This was the desperate plea of yet another Black mother, whose son was victimized by the police. In this case, the family was extremely lucky because the teen survived to tell his story.
Tavion Koonce-Williams, a fifteen-year-old teen, took a bullet to the hand from an Akron, Ohio, cop. The cop, Ryan Westlake, was responding to a call of a man brandishing a weapon and pointing it at houses. The scenario was like deja vu, a nightmarish blending of the murders of Mike Brown and Tamir Rice a decade ago.
It is important that our children see our unfettered and united commitment to their lives and their futures. This is the responsibility of our entire community, not just individual parents.
Mike allegedly had his hands raised before he was shot down like a dog. We see on the videotape that Tavion actually had his hands up—all the while shouting to police that it was a fake gun that he was carrying to protect himself. Hands up, don’t shoot, means nothing to a police officer hell-bent on using deadly force. More on Westlake later.
Twelve-year old Tamir was playing in a park with a toy gun. He never got a chance to raise his hands. The cop who responded in the park killed that baby in two seconds.
It seems Black males get a bullet no matter what the circumstances are or how well they follow orders.
This is why, under no circumstances should Black children be outside of the house with a toy gun. This is America. As the village, we have to tell our children that they don’t get the same rights and privileges as white kids.
Unfortunately, this is the reality and not to give them the proper orientation has deadly consequences. It doesn’t have to stay the reality but it means our community and its allies have to step up in a different way.
The righteous demands made by the Tavion’s family included the firing of Westlake and holding the Fraternal Order of Police accountable for justifying the wrongful actions of its members.
The family also called for the investigation of officers “with a pattern and history” of department violations and to “terminate officers not fit to be in the department.”
Frederick Douglass reminded us in 1857 that power concedes nothing without a demand. In 2024, we know that such a demand has to be backed up with organized resistance. If these two elements were operating in perfect tandem, we wouldn’t continue to have these situations where we are choosing between therapy or making funeral arrangements.
Westlake should not have been on the Akron police force that April Fool’s Day. His troubled record of incidents lead to suspensions, and ultimately a termination. He’s a drunken danger to society and is not fit to be on anybody’s police force.
The Black community must realize that the demands we make are to the very same systems that perpetuate the problems. Expecting those systems and the people who run them to be responsive to us is irresponsible.
We have to articulate our collective vision of safety and security and work towards a long-term plan to achieve it. Together. It is important that our children see our unfettered and united commitment to their lives and their futures. This is the responsibility of our entire community, not just individual parents.
The protest slogan “Enough is enough!” applies to the corrupt systems of continued oppression. It also applies to our communities’ impotent strategies for change, especially when our children’s lives are at stake.
Pull quote: It seems Black males get a bullet no matter what the circumstances are or how well they follow orders.
It is important that our children see our unfettered and united commitment to their lives and their futures. This is the responsibility of our entire community, not just individual parents.