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U.S: Hundreds Protest the Killing of Another Black Man in Phoenix

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Yet another case of a white policeman killing an unarmed black man in the United States. Rumain Brisbon in this photo with two of his children. (Photo: thefreethoughtproject.com)

Yet another case of a white policeman killing an unarmed black man in the United States. Rumain Brisbon in this photo with two of his children. (Photo: thefreethoughtproject.com)

by teleSUR

Unarmed Rumain Brisbon was delivering dinner to his family Tuesday night when a police officer shot and killed him.

A fourth case of a white policeman killing unarmed black persons has arisen in Phoenix, prompting hundreds of angered persons to march to police headquarters in the capital city of the state of Arizona to demand justice for 34-year-old Rumain Brisbon, a father of four, local media reported Thursday.

Phoenix Police Department has said that Brisbon was sitting in a SUV outside a convenience store on Tuesday evening, when police officers approached him after witnesses said he was selling drugs.

A seven-year veteran, according to official statements, told the man to show his hands, but Brisbon, apparently fearing for his life, fled only to be chased. When the officer caught up with him, they struggled and the officer reported that Brisbon introduced his hand to his pocket and that he thought he was reaching for a gun. Instead, Brisbon was holding on to a small jar of pills, when shot twice on the torso and killed.

The police department said, according to Reuters, that back-up officers arrived after the shooting, and while they and members of the fire department treated Brisbon, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

As website The Free Thought Project said, “The Phoenix Police Department has not yet revealed the name of the officer responsible for the murder, but the smear campaign, by the media, against the victim has already begun.”

According to this website, Brisbon was killed at the doorsteps of his home, to which he had just arrived with dinner for his children. It also says that Brisbon did have a legally acquired gun in his vehicle, which “he actually made the conscious decision to leave behind … so it stands to reason that he had no intent on hurting the officer.”

“Also found in the car was a small amount of marijuana, which he was also legally licensed to possess under Arizona state law,” The Free Thought Project said a family member told them.

This incident comes at a time when police forces across the United States are under increased scrutiny over killing unarmed black men.

Phoenix police said Brisbon was carrying oxycodone pills, while a semi-automatic handgun and a jar of what is believed to be marijuana were found in the man’s vehicle.

Recently, two grand juries delivered decisions not to indict officers who killed unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and in New York City, triggering protests across the country. A third case was reported in Cleveland, where police shot a 12-year old black boy who was playing with a toy gun in a park.

In Brisbon’s case, his family and friends have stated that he was simply delivering dinner to his children Tuesday night.

And while police fully support the actions by its officer, Ann Hart, chairwoman of the African American Police Advisory Board for South Phoenix, said the shooting only reinforces “the impression it’s open season for killing black men”

She told a local television station that, “We need to look into that. We need to take a deeper dive into why police officers are feeling compelled to shoot and kill as opposed to apprehend and detain, arrest and jail.”

Another rally is scheduled for this Friday night.

The Rev. Jarrett Maupin, an organizer of Thursday night’s march, also told local television station KPNX that Brisbon was probably justified in fearing for his life and trying to flee when the Phoenix officer approached him and his friend Tuesday night.

“The Phoenix Police Department does not treat white people this way,” Maupin said, according to the local television network. “What that officer did was harass and accost them.”

According to The Arizona Republic newspaper of Pheonix, Brisbon’s family attorney Marci A. Kratter has spoken with eyewitnesses that would dispute the official police account and that “we intend to pursue this to the full extent of the law.”

Protests took place in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and other places Thursday to demand justice in the case of Eric Garner, the unarmed black man from New York that was choked to death by a white police officer in July 17.

Wednesday, a grand jury decided not to indict Daniel Pantaleo for the killing of Garner, despite a video that clearly shows excessive use of force by four police officers against the 43-year-old father of six. The man repeatedly cried out that he could not breathe, only to be ignored.

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