My Friend Didn't Deserve to Die: an Examination of the Law, Crime, & Punishment

MY FRIEND DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE

Fun facts: 

-The U.S. Department of Justice does not require police departments to report deadly shootings statistics
-Some FBI statistics indicate the number of people fatally shot by police each year has changed little in the past five years, with about 360 dying at the hands of police in one recent year. 
- The officers are on paid administrative leave while the case is investigated.
-Peter Kraska, a professor of police studies at Eastern Kentucky University, says the Defense Department program has also put more military gear — automatic rifles, armored personnel carriers and night vision goggles — in the hands of local police who are often poorly equipped to use the equipment. 

 -A look at Police involved shootings in New York: 

   People hit by NYPD gunfire: 30

   People killed by NYPD gunfire: 16

   People shot by the NYPD accidentally (bystanders or accidental discharge): 14

   Total rounds fired by NYPD: 331

   Total rounds fired during one incident in Washington Heights: 84

   Officers shot: 13

   Officers killed in shootings: 0

   Officers who killed themselves with NYPD guns: 8

   Dogs shot by NYPD: 24

   Officers disciplined for violating deadly force guidelines: 1

-Data collected during the first six months of the year also reveal that 74% of the city's shooting victims were black, and an additional 21.5% were Hispanic. NYPD top cop Raymond Kelly has used similar numbers to justify stop-and-frisk, while black community activists say the frustrating statistics reflect the stark reality of economics in poorer neighborhoods.

R.I.P. GABBY

Candles illuminated the curb of the apartment complex where days before my childhood friend expelled her last breaths. I walked along the vigil examining the pictures. Happiness, joy, love…...those are the words that described the pictures of Gabby. During the vigil people shared stories and moments; I wanted to speak out and share the story of my best friend Siray's thirteenth birthday when Gabby tried to convince Siray, Jenise, Taylor and I that we should go skinny dipping in the neighbors pool, but I didn't feel right telling it without Siray there and couldn't bring myself to potentially break down in front of a crowd. I'm still upset with myself for not saying anything. I will always be impressed by the strength of her little sister, Quincey, and how strong she's being. I wanted to say something to her as well, but I just couldn't find the words. What do you say to someone whose sister was gunned down by the police? Who has to see the insensitive and ignorant communal backlash online? I wanted to comfort her & tell her that everything would be okay, but will it? what's "okay?" She's pissed off. I'm pissed off. everyone is pissed the fuck off & rightfully so.  

Last night at the vigil, I was talking to Siray's mom Sonja, the woman whose house I met Gabby at and whom Gabby lived with during middle school. I was curious as to why the video I watched on Facebook showed Gabby outside of the vehicle dead on the ground when the news portrayed it as a violent high speed chase where Gabby rammed their cruisers & they shot "5-7 times" because they felt they were in "imminent danger." Sonja explained that Gabby was surrendering(which makes sense given that she was shot in an Apartment Complex) she was getting out of the car, and when she reached in to put the car back into gear (so it would stop from rolling) the police unloaded on her & the autopsy reflected that they hit her 17 times in the chest. SEVENTEEN. it's disgusting to have to wonder what numbered bullet actually killed your friend. did she die when she was hit with the first shot? the second? the third? the forth? the fifth? the sixth? the seventh? the eighth? ninth? tenth? ……...there's still seven more to wonder about. I'm wondering if she actually even rammed the cars? If we assess the damage of the front end of her vehicle, it looks like a fender bender. If she was driving at 70 mph, ramming into police cruisers I'd like to think the damage would reflect that.

Gabby wasn't even killed in CHPD's jurisdiction. It only leaves one to wonder what the officer's process of thought may have been. Were they trying to out do the Sacramento Sheriff's Department in capturing "their" criminal? It's no secret that the Sheriff's department doesn't respect the CHPD. I've grown up around the SSD. My grandpa, uncle, aunt, and step dad are all employed by SSD. I've been to my fair share of pig bowls, and I've socialized with many families within the department at gatherings. Growing up I've listened to a plethora of conversations between those who carry out the law. From what I've gathered, their mindset is always "good verses evil" or "right verses wrong;" they don't attribute any further thought to what factors into "good" or "evil" & they can't because of the way we interpret the law, crime and punishment. Cops are not inherently "bad" people, they just work in a fucked up system that shapes their process of thought to reaffirm prejudice & to negate what factors into "crime." When you ask a cop how they feel about criminals, more often than not you will find an answer that completely dehumanizes violators of the law. They use typifying examples of child rapists, first degree murders, and sociopathic criminals to gauge their perspective on people who commit crime….and they HAVE to…..i repeat: they HAVE to in order to be able to effectively carry out their duties. In all actuality,  minute percentage of prison populations are "hard" criminals. most people serving sentences are serving sentences for drug related crimes. It isn't easy being a cop; I couldn't imagine carting people off to have every piece of their dignity and freedoms stripped from them. I would have to rationalize it in my mind that I am the "good guy" and THEY are the "bad guy."  People don't enjoy being deviant, and rarely is someone trying to "beat the system" when they commit a crime. Crime is always committed out of necessity or circumstance. "normal" people don't wake up one day & decide to become child molesters; its generally cyclical and often they're victims of sexual abuse themselves. People don't steal because it's exciting; they steal what they don't have. Everyone is a product of their environment…EVERYONE. it disgusts me that we desensitize cops; watching the video where gabby lie lifelessly on the ground & to see that not one of them exemplified sorrow or truly felt the impact of taking a life shattered me. they couldn't even be fucking bothered to act to save her. i want ALL of those officers to learn about gabby & her life, to know that they didn't just shoot "some criminal" & that people are comprised of a multiplicity of things. so easily police & people with like minds can reduce situations to the extremes of "right or wrong" without analyzing the context & factors. those police had options; they didn't have to fucking shoot her. that is the very final & last thing they should've ever done, but this is america & we "stand our ground" when it comes to killing minorities who "look suspicious" or "could possibly pose imminent danger."

LAW & ORDER

The whole concept of "crime & punishment" is barbaric & archaic; it doesn't teach people how to effectively exercise recourse. You wouldn't bite a child to teach them not to bite; you would explain to them how their behaviors negatively impact others and that they are to keep their mouths to themselves. If you did bite the child in response to their biting, what have you taught them? that the person who bites harder always wins? that retaliation is okay? at that point, they haven't even considered what is wrong with their behaviors and the lesson isn't "don't bite people" it becomes "if i bite someone, they bite back" and the child learns to bite harder or only bite those they can easily overpower and victimize. Jail and prison works in the same regard. Housing criminals together only creates hierarchy & gives them an outlet to learn how to become better criminals. You cannot strip people of their freedoms, throw them into an environment plagued with violence and terrorism (amongst each other and at the hands of the people overseeing them) and expect they come out less violent and less angry. Ronald Reagan's war on drugs perpetuated the prison industrial complex & filled our prisons with drug addicts assuming the label of "criminals." it BOGGLES my mind how we jail people for certain addictions whilst encouraging others. people get addicted to plenty of things. exercise & going to the gym can become an addiction, should we house all the gym rats together? There are workaholics addicted to work that neglect their families as a result; that's a negative societal impact directly resulting from that specific addiction, should we incarcerate them too?

FUCK THE POLICE

a lot of upper middle class/middle class white people don't understand the relationship that minorities & the less affluent have w police, but if i'm in danger they're the LAAAAAAST mother fuckers im calling & my family is FILLED w law enforcement. police used to watch, some even would participate in, the desecration of black people. lynch mobs & KKK members often had members of the law not only on their side, but carrying out their atrocities. the prison industrial complex seeks to house minorities & people of lower socioeconomic classes; minorities are a minute fraction of the population, but an overwhelming portion of our prison populations. crack is a 10 year sentence, but coke a slap on the wrist? nearly identical compounds, but which "type" of person does what type of drug? it isn't coincidental that the poor & minorities have access to one & not the other. sentencing is reflective of that..... i FULLY understand why gabby wasn't cooperative, & judging by how they handled "saving" her, why would she have been?

JUSTICE FOR GABBY

in order to achieve justice,  we have to mobilize. we have to show the community & show the police that Gabby wasn't a criminal, she was a person that we loved. We cannot let the system oppress us & we have to honor Gabby's memory.

Justice for Gabby