Police reform is “not enough,” proclaimed Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who on Monday said we must get rid of “serial, racist, ignorant, & stupid cops” and make it a “top priority.”
“Watch the video of the killing of #RayshardBrooks. A senseless & needless killing by a murderous cop!” Waters exclaimed.
“Police reform is NOT ENOUGH. Getting rid of serial, racist, ignorant, & stupid cops must be a top priority. Let’s call them out! Police protective unions, you’ve got to go too!” she added:
Watch the video of the killing of #RayshardBrooks. A senseless & needless killing by a murderous cop! Police reform is NOT ENOUGH. Getting rid of serial, racist, ignorant, & stupid cops must be a top priority. Let’s call them out! Police protective unions, you’ve got to go too!
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) June 15, 2020
Brooks, 27, was killed in an officer-involved shooting incident on Friday after police responded to a call of someone sleeping in the drive thru of a Wendy’s, blocking traffic. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the responding officers tried to take Brooks into custody after he failed a field sobriety test. However, he resisted arrest, managed to gain control of an officer’s Taser, and attempted to flee the scene.
“Officers pursued Brooks on foot and during the chase, Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer. The officer fired his weapon, striking Brooks,” GBI reported.
Surveillance footage of the incident corroborates the report. His death, however, has been ruled a homicide and triggered chaos in Atlanta Saturday, as protesters took to the streets, blocking major roadways and setting the Wendy’s, where the incident occurred, ablaze.
Activists gathered in front of Atlanta’s City Hall on Monday, demanding local leaders defund the police.
“Shame on us. Shame on us. There are no clean hands in this situation. We all are complicit with the oppression of black people,” one activist said, with another later challenging Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D).
“She says she’s invested in southwest Atlanta. Put your money where your mouth is. Defund the police and reallocate the resources,” he said.
Bottoms on Monday announced her intention to sign orders “requiring Atlanta police officers to use only the amount of objectively reasonable force necessary to protect themselves or others to make an arrest or bring someone resisting under control,” per CBS News.
“As we are taking a look at our use-of-force policy through our task force, it became abundantly clear to me that through my executive power, we need to reiterate our desire that there be de-escalation and not immediate use of force when there are other options that are available,” Bottoms said.
The mayor also appeared on NBC’s Today on Tuesday and described Brooks’ death as “so personal to so many people of color.”
“That could have been any one of us,” she said. “That could be any of our kids or brothers. In this case it was: It was someone’s father.”
“It didn’t have to end this way,” she added. “That’s what’s so frustrating.”
This is not the first time Waters has spoken out following the civil unrest sweeping the country. Last month, Waters suggested that Trump had “emboldened” the former officer charged for the murder of George Floyd.
“He has disparaged blacks in so many ways. All that stuff about loving blacks is so disingenuous. Nobody believes that. He’s such a liar. He cannot be trusted,” Waters said of the president during an appearance on MSNBC.
“And yes, I think he has emboldened those who are racist. He’s emboldened police officers to be nastier, tough, to do things like the chokehold. I believe all of that,” she continued.
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