L.A. Police Commission Meeting Interrupted By BLM Protest

BLM demonstrators appealed to the Los Angeles Police Commission to fire Chief Becks during a meeting on Tuesday.

The Tuesday meeting of the Los Angeles Police Commission was marred by the protest staged by the Black Lives Matter activists. As at the time the meeting was going on, protesters who were present demonstrated against the Chief of L.A. Police and some other officers who have been involved in some brutalities against Blacks.

The protest was instituted on the fact that the police have always refused to provide timely and relevant information to family and relatives of people who are shot by cops or those who die in police custody.

The aggrieved BLM demonstrators called for the removal of Police Chief, Charlie Becks. They shouted “Fire Chief Becks.” At that same time, the group also chanted the names of some Black people who have been killed in cold blood by officers. Among such names was Kenny Watkins.

Kenny Watkins, an 18-year-old teenager was shot dead by an L.A cop on the 16th of August after a traffic stop. The police have since then not provided any tangible explanation of what led to the shooting of the Black teen. According to the officer, Watkins got out of the car after they were stopped and he was shot dead. The police further stated that the other guy who was in the car fled with the vehicle after witnessing what happened. Two handguns were seen at the spot of the incident according to the police.

The interruption caused by the BLM protesters at the meeting became inconvenient for its continuation so they were requested to vacate the premises.

Nonetheless, the commission directed Beck to appoint a liaison from the department. The Police Commission explained that the appointed individual will act as an intermediary between the police and the family of people who are killed by the police or those who die in police custody.

Becks who agreed to the request later said, “There isn’t a good avenue by which to address grieving family members.” He further stated that “As I believe – to my core – even though the acts of the individual involved directly with the police may have been criminal, that doesn’t mean the family isn’t grieving, that doesn’t mean they don’t need information, that doesn’t mean the process shouldn’t be explained to them, so we will work to identify somebody.”

It is high time the police come to the realization that Blacks also have rights just like the others. No matter what the offense of a Black person had been that might have warranted a cop to kill him, the family and relatives demand the full explanation of the case. It is the life of a human person we are talking about here and must be treated as such.

The protest was in the right direction and until police officers learn to treat Black people with respect and dignity, we won’t stop our protests.

Source: www.abc7.com

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