Violent Cops Don’t Care About Black and Brown People’s Innocence
They’re Being Paid to Maintain Apartheid Conditions
A few days ago, a video of an undercover cop pulling his gun on Jose Arreola, whom he suspected of shoplifting $1.19 of Mentos made the rounds on social media. Arreola had withdrawn cash from the store ATM and was waiting for change for a twenty after having paid for his purchase. While waiting, he slipped the packet of Mentos into his pocket, and that was enough for the police officer to draw down.
Much was made of Arreola having been a paying customer (it’s how I learned the details). But what if he had been shoplifting the Mentos? Is the misappropriation of a dollar’s worth of candy a good enough reason to pull a gun on another human being and risk escalating matters so much that a human life is taken? The brutality of the act of pulling the gun in the first place needs far more examination. As does the policy of arming officers at all when so many of them continue to demonstrate that they lack the temperament and judgment to shoulder the responsibility. I…
