This is a forum where people can share their experiences with police brutality or the inequalities of our justice system. I'll start by sharing my own experience with the police.
In February of 2008, my family and I were harassed and threatened by members of the Memphis Police Department. To be exact, it happened on February 16, 2008, the day of my Uncle Bo's funeral. My uncle was murdered across the street from our house less than a week before. That night, police officers kicked in the door of our house (which they never paid to fix by the way) and terrorized my family by pointing guns at us and even threatening to shoot our dog. Why, we asked? They claimed that they had a warrant to search for drugs. Months before this traumatizing day, police had come by and said that they had a complaint from someone in the neighborhood that drugs were being sold from our house. Officers didn't have a warrant but asked to do a walk through of the house. My mom, who works in the investigative unit of the Probation/Parole Office, let them look around because she knew there was nothing illegal to be discovered in our house. As expected, they didn't find anything because there was nothing to be found. So when they kicked in the door in February and claimed they had a warrant, we knew they were lying or that the warrant was obtained by extralegal means. They did not only falsely accuse members of my family of selling drugs. They harassed us, terrorized us with guns, and treated us like we were not worthy of common decency or respect. Before this day, I was well aware of how police officers unfairly targeting Black people in Memphis and virtually everywhere else in the country. But this was something that happened to other people, not my family and I. But it happened, and it topped off what was already the worst day of my life.
In February of 2008, my family and I were harassed and threatened by members of the Memphis Police Department. To be exact, it happened on February 16, 2008, the day of my Uncle Bo's funeral. My uncle was murdered across the street from our house less than a week before. That night, police officers kicked in the door of our house (which they never paid to fix by the way) and terrorized my family by pointing guns at us and even threatening to shoot our dog. Why, we asked? They claimed that they had a warrant to search for drugs. Months before this traumatizing day, police had come by and said that they had a complaint from someone in the neighborhood that drugs were being sold from our house. Officers didn't have a warrant but asked to do a walk through of the house. My mom, who works in the investigative unit of the Probation/Parole Office, let them look around because she knew there was nothing illegal to be discovered in our house. As expected, they didn't find anything because there was nothing to be found. So when they kicked in the door in February and claimed they had a warrant, we knew they were lying or that the warrant was obtained by extralegal means. They did not only falsely accuse members of my family of selling drugs. They harassed us, terrorized us with guns, and treated us like we were not worthy of common decency or respect. Before this day, I was well aware of how police officers unfairly targeting Black people in Memphis and virtually everywhere else in the country. But this was something that happened to other people, not my family and I. But it happened, and it topped off what was already the worst day of my life.