I’m saddened today. I woke up to news of yet another officer-involved shooting. Once again in St. Louis County (Berkeley) and once again a young man that looks like me is dead with his family left to pick up the pieces. As always, there are more questions than answers – none of which will bring this young man back to life. Antonio Martin’s possession of a gun, based on the video circulating is undetermined. The officer said he saw Martin hold up a gun and he reacted. There are questions that immediately run through my mind:
· Antonio Brown held that stance for more than a split second. What made the officer finally react?
· Why did everyone else in the immediate vicinity seem so calm?
At this point, I can’t make a definitive judgment based on the degraded/outdated video footage. What I can say is that my heart is truly hurting for the family of Antonio Martin. I would love to live to see a day where we weren’t burying young people – especially those of color. I remember my teenage years – a little wild, a little crazy, sometimes death-defying – but nothing like this.
I’m not going to point fingers or throw out random scenarios. This family deserves to grieve in peace and this officer needs to get himself together – people think it’s easy to shoot someone. For some it may be, for most – it tugs at your heart. I understand having to make split-second decisions and the burden of living with those decisions. As a former Marine, I frequently had to make those kinds of decisions – especially on Post-9/11 security details and among jealous civilians and other service members. My prayer is one of healing for the family and for the officer.
As the investigation gets underway, try to have an open mind to all possibilities. It’s just a shame to have to bury someone so young so close to the day set aside to commemorate the birth of our Lord and Savior. Let’s try harder to love one another.
-MB
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