'Defund The Police' Wasn’t Just a Rallying Cry,

But rather a warning.

Jul 29, 2024

‘But who will you call when you’re in trouble?”

Would be a valid question if not for the scores of black people left dead after relying on an institution (supposedly) designed to ‘protect and serve’. I have no doubt in their ability to do this. In fact, the institution that is the American police force has proven itself to be exceedingly capable of protecting and serving (the interests of the United States government). Unfortunately for this nations citizens, however, this isn’t a duty that is extended to them beyond those that fall into the same demographic as those typically in charge of running the country. When you decide to perceive the police force for what it has proven itself to be, rather than what we would like it to be, their actions become a lot more predictable. And yet, black Americans find themselves at times without another alternative, despite having to bear witness to police brutality over and over again. Sonya Massey was one of many who knew the threat posed by her local police department but had no choice but to call them fearing the attack of a potential intruder.

‘Please don’t hurt me, I love you guys” she told officers, where at this point, the habit of pleading with policemen not to hurt you has become almost routine practice for black Americans, thought it rarely makes a difference once the intent here is to kill.

· Sean Grayson, the man found guilty for her murder, had turned his body camera off prior to entering her home.

This was before she was shot in her face fatally by Grayson in her own home, adding to the devastating numbers of black women who are killed in their homes every year.

Massey, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was initially speaking with the officers when the situation escalated. Seeing a pot of boiling water on the stove, Grayson ordered Massey to move from her position to remove it, despite him being substantially closer to the stove.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus”,

she uttered after Grayson’s tone became aggressive. These being words which would later find their way into his excuse, having somehow deemed them as threatening. His response “I will shoot you in the f*cking face”.

We simply have to understand that the hubris with which these words are said by a white man in a position of power to a vulnerable black woman who only ever sought protection is indicative of nothing more than his belief in a system that would protect him and would be unlikely to believe or protect his victim, and this would be a rational conclusion if one takes even the shortest journey backwards throughout the history of police brutality in the U.S.

Within 30 seconds of him asserting his promise, he carries out his actions and shoots Sonya Massey in the face, leaving her to die on her own kitchen floor. The more naïve would hope that in regret, he might seek to help (the now dying) woman on the other side of his gun. But as I said before, this was a clearly pre-meditated execution, made clear by his lack of remorse, saying “No, It’s done”, when his peer offered to go and grab his medical kit. But the fact that at least he wouldn’t have to use his own’ [medical kit] was some source of relief for Grayson.

I’m surprised at how quickly Grayson was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, a rare occurrence for police officers involved in fatal shootings. But her death is particularly poignant given her family's history in Springfield, with her ancestor being a victim of the city's 1908 race riots. Her killing reminds us of other high-profile cases of racial injustice, such as those of George Floyd and Emmett Till, and so we grieve her death whilst also grieving the ever-presence of institutional racism within such a well-funded and emboldened force. Unfortunately, the respects being paid to her online were overshadowed by the outcry from liberal feminists surrounding Agnew’s cover of ‘Ballerina Farm’ in The Times, wherein documentation of the plights of the Mormon ballerina turned conservative housewife and mother of 8 was labelled ‘the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen’ by many, just a day or two after Sonya Massey’s murder. I was going to write something more on Ballerina Farm, but I simply couldn’t have put it better than Jax Preyer did, in her latest Substack; “The Imagined Victimhood of Conservative Women”, it is my latest ‘must read’!

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The Imagined Victimhood of Conservative Women

When I read Megan Agnew’s brilliant profile of “Queen of the Trad Wives” Ballerina Farm, aka Juilliard-trained ballerina turned homesteader and controversial influencer Hannah Neeleman, I had the same reaction as everyone else. I was startled by Agnew’s visceral depiction of Neeleman, twelve days postpartum, practically holding her own body together by …

5 months ago · 341 likes · 26 comments · Jax Preyer

For those of you eligible to vote

Trump’s latest moves have only solidified notions of a fascist agenda, where his rally in Wisconsin, included a promise made to corrupt policemen everywhere, vowing to ‘give policemen their power back’, (as if they ever lost it), in aiming to provide them full immunity from prosecution. Whilst the feasibility of these promises is questionable, Trump's stance on government accountability, particularly regarding law enforcement, must not be taken lightly, especially for those who would be directly affected by this. As he aims to secure the young black vote by ensuring he is photographed with famous rappers like ‘Sexyy Red’, as well as allowing himself to be meme-i-fied online, the true content of his character mustn’t be mistaken for anything less than a real threat.

Image from CNN, Trump's ad, which ran in the New York Daily News. New York Daily News Archives

Let us not forget 1989, when Trump called for the murder of the now exonerated ‘Central Park 5’ after they were accused of being guilty of a crime they didn’t commit. Despite the legal and practical challenges, Trump's promises reflect his desire to appeal to his political base, even if it means advocating exposing the nature behind his more jovial performance.

Given the terrifying possibility of yet another four years with Trump in Washington and the maintenance of racism and prejudice within the police institution, we have to revisit the bid to ‘defund the police’, a concept which in hindsight appeared like a warning for the future as well as a call for the reallocation of funds directed from what is now an over militarised institution to services surrounding mental, education and other resources that might actually help to ‘protect and serve’.

But what about those who call for more drastic measures? Police abolitionists recognise how bias is so deeply entrenched within this system and would advocate for a complete ‘tear down and rebuild’ approach.

“It would require us to shift our priorities from responding to every form of need, conflict, and harm with agents of violence. … And so, it does require a radical reimagination of what we understand safety to be.”

Andrea Ritchie, Police Abolitionist

The dream of a trustworthy and reliable force seems… dead. After acknowledging that their position acts within the interests of the state and not a foot outside of it, we must also see how the police many of us believed that child-like naivety never even existed.

For those of you reading today’s post from within the UK, I’m sure you’ll find that the majority of those around you still believe in the police force. It’s true that over here they’re less funded, and less armed than those of their counterparts abroad. But I will forever die on the hill that should British policemen have the same access to dangerous weapons and an opportunity before them, we would see very similar scenes here too.

Most recently, CCTV footage from Manchester Airport has emerged, showing a violent altercation between three police officers and two brothers, Fahir and Amaad Amas, which resulted in the leading to the officer kicking Fahir in the head. This comes as no surprise given past demonstrations of institutional racism within our Metropolitan Police.

‘But who will you call when you’re in trouble?’

As we’re finding ourselves unprotected by those sidelining our interests, we’ll likely call upon community, especially as the time comes to advocate for the destabilisation of institutional racism, and the de-funding (or abolition) of the police force as we know it. Surely there will come a time when they can start living up to our ‘dreams’ and expectations of a true willingness to ‘protect and serve’. Until then, let us not sit in comfort waiting for what will inevitably be the next beating or murder, let us head that ‘warning’,

Asisa.

'Defund The Police' Wasn’t Just a Rallying Cry,

But rather a warning.

For those of you who considered this problem no longer relevant.

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus”,

For those of you eligible to vote

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