Atatiana Jefferson's killing further erodes police legitimacy | By Cedric L. Alexander for CNNOpinion
Cedric L. Alexander is a former deputy mayor of Rochester, New York, and past president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. He is the author of the forthcoming book,"In Defense of Public Service: How 22 Million Government Workers Will Save Our Republic" . The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion articles on CNN.
On Saturday, October 12, shortly after two in the morning, an alert neighbor in Fort Worth, Texas, did the right thing, the kind of thing that in general makes neighborhoods safer. Seeing that a nearby door was open at this odd hour, he called a non-emergency police number for a"safety check." He later told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he was concerned because he knew that his neighbor, Atatiana Jefferson, was home alone with her nephew.
Cedric L. AlexanderThe police rolled up at about 2:25. One minute and 17 seconds of body cam footage show an officer approaching the Jefferson house. He peers through the closed screen door. As the neighbor said, the solid door is wide open behind it. Seeing a lit room, he does not enter but walks around the house, pauses at a window, and shines a flashlight into a dark room."Put your hands up! Show me your hands!" he screams, without identifying himself as the police.
Victim's brother gets emotional, demands cop's arrest 02:10The phrase"senseless tragedy" certainly applies but is, of course, pathetically inadequate. It can't describe how a well-meaning call for service, for a police"safety" or"welfare" check, ended in the violent death of an aunt who stayed up late at night to play with her nephew.
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