14 Comments

This IS OUTRAGEOUS!!!! Just the fact that a “goon squad” even exists is outrageous!!! As a trauma therapist I know that this trauma will impact Parker and Jenkins for their lifetimes and beyond. Praying justice will prevail!

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Precisely. The news cycle will move on but these victims, their families, and communities will have to endure the ongoing nightmare and its ramifications.

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The domestic wounding of Americans continue...

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These things need to be told again and again and again. When our Black godson visits family in Mississippi, I pray continually that he will not be pulled over - but it's not just Mississippi. Not long ago here in Virginia a Black patient who was taken to a mental health facility was beaten to death before he was even evaluated.

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Yes. We have to prepare our young people for encounters with the police all over the country. It's a terrible robbery of youth and innocence.

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Yes, and my husband and I (both white) are so glad that God has allowed us to live in a neighborhood where we we see that these things are tragically real and be able to testify and campaign for truth and justice. Dr. Tisby, your books have been a huge help in helping our racially mixed congregation receive God's truth about White Supremacy. We NEVER had to have "the talk" about police with our two sons growing up.

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Thank you for sharing this. Brutal as this description is, we have to tell these stories. I can’t imagine e the trauma Jenkins and Oarkwr will now have to cope with. How do human beings become so utterly evil and violent to each other?

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How indeed. I can't help but think that a sense of community, belonging, power, peer pressure, and fear all played roles.

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Is there any action to take to further justice?

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Thankfully, in this case, all the officers involved are on trial or undergoing sentencing. The deeper issue is the kind of people drawn to policing, the training they receive, the complicity of the department, and the deep roots of racism that yield such bitter fruit.

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Thank you for shining a light on this story. I am glad to see at least one of the convicted men owned how horrific his actions were. Lord have mercy.

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Agreed. The first time I heard of this case was when it went to trial. A far too rare occurrence in cases of police brutality.

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So horrific. Sadly, another caught my attention: "Judge Awards $23.5 Million to Undercover St. Louis Officer Beaten by Colleagues During Protest," AP, Apr 15, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/st-louis-officer-beating-235-million-award-e02ff1a30667a4872afea1a0675b4c77

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I pray for speedy justice...

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