Can man heal our institutionalized racism dilemma?

Can man heal our institutionalized racism dilemma?

By Dr. P.L. Wright, Ph.D.

The most recent case of a police shooting of an unarmed Black man and filmed by a cell phone in North Miami, Fla., has caused another serious citizens uprising in the emotions of everyone around the country. Many people have been able to view it on social media. It shows Charles Kinsey in the video holding his hands up in the air. Why was he shot in his leg by Police Officer Johnathan Olida, formerly a Swat team Police officer? It doesn’t make any sense.

He should have been able to take a clear aim to hit his target as he had been professionally trained to do as a former police swat officer in the North Miami Police Department. The North Miami Police Chief stated that his officer must have missed his target. Officer Olida stated that he thought the patient had a weapon instead of a toy truck, and was trying to harm Charles Kinsey, the therapist. The officer claimed he was trying to protect Kinsey but instead he said he did not know he why he shot Kinsey in the leg during the incident.

How could the toy truck not be recognized in the hands of the patient? Suppose he had been mistakenly shot in the head? According to the history of police shootings of Black men or women over the decades, the officer may not have been charged and convicted for his crime. It may have been proven to be a mistake by the Police Internal Affairs department, but with no outside Investigative Agency help. Normally the police officer is never charged. What I have been trying to understand is how is it that a professionally trained swat officer could not make a clear aim to hit his target?

Officer Olida admitted he was not trying to shoot Therapist Charles Kinsey, but did he really miss or not? Officer Olida should still be held accountable, charged and convicted in this case. He should possibly be fired and deemed incapable of making a quick and sound judgement decision since it was done with his professional training as a former swat officer to use his firearm safely and properly.

The general public who carry concealed weapons permits cannot make those same kinds of mistakes without being held accountable for accidentally shooting someone. It is unfortunate that there are some police officers who can get away with those kinds of clear, so called ‘mistakes’. There are possibly more police officers around the country who may not be trained well enough to use a firearm properly and safely.

Some police officers may not be able to make a quick psychological sound judgement in a serious police shooting of an alleged suspect. Our police officers must have more extensive and proven training to be place on our streets to protect the public while wearing their side arms. They must also have better psychological and race sensitivity training to deal with the general public for safety. The police blue code of silence should end just as the silence in the Black community should end when there is a criminal element among them and cannot be caught to be held accountable for their criminal activities in our communities.

Someone would have to turn them in to the police without the fear of repercussion by the criminals. How can we stop this killing of innocent Black men and women and police officers too, if police are not held accountable as the ordinary citizens are? We must search out the criminal police officers and get rid of them. We have many honest police with integrity in their professions to serve and protect the public. We as the citizens must also demand that our U. S. Congress must act immediately on the United States Constitution to replace those sections of the U S. Constitution that are still deeming Black Americans as property, and can be oppressed. Hence we should remove them immediately from our law books that we are still harboring and using.

One law is referenced “the Jim Crow Law.” Bringing attention to the many Black men and women over decades who are killed by police and nothing has been done is the creation of the organization called Black Lives Matters well as Black lives are no longer considered as property anymore, to the slave masters’ offspring who are possibly in high positions in our United States official government and other controlling positions with unfair judgements when participating or handling court cases.

Some are our prosecutors, police officers, attorneys, investigators, including some judges. We must try to end racism, discrimination, bigotry, and the injustices and unfair treatment of African American citizens who are also called Blacks and others in America with honesty and integrity with fair justice for all American citizens. The time has long passed to heal America’s institutionalized racism.