Though it never gets easier to type the phrase "police brutality," small solace is found in the fact that its increasingly necessary usage will serve to keep its prevalence a frequent topic among far less important headlines. As all eyes remain firmly affixed to the maddening Sandra Bland brutality case, a clip obtained by the New York Daily News once again confirms that such actions are far from indicative of a series of isolated or even unrelated incidents.
"I didn't ever know it was coming," aspiring hip-hop artist Thomas Jennings tells NYDN. "It's horrendous what they did to him," adds Jennings' lawyer Amy Rameau. "He had his hands up. He didn’t pose a threat to anyone in that store. It was an absolute use of excessive force. [Jennings is] an artist. He’s a father. He’s a son. But, unfortunately, the police see him as an object [and] something to pound on."
Rameau maintains that there was no robbery, though the purported criminal complaint alleges "the unidentified man (not Jennings) pulled out a switchblade knife, told the employee that he wasn’t paying and both men (including Jennings) fled with the pizza and salt-and-pepper shakers." Even if said pizza was lifted from the shop, such behavior does not — in any way — warrant the police behavior exhibited in the security footage.
More to come.
