Today's poem is by H. L. Hix

from American Outrage
       

Rayshard Brooks was 27, and had three daughters and a stepson.

Deana Eckert and her husband had two children.
                                                          She worked in a bank as an executive assistant.

Reat Underwood loved to camp and hunt.
                                                He was a high school freshman and an Eagle Scout.

Randolph Evans went by "Randy."
                                                                He was 15, and a high school freshman.

Belinda Galde worked as a probation officer,
                                        and had operated a hairdressing business from her home.

Grace McDonnell loved the beach,
                                                and wanted to become a painter when she grew up.

Susie Jackson had two children and eight grandchildren.
                                                                    She sang soprano in her church choir.

Jeremy Herbstritt was a marathon runner,
                                                                            and loved to hike, ski, and kayak.

Paramjit Kaur worked 11 hours a day, 6 days a week,
                                                                    in production at a medical devices firm.

Casey Goodson was 23, and lived with his grandmother.

9: in 2015, how many times more likely a Black man between 15 and 34 was than any other American to be killed by a police officer. 2: of the U.S. population, the percentage that are Black males between 15 and 34. 15: of persons killed by the use of deadly force by police officers in 2015, the percentage that were Black males between 15 and 34. 17: in 2015, the percentage of white persons killed by police who were unarmed. 25: in 2015, the percentage of Black persons killed by police who were unarmed.

Police protect what, and who, policing was created to protect.  Bad officers sometimes make police violence actual; bad policy makes it inevitable.  More policing harms the most policed.

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Copyright © 2024 H. L. Hix All rights reserved
from American Outrage
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Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission