Daniel Gwynn
12/15/14
Ain't Nothing New

Ain't nothing new about police brutality in the Hood—cops terrorizing and killing unarmed men and women unjustly. I grew up in the streets of Philadelphia during the '70s-'90s and was taught not to trust the police. I used to hear the grown folks talking about how bad "the system" was, and of how the "man" was keeping us down. Look at the poor quality of education, the hostile drug infested environments, the poor employment prospects and wages, the concentration of police, the high incarceration rates, and the unfair legal system.

When America sees a black man, they (the government) sees a menace to society, not a citizen or a human being. Even the U.S. Constitution fails to acknowledge non-whites as human beings entitled to the equal protections of the law.

"The man" isn't just killing us on the streets. We're also being trapped in a criminal justice system that disenfranchises and incarcerates us at an alarming rate. A criminal record ostracizes, diminishes social and economical opportunities and hinders our right to vote. Incarceration not only takes away my freedom, but it also destroys families. I haven't seen my family in over ten years and barely receive any mail. The system has a high number of wrongfully convicted and sentenced that they fail to acknowledge.

I can recall numerous not-so-friendly police encounters where, despite fully cooperating, myself and/or others were harassed, robbed, beaten, falsely arrested, and/or dumped into a hostile neighborhood. In court, they stated that my being illegally stopped by the police was in preservation of the status quo.

Late one evening in 1995, I was stopped by a police officer, interrogated, handcuffed, searched, then locked in the police car while he checked my ID. He didn't have a cause to stop me and admitted as much in court. The officer didn't see me do anything wrong, yet this illegal action was excused because he found I had a bench warrant for failing to appear in court. I thank God I wasn't gunned down like Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, and so many others. Albeit, 20 years of my life have been stolen by this government.

Cooperating with the police doesn't guarantee that an innocent man won't get beaten, shot, or wrongfully incarcerated. The bad police will lie to cover up their misconduct or close a case, and the system will back them up. People who haven't been oppressed or harassed by the police don't get it and often say that if we'd only comply, we'd be fine. This isn't the case in my experience, where cops get us to sell their drugs and guns, or we're targeted by a corrupt system (profiling). Of course, a few make it through like Oprah, Samuel Jackson, Ving Rhames, or Jay-Z. The system lets a few slip through the cracks so to say that there's nothing wrong. Yet they keep those who are left behind under the control. This isn't just a black problem.

There ain't nothing new about what you are hearing today about police brutality. Marvin Gaye (What's Going On) sang about it. NWA (F- The Police); Public Enemy (Fight the Power); Ice T (Colors; Cop Killer); KRS-One (Black Cop); Flava Flav (911 A Joke) all rapped about it. Spike Lee and John Singleton wrote stories about it. And the media reported it. But no one seemed to care but us.

The difference today is that the police brutality has been caught on video and the cops aren't punished, getting away with murder. The world has taken to the streets after seeing firsthand the corrupt system at work. Every cop is not bad, but system allows the bad ones to continue to contaminate the police force. When they face us, they stand together as a giant blue wall. The system is broken, the damage is done, and the trust is lost.

We need to heal the relationship between the police and the community. The government can start by conducting fair and transparent investigations of police misconduct and punish the bad cops. Talk to the communities and get to know us. Stop discriminatory profiling. Earn back our trust.

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