"The deployment of federal armed forces in our cities is creating a new, terrifying reality for communities across the country. Some people may never have suffered anything like it before. But as a Black man who grew up in the South Bronx on the tailwinds of the civil rights era, over-policing is something I've experienced my entire life. On January 17, federal agents murdered ICU nurse Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis after he tried to help another protester."
"When I was in the sixth grade-almost the same age as my grandsons now-four armed police officers came into my classroom and took away my friend David. We didn't see him again for a week. Uniformed white men with guns had shown up and disappeared our friend, and there was nothing we could do about it. It turned out that David had been accused of a robbery, and he eventually came back to school."
Federal armed forces and immigration agents are being deployed in U.S. cities, creating a new level of state violence and terror. Recent killings include ICU nurse Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, occurring near where George Floyd was murdered. Masked, violent attacks on people presumed to be undocumented signal a reenactment of a familiar, brutal playbook. Childhood memories include armed officers removing a classmate and undercover police targeting playgrounds during the crack epidemic, illustrating pervasive over-policing. Calls for an end to state terror persist, but historical patterns suggest such murders may continue unless policing practices change.
Read at The Nation
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