Homeless man shot by police

Homeless man shot by police

Written by Philessa Hooks Jenkins

Aka Lady PJ

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

     Did you watch the clip on the news that showed what happened in Albuquerque New Mexico last month?  The police shot an unarmed, possibly mentally ill, homeless man in the back several times; that’s how the news described him.   …A homeless man.  He wasn’t described as Mr. such and such who is homeless.  He was defined as a homeless man.  Can you just sit with that for a second or two?

     The rebellious side of me was screaming for revenge.  My thoughts went to put them (the police officers) in front of a firing squad and use them as target practice.  Barbaric you say?  You would be right but what’s the difference between that and what these officers did to this man, James Boyd?  They reduced him to less than human and treated him like dog crap on their shoe.  Then in a pitiful effort to cover their back you hear a few of them screaming they saw a knife; a knife compared to a gun.  Wow!

     What infuriates me the most is that nobody made one effort to save Mr. Boyd’s (this human being) life; not one of them.  One simple cease fire would suffice; just one.  They all stood around and allowed the gunfire to continue as this man (who had rights) laid on the ground; not moving, not fighting, not resisting.  He was shot in the back as he laid there on the ground, pleading. 

     The clip even starts off with one of the officers saying that “If we were in a bar or something I could kill you right now.”  Kill You!  His words not mine.  A man is on the ground begging “please don’t hurt me anymore,” only to be shot again.  Then to humiliate and degrade this man further, they released the dog on him.  Thank God it was all caught on tape!

     Wake up America your value as a human being is dwindling away as you sleep and slumber your rights are slowly being snatched away from you.  You should be outraged!  I know I am.  Make the government do their job and uphold the law and if you don’t like the law change it!  But let’s not allow this type of crime committed by Police Officers, which violate our trust by the way, to go unpunished any further.  Stop taking it because it’s not right.  Just because you have a badge doesn’t mean that you have the right to kill.  This is your girl, Lady PJ, saying “Change doesn’t come unless you do something; that move is yours to make America.