By Rev. Mareo Johnson
Eagle Guest Writer
BLM Tulsa/NAACP Tulsa
With all of the recent occurrences, our city is in need of healing and change. With the acquittal of Betty Shelby killing Terence Crutcher, and the recent police killing of Joshua Barre’, our city must set a standard of justice and equality. Tulsa’s police department must reevaluate the way force is being handled on the Afro American community, because we find this to be different when it comes to the majority of the Caucasian race.
The Afro American community needs more of an Afro American police officer presence and less Caucasian. They need to get to a point of community policing, where the community police the community and watch the actions of the TPD. It seems like blacks are being hunted down and killed like animals, and then there is justification because an officer was in fear of his or her life. These are mostly all unarmed women, men, and children in our nation.
Pray for Tulsa to set a better standard. There are good police and bad police, but because of the recent incidents, police are beginning to look like racist killers in the eyes of a lot of Afro American people. People understand a police officer’s job is not easy, but the only time when there is need for deadly force is when the officer’s life is really in danger.
This means better judgement and training for police concerning this matter. What we have been seeing is poor judgement from our law enforcement to serve, and even protect those very lives that are being killed. They deserved to live. With Terence being a friend of mine, and Joshua Barre’s mother having attended some of our church services at seeking the Kingdom Ministries, this is hitting home. Also, our Judicial system has to do a better job at displaying liberty and justice for all.
Now it’s time to see what will come out of the Shannon Kepler trial, the officer that’s responsible for killing 19 year old Jeremy Lake in 2014. There needs to be justice served in this matter, like it should have been in the rest. People must not lose hope for justice.
