There is a disturbing pattern of cops getting away with murdering unarmed mostly Black and Latino males in America. This pattern of cops murdering unarmed Black males can be seen in the cases of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner. From the patterns of those cases, one can discern the blueprint for how to get away with cop murder.
Step 1: Join any police department in America to become a cop, now, you have a license to kill anyone you don’t like.
Step 2: Identify a person to kill from America’s undesirable poor class and its historical racialized boogeyman, preferably a big black n***a, because the lives of the poor and people of color don’t matter in America.
Step 3: Wait for a situation to arise, or, create a confrontational situation with a scary Black guy, then shoot him to death.
Step 4: Stick to your claim of justifiable homicide, while the systems of institutional racism circle their wagons to protect you. Just remain firm and consistent in your cover story of, “You stopped a suspect. He became angry and violent. He was a big Black guy. You feared for your life, so you shot him to death, although he was unarmed and hadn’t committed a crime.” Don’t be concerned about news stations placing the national spotlight on you, because although they will put on a good show of objective reporting, CNN, Fox News, HLN, are actually on the government’s and cops’ side, and have your back. They are going to put, before cameras, their team of talking heads of ex cops, ex prosecutors, criminal justice experts, politicians, government-appointed Black stooge leaders, and Uncle Tom Black apologists for white supremacy to come up with every excuse imaginable to justify murder of an innocent unarmed Black male.
Step 5: Have a secret grand jury or a criminal trial by jury. No matter the judicial process, the deck is stacked in your favor to win. So, don’t sweat it–you’ll be just fine.
Step 6: Discredit the murder victim and all witnesses to the crime, because the dead victim can’t tell his side of the story, and witnesses can be contradictive. Besides, who are the public going to believe, a seemingly honest cop or these animals in the streets?
Step 7: Blame the cause of murder on the deceased victim himself by stating the “suspect attacked you,” “appeared menacing,” “reached for your gun,” was a “giant man,” was “like a demon,” or, “he resisted arrest.” Any of these justifications will suffice to place the blame on the victim.
Step 8: Overwhelm the jury with so much evidence and frivolous information about the evidence that it obscures the issue, allowing the jury to reach a favorable decision that will get you off the hook.
The judicial outcome is predictable; no criminal indictment, or a verdict of not guilty of any crime. Now, your mission is complete. You have just gotten away with committing cop murder. I am Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall, co-founder and editor of The Movement human rights magazine, Prison Radio correspondent, and child lifer prisoner, confined at SCI Rockview, Box ABE7826, Bellefonte, PA, 16823. Thank you for listening.
These commentaries are recorded by Noel Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
