Far too often, police force black people to audition for their humanity. This is one of those times. According to writer and digital ...
Far too often, police force black people to audition for their humanity. This is one of those times.
According to writer and digital strategist Richard Brookshire, his family is owed an apology after a traumatic confrontation with the West Memphis Police Department that resulted in his sister being handcuffed.
On Saturday, Brookshire’s four-year-old niece was killed in a tragic car accident. Soon after, family members throughout the country descended upon a La Quinta Inn in West Memphis, Ark., in order to properly grieve their loss and make necessary preparations for the funeral.
Then on Sunday night, this happened:
Last night, @westmemphispd cops accosted and attempted to arrest my grieving sister for STANDING OUTSIDE OF OUR HOTEL AND MOURNING THE LOSS OF HER DEAD DUAGHTER. Threw her to the ground, put her in handcuffs and put their knee on her back, before throwing her in a police car.— Richard Brookshire (@crtv_drctr) November 18, 2019
My sister needed fresh air after such an emotional day and decided to take some calls outside. She spoke on the phone for about an hour when random officers rolled up flashing lights in her face in the middle of her call with my dead niece’s father.— Richard Brookshire (@crtv_drctr) November 18, 2019
She immediately called my mother and I on the phone and yelled that she needed our help, that white police were harassing her. My mother, myself and my aunt, who happens to be legally blind, ran as fast as we could downstairs.— Richard Brookshire (@crtv_drctr) November 18, 2019
My family and I began screaming that my sister was staying at the hotel, that her daughter just died the day before. They ignored us. My mother told me to go inside, I was irate. My sister lay helpless on the ground, and the sight of that took me over the edge.— Richard Brookshire (@crtv_drctr) November 18, 2019
My Aunt stayed outside pleading with the officers, attempting to explain the circumstance. Two more cop cars pulled up. The officers kept referring to my sister as Jane Doe, even though one of them admitted to hearing about my niece’s death on the news. Disgusting.— Richard Brookshire (@crtv_drctr) November 18, 2019
Not only was she no where near the parking lot, we’ve spoken to hotel staff, and found out that there have been no break-ins for over a month. Her failure to provide I.D. was ‘enough’ for them to place her in handcuffs even when they simply could have verified with the front desk— Richard Brookshire (@crtv_drctr) November 18, 2019
After 30 minutes of frantic back and forth and threatening to call attorneys, they finally let her go after nearly 30 minutes of holding her in the back of their vehicle. My entire family is shaken. This has been the most exhausting 48 hours of our lives. Shame on @westmemphispd— Richard Brookshire (@crtv_drctr) November 18, 2019
In response, the West Memphis Police Department maintains that due to reported break-ins in the area, they were merely doing their job and being hyper-vigilant in order to protect and serve the community. Additionally, they’ve released multiple videos of the incident that they believe corroborates their claim that this was a preventable situation.
“They were on those hotel lots because hotel management is coming to us and saying we’re having an issue here,” Assistant Chief Robert Langston told WREG. “We’re having break-ins in our area. We’re having people travel through and want to make sure our property is safe.”
The West Memphis Police Department declined The Root’s request for comment, but released an official statement on their Facebook page that has seemingly since been removed:
The West Memphis Police Department would like to express our condolences for this family’s loss. It is an extremely tragic situation and we understand the stress that this family is dealing with. Our officers were simply trying to patrol this parking lot, at the request of management, in an attempt to protect the property of people as they traveled through our area. This is an unfortunate event that could have easily been prevented.
At this time, the family is exploring their legal options and believe the West Memphis Police Department should undergo bereavement and distress de-escalation training. But in the immediate aftermath, Natacha Brookshire, whose grieving daughter was handcuffed, realizes that these circumstances are far too common for black families.
“I got a phone call and all I heard was my daughter screaming. I got so scared. I thought, ‘Someone is attacking my daughter and I don’t know where she’s at.’ That’s when the accident had happened,” she told Fox 13.
She added, “I understood exactly what was going on. I had no doubt in my mind what was going on. I understood I was living racism in action.”
“The West Memphis Police Department owes my family an apology, they owe my sister an apology, and they should be ashamed of themselves,” Richard Brookshire told WREG.
Brookshire is also asking that concerned citizens contact the West Memphis Police Department and make their concerns known.
If you’ve not written/called the West Memphis PD, don’t hesitate to let them know your thoughts on how they treated my sister.— Richard Brookshire (@crtv_drctr) November 19, 2019
Offices of the Chief and Assistant Chief of Police (870) 732-7652
Patrol Division Commander (870) 732-7550
And for those interested in helping to cover the costs of funeral arrangements, his family has created a GoFundMe page.
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