District Attorney Andrew Womble decided that the killers of Andrew Brown Jr. were justifiable in their brazen act of violence even though the three deputies who fired their guns shot him in the back of his head while their cars blocked any escape route for Brown. In other words, the police trapped Brown and then killed him knowing they have friendly prosecutors to exonerate their violence. This is a case of a racist system, to include a racist Superior Court Judge Jeff Foster and the District Attorney Andrew Womble, denying a black man and his family justice. This clear demonstration of bigotry and racism is evidence the system remains rigged against blacks George Floyd or not. From police officers to prosecutors to judges, black families continue to suffer at the hands of white racist people.
North Carolina is a State not exactly known for its tolerant policies towards its black communities. In 2020, Donald Trump, a racist white supremacist bigot, carried the State by 73,000 votes, and its Republican legislators have recently enabled new voter suppression laws under the pretext that President Joe Biden stole the election of 2020 from the previous one.
The FBI inquiry may yet seek to punish the police officers who killed Brown, but how is that justice for a racist prosecutor who will whitewash again at a drop of a hat?
THE FBI MAY YET CONCLUDE OTHERWISE
Independently, the FBI is investigating the death of Andrew Brown Jr. because the lies the deputies promoted do not square with what really happened. Nor does the judge, who heard both sides of the argument to release the police cameras footage, intentional delay make matters more transparent. The opacity of the murder of Andrew Brown Jr. is one to draw the attention of the Federal Government.
So, when a prosecutor whitewashes the crimes of his police force because he is not interested in administering justice, the FBI, on the other hand, is an unequivocal third party whose agenda is broader in following Federal guidelines of what constitutes police brutality and the deliberate trampling on the civil rights of black Americans. Their investigation is bound to honor the truth of what really happened.
A CASE OF A RACIST SYSTEM
But the truth often, even though men of evil discard it, does not punish the culprits in this whole scenario. The FBI inquiry may yet seek to punish the police officers who killed Brown, but how is that justice for a racist prosecutor who will whitewash again at a drop of a hat? Should his office not also endure the scrutiny of the Justice Department? Should the DOJ not pressure, to say the least, Mr. Womble to resign his position for dereliction of duties?
Should the judge who refused to release the camera footage not also endure the same FBI scrutiny? What is the purpose of wearing cameras if, when it matters the most, the footage suddenly becomes inaccessible to the families of the victims? If the judge’s intent was to promote peace on the streets, the system should not have hired such violent and racist police officers in the first place. The price for hiring the nameless officers involved is the truth, not the after-the-fact error correction.
Black men represent 6% of the U.S. population but their numbers swell to over 41% of the prison system population.
SCRUTINIZE THE WHOLE SYSTEM
The police officers involved are just a partial puzzle in the whole equation. Excluded, usually, are the racist prosecutors, the unwilling judges, the complicit sheriff offices, and every downstream institution that administers justice. The whole system needs help dismantling the enduring pockets of racist behavior.
I, for one, would like to see the FBI look into every case of police brutality in North Carolina that landed on Mr. Womble’s desk. Beneath these cases may lie some sinister outcome of justice if we are to let the Andrew Brown Jr. case guide us. Besides the administration of justice, such task would also put on notice every racist prosecutor in this country because they would realize that the Federal Government is watching over the civil rights of its innocent citizens regardless of race.
From police officers to prosecutors, black families continue to suffer at the hands of white racist people.
The same is true for judges who refuse to hear evidence, or are quick to wrap a case when the victim’s legal representation is either unable or unwilling to defend properly the victim. Yes, racism also prevails in the public defendant offices across the country. A white defendant gets much more attention and time than a black one.
Such proof can be discovered in one small stat. Black men represent 6% of the U.S. population but their numbers swell to over 40% police officers kill. This demonstrates a glaring imbalance of injustice in America and how prevalent racism is in the ranks of the police force.
As a nation, we must do better. We must rid ourselves of racism for our nation to prosper and for our government to enforce spreading the opportunities equally. Anything less, our nation suffers socially and economically.