As U.S. President Donald Trump continues his twisted campaign to make America “great” again, racism continues to plague the United States. Some of its victims have had enough.
This Friday, in Toledo, Ohio, police officers shot and killed 25-year-old Lamar Richardson. The police department says they were conducting surveillance when they decided to stop an individual supposedly suspected of a robbery. At that point, the individual — the now deceased Richardson — somehow made it allegedly known that he had a gun. He did not fire it, and as for the answers to further questions, like whether he even made any threatening move with it all, the Toledo Police Department has noted that their investigation remains ongoing as of early Friday evening.
As that investigation remains open, Toledo residents face the fact that across the United States, police officers have routinely brutalized black people and gotten away with it. For years now, the Black Lives Matter movement has thrived, and outside of the realm of that broad heading, many remain concerned — and, thanks to their skin color, threatened by the violence.
A largely black crowd gathered at the scene of the shooting in Toledo late Friday, and in the face of the protesting locals, Toledo police brought nearly two dozen officers to the scene. The officers were filmed standing in a line as if to face off with the protesters, while at one point, a reporter noted that a body remained visible up the sidewalk.
Toledo police confirm this is an officer-involved shooting. Body partially visible on sidewalk from crowd post up the block pic.twitter.com/tvcK31BOdh
— Ryan Dunn (@RDunnBlade) July 27, 2018
Liz Harris, who joined the crowd at one point, commented to Toledo’s The Blade:
‘Somehow, we have to connect with police so they’re more empathetic with what’s going on. Don’t just stand there and not respond.’
The Trump administration has assisted failing local police departments across the country with digging into their positions. The Justice Department, as led by Trump appointee Jeff Sessions, announced last year that their Office of Community Oriented Policing Services would stop conducting investigations into local police departments struggling with incidents like the one that unfolded Friday in Toledo. Sessions dismissed the investigations as “expensive wide-ranging investigative assessments that go beyond the scope of technical assistance and support” that he wants the COPS office to stick to. Now, such investigations will be confined to the Justice Department’s civil rights division, taking them back one major step it seems from actual on the ground issues.
The Toledo Police Department itself has been troubled lately outside of the Friday shooting incident. The Blade notes that an officer shot and killed a robbery suspect just last week. In that instance, Police Chief George Kral backed up the officer, asserting that he “acted within his rights and responsibilities.”
Whether the officers involved in the death of Lamar Richardson on Friday will face any substantive consequences for their actions remains to be seen. The Blade noted in connection to the earlier officer-involved shooting that it’s apparently standard practice for an officer involved in a shooting incident to be placed on paid administrative leave.
Check out some photos/video of the Toledo scene below.
People gather and express their frustrations near the scene of an officer-involved shooting at Hudson and LaGrange streets in Toledo. pic.twitter.com/6rmKLRiJ8m
— Kurt Steiss (@kurtsteiss) July 28, 2018
People gather and express their frustrations near the scene of an officer-involved shooting at Hudson and LaGrange streets in Toledo. pic.twitter.com/6rmKLRiJ8m
— Kurt Steiss (@kurtsteiss) July 28, 2018
A police presence and an angry crowd has gathered in Toledo after an officer-involved shooting early Friday evening – https://t.co/3yQ7GA8udm pic.twitter.com/dM0JBGIdKQ
— FOX19 (@FOX19) July 27, 2018
Featured Image via Twitter
