This story has gained national media attention. Brandon Durham was a young, Black real estate agent living in Las Vegas. He called the police for help as he confronted an intruder in his home. When the police arrived, they broke down the front door and came upon Brandon in his underwear struggling with a knife-wielding female, Alejandra Boudreaux, who claimed she was in a “casual relationship” with Brandon. The police shot Brandon once and when Brandon fell to the floor in his house, the police officer shot Brandon five more times.
‘Send someone ASAP,’ Las Vegas man said on 911 call before police fatally shot him in his home
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/22/us/las-vegas-brandon-durham-call-police-hnk/index.html
Rally for Brandon Durham held as community seeks answers in fatal police shooting
I’ve come to the conclusion that it is very dangerous to be a Black man or woman in America. Furthermore, too many times our interactions with the police end up deadly. It seems as if every other week we hear about unarmed Black men and women being executed by the police in America. It’s become so commonplace that many have become desensitized to the loss of life.
Brandon’s wife, Rachel Gore, said “He (Brandon) should be here. He should have been helped.” After hearing about Brandon’s death and watching the video numerous times, I began to reflect on the case of Sonya Massey from Springfield, Illinois. She, too, called the police to report a potential intruder. Sonya’s mother actually made a point of calling the local police prior to her death. Sonya’s mother alerted police dispatchers that her daughter had been struggling with mental illness. She asked the police not to hurt Sonya if they encountered her. Former police officer Sean Grayson shot Sonya to death.
‘Enough is enough’: father of Sonya Massey speaks out after release of bodycam footage
Protests broke out after Sonya Massey’s death
In southern California Niani Finlayson called the police after being assaulted by her estranged boyfriend. Niani asked the police for help and when the police arrived, they shot Niani to death.
Niani Finlayson (above) was a 27-year-old mother of two beautiful children. Many have seen the video of Niani being shot and killed by Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputies.
In Columbus Ohio, pregnant mother, Ta’kiya Young was shot to death by the police in her car in a grocery store parking lot. There are allegations that she had been shoplifting. Was her life less valuable than the food she allegedly stole?
Ta’Kiya Young’s family urges officer’s arrest after video shows him killing the pregnant Black woman
In San Francisco, Banko Brown was shot by a security guard in the chest over $14 of candy. The list of examples seems to be never-ending.
All these Black men were killed in cold blood by police or security guards here in America.
Then there is the case of Atatiana Jefferson, which I specifically wrote about at the time of the incident.
Normalizing death inside Texas prisons
https://sfbayview.com/2020/01/normalizing-death-inside-texas-prisons/
Atatiana was sitting on the floor of her home playing video games with her nephew at night. The police in Fort Worth, Texas, had been summoned to the area to investigate “suspicious activity.” For some reason, one of the officers that responded shot Atatiana in her home from the backyard.
Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt was involved in the Jefferson case and he is also representing the family of Brandon Durham. It is a little-known fact that judicial officials in Texas tried to disbar Lee Merritt using fraudulent allegations that he was practicing law illegally in the State of Texas. The Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (UPLC) within the Texas Supreme Court charged Merritt with 16 counts of practicing law without a license from a complaint that was filed by Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson. Merritt had this to say regarding the complaint and charges: “The claims levied against me are without merit and have been twice dismissed by previous judicial bodies in Dallas County and before the State Bar’s Ethics Committee.”
Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt accused of practicing without a license
The point of this is Lee Merritt has established a reputation of standing up for those who have been wrongly executed or mistreated by law enforcement. RETALIATION AGAINST THOSE WHO SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER IS A PROMINENT FEATURE OF TEXAS POLITICS
I recently spoke to a Black San Francisco County Sheriff’s Deputy who asked to remain anonymous. We spoke about institutionalized racism inside police departments across the United States. He (the deputy) said he did not believe racism existed within the ranks of the police in America. I respectfully disagreed and countered by stating the many examples of racist policing which illuminate a pattern and trend.
As many of you know, I am big on citing patterns and trends. They help bolster my argument. The deputy balked at my evidence.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
I want to request that our readership and audience look at the video of the Brandon Durham incident. Then, I want you to compare that encounter with that of SFPD in San Francisco and their response to Paul Pelosi (husband of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi) when Paul called the police needing help as he confronted an intruder.
Photo Credit: Police tape is seen in front of the home of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on October 28, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. Speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi, was violently attacked in their home by an intruder. One arrest has been made. Speaker Pelosi was not at home at the time of the attack.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Court releases video of attack on Paul Pelosi
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/politics/paul-pelosi-attack-video-release/index.html
At the time, Paul was in his nightclothes. I believe he was wearing shorts. The police neither shot Paul nor his attacker. By no means do I wish to minimize nor take away from the trauma and harm done to Paul Pelosi. He is still struggling to recover from that incident. THAT’S NOT MY POINT. My point is to shed a discerning light on the disparity between how the police respond to Paul’s plea for help and Brandon’s plea for help. One outcome was deadly; one outcome was not. However, one difference was prominent: the race of those asking police for help.
The legacy of slavery is still an uncomfortable memory for many White people in America. In the eyes of the Overseer (officer) Blacks were allegedly less human than Whites. That belief that was strongly held during Antebellum slavery in the United States has not changed much. Contributions that Blacks make in our free society are still minimized and we (Black people) are many times viewed as barbarians and savages. Today, right now, as we speak, Black people are receiving text messages asking them to report to the slave plantations.
FBI investigates racist text messages sent to black people across US
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy93dp4zk3o
Hispanics in America are receiving text messages threatening them with deportation. And members of the LGBTQ + community are being tormented and harassed with text messages inviting them to participate in so-called “re-education camps.” Our resistance and resolve to confront this type of over-the-top bigotry must not decrease…it must increase!
Malik Washington is a freelance journalist and Director at Destination: Freedom and Destination Freedom Media Group.
