Police officers will never, ever, ever be trusted by Black people en masse because of stories like this. And it doesnât appear that they want this dynamic to change.
According to WXYZ, a Black woman named Alica Cook was set upon by an overzealous Melvindale, Michigan, police officer, Lt. Matthew Furman, while sitting in a parked car at her daughterâs school. Furman says he noticed that Cookâs tag was expired and her car was showing âuninsuredâ in the officerâs onboard computer. Upon approaching the vehicle, Cook was receiving disturbing news on the phoneâŚ
âI had just got bad news saying that the person thatâŚthe (driver who owned the car) just had heart surgery,â she said. âAt the time, my mind was in a thousand places.â
When Lt. Furman asked Cook for her driverâs license, she was mid-call and asked Furman to âgive me a minute.â This benign request sent Furman into a rage yelling, âDonât tell me one second!â
Cooks told WXYZ that his anger surprised her and left her feeling a bit flustered about what to do.
âIt was like, âTurn the car off now! Youâre on the phone? I donât care youâre on the phone! Do what I say right now!ââ Cook recalled.
âIf I could have processed my thought in the moment and just turned the car off, maybe it wouldnât have escalated as bad,â she said.
This is the most critical part to note about a vast majority of these violent police encounters: the officers fail miserably at taking their unearned egos out of play and de-escalating the situation for the safety of all.
Too many times, weâve watched cops who are drunk off power create an environment that is inherently more dangerous just so that they can get their rocks off by bullying the citizens they swore to protect. This is why many people, especially Black folks, refuse to give âblue livesâ the benefit of the doubt. They donât deserve it. They have proven themselves a bad-faith organization and have worked tirelessly to ensure that this distrust lives in perpetuity.
As his unjustified anger reached its peak, Lt. Furman drew his taser and fired on Cook twice in front of her screaming children and several other students at the school. Cook was not armed, did not threaten Lt. Furman, and did not attempt to assault him in any way. This piggy-pig just wanted to prove that hisâŚegoâŚwas the biggest, baddest one on the block. In a weak attempt to justify such actions, Furman disingenuously told Cook that he feared for his life.
âYou look at me: I got two children in the car. Iâm facing the school building. What are you in fear of?â she asked. âMy hands are up.â
Exactly. In the aftermath of this wanton police brutality, Cook was charged with a civil infraction and four misdemeanors that included resisting arrest, interfering with a police officer, and driving on a suspended license. The city attorney in Melvindale took one look at the body camera footage from the scene and dropped all those charges like they were hot. Melvindale Deputy Chief Nicholas Martinez admits that the department did not investigate this use of force and did not give a reason why. However, Wayne Countyâs prosecutor is reviewing a warrant for another incident where Lt. Furman used his taser. Furman is on administrative leave at this time.
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