Soulclap to Julius Clark for pointing out a recent USA Today article about police and racial profiling. One part of the article discussed recent efforts in Houston TX. Researchers are studying taser gun use after a 2008 city audit found that Black suspects are disproportionately involved in taser gun incidents. About 25% of Houston's population is Black.The audit of 1,417 taser gun uses from 2004 to 2007 also found that white and Hispanic officers were more likely than Black officers to fire their taser guns when suspects were Black.
The same thing is happening all over America. Over 60% of the taser-related deaths in America this year are Black or Brown people.
It is time that we get united, organized and determined. We need to raise the profile of these taser-related killings. I'm glad to see that the Southern Christian Leadership Conference branch in Ft. Worth is taking a strong stand on a case in their city.
I've been advocating for congressional hearnings on taser-torture. H
owever, the online petition simply hasn't gained necessary traction. Perhaps there simply isn't a fire in the belly of our community to address this issue. Many of the men killed by police-wielding tasers weren't good guys. That might be why we don't see public indignation when these killings occur on a weekly basis.What do you think we need to do next to raise awareness about taser-torture in America?
