Police Brutality Facts: The Case Of Terrence Sterling

This article takes you through some five documented eye-opening facts about Terrence Sterling’s death that you need to know.

To refresh our memories, let me briefly narrate the incident that led to the death of this young unarmed Black man. Terrence Sterling faced his untimely death on the morning of September 11 by a Washington D.C police officer.

The first point that I will like to put across is that Sterling was on a motorcycle when he was shot by the officer. Yet, the police came out with a ridiculous story that he was driving recklessly. The police report states that “At approximately 4:30 a.m., an officer observed a motorcyclist driving recklessly near the 1700 block of U Street, Northwest. A few minutes later, another MPD officer observed a motorcycle matching the same description near 3rd Street and M Street, Northwest. When the officer was exiting the passenger side of his marked police cruiser to stop the driver, the motorcyclist intentionally drove into the passenger door and the officer fired his service weapon.”

Just don’t breathe while being black & everything will be alright. #AlfredOlango #TerrenceSterling #TerenceCrutcher pic.twitter.com/LIyvTBKC9a

— ✯bennydiego✯ (@bennydiego) September 28, 2016

Moreover, witnesses of the incident refuted the police account. Most of the witnesses insisted that the collision couldn’t have been prevented by Sterling because it was beyond his control, NBC 4 Washington reported.  The witnesses said that “the collision was unavoidable and Sterling did not intentionally strike the cruiser. “ They also revealed that “the officer was not trying to get out of his car, but instead rolled his window down and shot Sterling from inside the car after the crash.”

Furthermore, the unarmed Black man was returning from a bachelor party the night he was killed, Fox 5 DC reports. The NBC 4 Washington TV station further reported that Sterling was going to his home in Fort Washington, Maryland after the party.  He was described by his cousin as a kind and helpful person.

#TerrenceSterling Was Shot in Back, Neck: M.E.
He was unarmed.
Officer turned on body cam AFTER he
fired shots.https://t.co/3r5N4jFucq

— Shomari Stone (@shomaristone) September 28, 2016

Meanwhile, his death spurted up series of protest, demanding a thorough investigation into the matter. Demonstrators brought traffic to a standstill in New York Avenue on September 26, demanding that the police bring the killer cop to book.

#TerrenceSterling Protesters briefly blocked NY Ave traffic as they marched to DC police HQ Tuesday afternoon pic.twitter.com/MlG4YEqK5v

— Clarence Williams (@nu1wcf) September 27, 2016

Also, there seems to be no video evidence of the shooting, since the officer who shot him had his camera turned off. The only video evidence available captured the aftermath of the shooting.  Yet, the police promised to release a video on the 27th of September. And now many are wondering what kind of video they will be releasing; the one that never existed?

so sad to see you go like this 😔 RIP #TerrenceSterling 👼🏽 you will be missed. Justice is coming ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6DOl9yz3fm

— urban says… (@yungurban) September 16, 2016

The medical examiner ruled that a homicide was the cause of death and that Sterling suffered from gunshot wounds to the neck and back.

Again, we have to be writing about another police killing. Will the police in America ever protect the law? They seem to be acting more like contract killers in uniform, and their only purpose out there is to shoot Black people without a cause. Now they want to produce evidence that never existed. How sad? This nonsense must stop!

Source: Heavy