Unjustified Use of Force Quotes

They are shooting at people for reasons they don’t remember.

Was anybody else bothered by the sight of mine-resistant vehicles and guns pointed at unarmed men in Ferguson?

Our great nation put a man on the moon, but it can't train its cops to distinguish between an ordinary brown-skinned brother and a criminal.

Young African-American males: Stop existing. It could get you killed.

Lose moral legitimacy, lose the war.

It's a tragedy. It was tragedy for Freddie Gray and the family. It was a tragedy for the city. And we're still trying to figure out how it happened and why it happened.

It is more dangerous to be black in America. It's both more dangerous because of the crime ... but it is more dangerous in that you're substantially more likely to end up in a situation where the police don't respect you or where you could easily get killed.

Not all violence is equally reprehensible; not all wars are equally unjust.

Police brutality is definitely still very alive and active.

A pattern has developed under the Maduro regime. When pressure builds, the first recourse is to repress and persecute. I know this because buckshot pellets fired by members of the armed forces - at peaceful protesters in 2017 - remain lodged in my own body. A minor price to pay compared to the sacrifices made by some of my compatriots.

Maybe it's stress or anger or adrenaline or disillusionment or a bullying nature or simple fear of getting killed themselves, but there is a problem if a cop cannot tell the difference between a menacing gangster and the far more common person they encounter whose life is a little frayed and messy.

Due to broken windows policing, the following interactions can lead to tickets, arrests and summonses, warrants if tickets go unpaid and, in some cases, violence: jaywalking, sleeping on a park bench, spitting, putting your feet up on the subway, and more.

I can't imagine how traumatic it must be to have a gun pointed to your head for no reason at all.

Most citizens viewing the tape of Rodney G. King being beaten by police officers were stunned and uncomprehending. Most citizens, that is, but the urban poor.

There are some policemen who overuse force, especially when there's an African-American involved, regardless of age.

If I had been told to get out of the street as a teenager, there would have been a distinct possibility that I might have smarted off. But, I wouldn't have expected to be shot.

The protests and pain over the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown had me wondering if we can ever experience the world as others do. For no matter how disputed the circumstances of both cases, many people see what happened in black and white.

Displays of force in response to mostly peaceful demonstrations can be counterproductive.

It's wonderful to see a young lady headbutt somebody and kick somebody's face.

I've had times where one of my roommates was moving out of the house in college, and because we were the only black people in that neighborhood, the cops got called, and we had guns drawn on us. Came in the house, without knocking, guns drawn on my teammates and roommates. So I have experienced this.

I've had friends who have been beaten up by police officers who put phone books in their T-shirts and then beat them up, then drive off.

Communities of color have also had to watch video after video of unarmed black men and women being handled without regard for their lives or well-being. As a black man, I see these images, and I see myself; I wonder whether this will happen to me or one of my loved ones.