police put their lives in daily, as if Black people do not have family and friends who are a part of the blue fraternity and risk their lives too.
I have told stories of how a former co-worker, who had previously worked in law enforcement, said that his White colleagues in the police department would brag about roughing up Black people and their desire to inflict violence on the Black community.
I watched George Floyd get murdered in Minneapolis in 2020.
I visited the mural in his honor in Houston’s Third Ward community.
I spoke out against police brutality on television on “The Isiah Factor Uncensored” on Fox 26 Houston and Fox Soul.
I have written about the issue constantly in RegalMag.com.
I have urged Black people to become police officers so that predominantly Black neighborhoods could be policed by people who understand the community and the culture.
Then in 2023, I watched in horror as Black cops in Memphis, Tenn., fatally brutalized Tyre Nichols just as badly as any racist White cop probably would have.
So, forgive me if I am all out of words to express my frustration that police brutality remains something that the Black community must deal with, even for the smallest infraction.
Despite my bewilderment, I should not be surprised.
America was experiencing a major racial breakthrough after the murder of Floyd led to united protests and much-needed conversations between people of all races.
Like many Black people, I had many friends who happened to be White reach out to me to better understand the racial tension in this country.
They asked me about my experiences, and they vowed to make a difference in their own way.
But like any racial progress in America, the unity brewing in America faced a backlash from racist White people desperate to maintain the status quo of White supremacy.
Anything that promoted unity and diversity was touted as woke.
The term woke simply means to be aware of injustices and not to sleep on the inequities that still exist in this country.
Who would not want to be woke?
Well, the Make America Great Again movement did not want America to be woke because that would mean racial equality and not racism and inequalities that benefit White men.
President Donald Trump even vowed to give police officers full immunity, and people cheered as if they did not realize that they made it open season on Black lives.
To make matters worse, many Black men signed up for that open season instead of having an open mind about electing a woman of color as president.
Thankfully, McNeil survived his encounter.
Unfortunately, the problem of police brutality is still surviving too.
McNeil said that he was scared to exit his vehicle, and who could blame him?
Black people constantly see people who look like them lose their lives for no reason because of police brutality.
So, forgive us if we do not see police officers as our friends.
I have heard White people say that if Black people do not want to be treated like criminals, then they need to stop committing so many crimes.
Likewise, if police officers want us to comply with their every whim, they need to start showing us more compassion.
Just like cops see us committing so many crimes, we see cops committing just as many wrongs.
Therefore, if they can stereotype us, why can’t we?
McNeil said he was scared.
And based on how the cops overreacted in his video, he had every right to be.
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