"If you think being a police officer is a difficult profession, try to be a Black man."
Amir Locke was gunned down by police serving a no-knock warrant. At his funeral, his aunt gave this heartbreaking speech ...
Amir Locke was gunned down by police serving a no-knock warrant. At his funeral, his aunt gave this heartbreaking speech ...
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00:00And if you think being a police officer is a difficult profession, try to be a black man.
00:19I simply say, woe to the Minneapolis Police Department.
00:24Woe to police departments across America, woe to judges, political figures, and personnel
00:32who see atrocities that are being committed in various departments but turn a blind eye
00:39for a cold. Woe to those who refuse to pass legislation to ensure that we are not gathering
00:50at funerals like these, hashtagging our loved one's name, or rallying behind my sister and
00:58my brother for the murder of their child. Woe to you. And please, please stop the rhetoric
01:09that police officers need more training because you do well to escalate, de-escalate situations
01:16when our white brothers and sisters are at the receiving end of guns being pulled.
01:23We are just asking that you utilize that same trained restraint when you are dealing
01:31with people of color. That's all that we're asking. And if it's something that you simply cannot do,
01:38we just ask that you resign today as opposed to resigning another brother or sister to their
01:45grave. That's simply all we're asking. You cannot, you cannot train away racism.
01:57You cannot, you cannot train somebody to be empathetic about black and brown lives.
02:04It's either in you or it's not. Officers do not need more training. They need to be relieved of
02:12their duties. These officers who continue to look on while your colleagues are creating these
02:20unjust murders, you too should be persecuted because you are an accessory to murder.
02:28We don't want to continue to hear about being a police officer. It's a difficult job. You have
02:35to make split decisions. You fear for your life. You are not drafted into the police department.
02:43You chose that profession. And if you think being a police officer is a difficult profession,
02:51try to be a black man. Amir is the one who feared for his life. You entered his dwelling uninvited
03:00with guns already drawn to shoot. And Amir, Amir, my nephew, a registered gun owner,
03:10who was in his dwelling, in his secret place where he dwelled, you did the breaking and entry
03:20into someone else's home. You cannot continue to sanction laws like these as no-knock warrants.
03:29Cannot. No-knock warrants have taken more lives than they have saved. And usually those lives
03:37are people of color. It is by far the most intrusive, intrusive form of government against
03:47our citizens, against us. We should be outraged. This cannot continue to happen.