Yet another controversial shooting has occurred, hot on the heels of a wave of killings of unarmed black men by police. This time, the victim is eighteen year-old Carnell “CJ” Snell Jr. The shooters were officers with the Los Angeles Police Department. The facts on this one, so far, indicate that a gun was recovered at the scene after police shot CJ five or more times, killing him instantly. Protesters took to the streets in outrage, while police stick to the story that police “feared for their lives.”
CJ was involved in a foot chase, which ended with his death. Police contend that he was armed and at the end of the chase, turned toward police still holding the gun. He was shot immediately upon facing officers. The police do not claim that he pointed the gun at them. Friends and family of CJ dispute the official version of events, claiming that he was shot in the back while his hands were up. The autopsy results have not been released, but it has been reported that he was shot in the torso and knee.
CJ’s former teacher Tiffany Hobbs made a social media post, notifying the community about the shooting. “Just learned that the police killed one of our former students 3 hours ago. Carnell was trying. Im afraid of my numbness. Im afraid of the rage that stays on the tip of my tongue. Im afraid of Carnell’s life being reduced to a hashtag. His hands were up when he was shot in the back. He will always be more than what the LAPD considers as disposable. He made my day everyday. He made all of our days. He was 18. Rest sweet, Carnell.” Many have speculated that this post started the rumor that CJ was unarmed with his hands up at the time, but there have been no independent corroborations of this assertion.
While it is clear that CJ ran from police and a gun was found at the scene, his behavior doesn’t match what family and friends describe. He was described by a neighbor who had recently met him, and her emotional state is one of shock. “I have been in denial over the last 24 hours. I was praying that the victim known as “CJ” was not the “C-a-r-n-e-l-l” that had just indelibly stamped his identity into my psyche.” She goes on to talk about seeing CJ play with girls his age around the neighborhood. She admits she does not know the details of the situation, but voices an anger and dismay over all of the police killings we have seen in general.
People are tired of the killing. Whether or not police are able to spin the story to justify the shooting; what we have is another black man killed by police who wasn’t threatening anyone. Much like the shooting of Keith Scott on North Carolina, yes he had a gun, but no one was being threatened or in immediate danger of being shot. Police chose in both cases to shoot first, instead of perhaps seeking out alternatives to killing. In the case of CJ, the press made no mention of police issuing verbal commands – which most likely, means they didn’t. While this case will ultimately be justified by the powers that be, we are left asking the same questions. Why did this have to happen? Why do police continue to shoot first, despite the massive amount of attention they already have on themselves? What is going on?
Black Lives Matter activists took to the streets to protest this shooting, the latest in a deadly summer for black men in America. So far this year, police in the US have fatally shot 719 people. This number does not include the hundreds more that have died at the hands of police via other means – or in custody. The Los Angeles Police Department attempted to make an empathetic statement Monday. “Any loss of life is tragic, and we at the Los Angeles Police Department understand that some of our communities are so severely impacted by violence including use of force by police.”
Unfortunately, words from police have little impact these days, as they fail to take action and continue to support violence against the black community and the community as a whole.
Sources: Washington Post, CNN.
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