Stop Killing Us Police Accountability Gone Wrong

for many of us

legacy begins with our family

for me more specifically

legacy begins and ends with my children

being able to pass down wisdom

and knowledge and to encourage them to

plant seeds in this world

has been priceless

june 6 2016

was a beautiful day children were out

playing

and laughing riding their bikes up and

down the sidewalk

chasing each other across their front

yards while their parents sat

conversing with one another

it was peaceful two young men

were walking across the street when

suddenly an

suv came down the street at a high rate

of speed

witnesses say with guns drawn in the

window

gunshots rang out

and at the end one of those young men

lied on the ground gasping for

air and taking his last breath

that young man was my son

and his name is henry green

v affectionately known

as bubby i will never forget the call

from my sister crying and screaming

they killed bubby my heart

sunk stopped

all at the same time i’m confused

wondering who would want to hurt my son

i would soon learn that that white

suv with tinted windows and florida tags

belong to two plainclothes police

officers

from columbus police department whom

witnesses say

did not immediately identify themselves

my first encounter with columbus police

after my son’s death

was sitting at a table across from a

detective

who early in our conversation said to me

and my son’s father i see your son was

not a felon

i sat back baffled for a moment

and then i leaned in and said to him

i don’t care if my son had a rap sheet

that went around this city 39 times

i am talking about on that day in that

moment

what was my son doing that your officers

encountered him

in the first place and to that he

provided the typical response

the investigation is ongoing

it was at that moment i realized that i

was in

for the fight of my life there would be

no time

to grieve because something had to be

done

but unbeknownst to me i would quickly

learn

just how many protective barriers there

are for police officers

so i called the attorney general’s

office the young man who answered

was respectful and patient

as he listened to me explain my

situation and my request

for the attorney general’s office to

come in and do

an independent investigation

and he quietly responded ma’am i’m sorry

but ohio is a home rule state

home rule means that whoever has

jurisdiction

unless they invite another agency in to

assist

or take over an investigation no one

else

can come in so

i said to him they kill my son

they have all of the evidence

they create the narrative and there’s

nothing

that i can do he again quietly

responded ma’am i’m sorry and to that

i said i’m confused

a couple of days later i would meet my

attorney for the first time

and he would explain to my family

these cases are hard to win

because of one major barrier

qualified immunity see qualified

immunity

takes away our right as citizens to sue

public officials for violating our civil

rights

the interesting thing is qualified

immunity did not start out that way

the civil rights act of 1871

also known as the ku klux klan act

gave americans the right to sue public

officials

see at that time black men had just

become

eligible to vote and to run for office

and the ku klux klan was terrorizing

communities

hence the reason for the civil rights

act

in the first place

but almost a hundred years later

the u.s supreme court would make a

decision

during the civil rights movement as we

know it

that would change the trajectory of

qualified immunity

to what we see and have today

which has caused a lack of

accountability

and then on a local level

there has been the fraternal order of

police

the fop the police officers union

who fights tirelessly

to keep these police officers on the

force

for example one of the officers who

killed my son

not even a month after being cleared by

the grand jury

for killing my son was caught on camera

stomping the head of a black

handcuffed man he lost his job

but the fop fought to get his job back

and through arbitration he did

he was reinstated he was paid back pay

and he got his seniority back

so what can we do as a community

to push for the changes that are

necessary from for police departments

across this country

i would say that we have one of the most

powerful weapons

collectively and that is our vote

we have the power to expect

and demand from our leadership

the changes that are necessary

the mayor hires and fires police chiefs

the police chief sets the culture and

the climate

in the police department

city council negotiates the contract

with the fop and our state and federal

legislators

have the power and the ability to

introduce legislation

that would force police departments

across this country

to change their policies

so what am i asking you to do there are

a couple of things that i have been

pushing for

and i would hope that you would get

involved and call your state legislators

and your federal legislators

to do the same

one ask them are they willing to support

or

introduce legislation that would mandate

police officers be drug tested

after shootings or

after excessive force incidents that

cause

serious bodily harm

also ask them are they willing to

introduce legislation that will

strip officers of their certification

when they have multiple excessive force

incidents

so i say again there are many things

that need to be changed when it comes

to police departments across this

country

but there is a responsibility and a part

that we can take

so while we go out and vote i encourage

you to know

why you’re voting who you’re voting for

and demand the accountability that is

necessary for all communities

to be safe across this country

when you do this you’re not only

standing with me

and my son you are standing with all of

the families

before me and unfortunately the families

after me who have had a family member

killed by a police officer

so i again say use your power

use your voice vote and require the

changes

for our communities to be safe

thank you and god bless