In addition to an appearance on CNN to talk about the killing of Mike Brown and current protests in Ferguson yesterday, Killer Mike penned an editorial for Billboard released on Tuesday (August 18) echoing many of the same sentiments he shared on the news channel.
In both the CNN interview and Billboard op-ed Mike details his own empathy for the hardships of being a police officer before leveraging blame for the deaths of Mike Brown and Eric Garner directly upon “bad policing” and “excessive force.”
“We trust police with the power of life and death and with that trust comes a greater responsibility to be better than the current standard of policing I see across America every day,” he writes. “Being a cop must be hard. My dad was one, and never wanted any of his children to follow in his footsteps. Being a cop is often seeing the worst of the human condition and behavior. With all of that said, there is no reason that Mike Brown and also Eric Garner are dead today — except bad policing, excessive force and the hunt-and-capture-prey mentality many thrill-seeking cops have adapted.
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“This week I have seen tanks, rubber bullets and tear gas used by police against the citizens that pay them,” he continues. “This is not Egypt or Syria or Palestine, but today it feels that way. It feels as if death can come, without reason, from a uniformed government official and, if we do not press back against this Blue Wall of Silence and gang-like mentality of our local police, we all are in danger. Whether it is illegal rd stops & checkpoints, where your rights are being violated — through being forced to answer questions that the 5th Amendment protects you from, or illegal stop-and-frisk that the 4th Amendment is designed to protect you from — all of our rights are violated and in danger when any American’s rights are violated.”
The R.A.P. Music emcee and barber-shop owner also warns against an increase of similar police tactics if the violence goes unchecked.
“This week I have seen tanks, rubber bullets and tear gas used by police against the citizens that pay them,” he writes. “This is not Egypt or Syria or Palestine, but today it feels that way. It feels as if death can come, without reason, from a uniformed government official and, if we do not press back against this Blue Wall of Silence and gang-like mentality of our local police, we all are in danger. Whether it is illegal rd stops & checkpoints, where your rights are being violated — through being forced to answer questions that the 5th Amendmentprotects you from, or illegal stop-and-frisk that the 4th Amendment is designed to protect you from — all of our rights are violated and in danger when any American’s rights are violated.
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“I have chimed in about the brutality that killed this child, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner, and so many others,” Killer Mike adds. “It’s shameful, but these are not simply words to commiserate; these words, I hope, serve as a wake-up call to all Americans. Our rights are being violated by people we pay daily. This must end, or every American has failed…The police have the power of life and death in their decisions — they need to know that Americans hold them to a higher standard than these examples, of American men laying lifeless like deer. Slaughtered hogs in the street.”
Early in the article Killer Mike also offers a resounding warning: “Whatever this country is willing to do to the least of us, it will one day do to us all.”
During his CNN appearance, the Run the Jewels emcee also warns against more widespread civil rights abuses.
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“If this police officer is not arrested what immediately may happen is some rioting,” he said. “There will be tears and pain and agony and burning, and I hope it’s not that, but what really happens if this police officer isn’t arrested is all of our rights are continually thrown out of the window. I’m afraid for all Americans, I’m not just afraid for Black Americans today. I’m afraid for all Americans because whether it’s this situation with this particular policeman in Ferguson or illegal traffic stops or policemen asking you questions that directly interfere with your 5th Amendment rights, things have gotten so lax to the point that we all have an apathy that we aren’t on the case about the people we vote into office, meaning mayors, the people they appoint, police chiefs, and the people that are hired police. We as Americans have to be more vigilant about policing the people we pay to protect and serve us.”
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