Can a Cop Ever Be Seen As a Criminal? (What I Really Wanted To Say)

So, the #CrimingWhileWhite trend on twitter a few years back gave us a sneak peek at how many white people get away with crime ON A DAILY BASIS. People of color didn’t need twitter to tell us that white people can do what we can’t, but when you actually read through all those tweets, it becomes blatantly obvious that our skin makes us an automatic target of suspicion, apprehension, and detention—whether we actually committed a crime or not. The only group of people that I would bet get away with crime more than white people? Cops. So that means…white cops are out here WINNING in the “getting away with crime” department.

Our most recent case in point: Officer Amber Guyger of the Dallas Police Department.

Now, Amber got herself into a stitch on Thursday, September 6th, 2018, when she murdered  shot and killed 26 year old Botham Shem Jean. Brother Botham was literally minding his own doggone business, in his own doggone home, when Amber allegedly mistook his apartment for hers, then mistook him—the rightful occupant of said apartment—as a burglar, then supposedly issued verbal commands (of what?), which were allegedly ignored (Listen, if I’m in MY house and YOU come busting in MY door screaming “commands” at me, I’m gonna probably “ignore” them too), then she shot at Jean twice, hitting him once, lethally.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: THIS STORY SOUNDS LIKE STRAIGHT BOVINE EXCREMENT. And you’re right. Because never in the history of ever, have I heard of someone going to the WRONG apartment (especially when said apartment is on a WHOLE ‘NOTHER FLOOR and has a BRIGHT RED DOORMAT THAT YOU DO NOT OWN), getting INTO said apartment (depending on which story of hers you choose to believe, either he confronted her at the door, or the door was “ajar”…yet she STILL entered “her” apartment), and not realizing in 1.3 seconds that they are, indeed, in the wrong damn apartment. There are a dozen triggers that would alert people who are NOT professionally trained investigators that they are in the wrong place…so we’re supposed to believe OFFICER Amber Guyger just lost all sense of sight, sound, and smell on her way home that evening? Ok.

Adding insult to deadly injury, they did not arrest her nor serve a warrant to search her home or vehicle—but they did, in fact, serve a warrant to search the Black man she killed in cold blood victim’s home, and couldn’t WAIT to tell everyone they found a “small amount of marijuana” and a “metal grinder” in his domicile. Um…AND?!?! Look, I don’t care if Botham Jean was counting bricks on the couch for El Chapo, SHE STILL ENTERED HIS HOME UNLAWFULLY AND KILLED HIM. But, as a Black man, the rules state that he HAS to be depicted as the criminal his skin dictates he is.

The Dallas PD, in conjunction with the DA’s office and the Texas Rangers are investigating the case, and issued an arrest warrant for Officer Guyger on Sunday, September 9th, THREE WHOLE DAYS after the incident. I’m sure they just wanted to make positively certain they gave Amber time to get her story straight gathered as much evidence as they could to have a solid case…even though they STILL HAVE NOT ISSUED A WARRANT TO SEARCH HER HOME OR VEHICLE. She is also still on paid administrative leave. Black people of Dallas: your tax dollars are going to GREAT use.

What will come of this case remains to be seen. But if history is any kind of teacher, this story of mistaken apartment identity will be accepted as the gospel truth, and Botham Jean’s family will not receive the justice they rightly deserve. Amerikkka will accept yet another dead Black body at the hands of law enforcement as an unavoidable circumstance. And Officer Amber Guyger will become the latest winner of the #CrimingWhileWhite and #CrimingWhileCop double lottery.