New York City Councilman Offers List Of What Black Men Should Avoid To Not Get Shot By Police
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams sounded off on the recent police shootings in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Falcon Heights, Minnesota, that left two black men dead.
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In a piece called "Increasing Survivability In Matters Of Police" on The Huffington Post, Williams offered a list of what black men should avoid to not get shot by police:
1. Selling cigarettes
2. Selling CDs
3. Playing with a toy plastic gun:
- In your apartment building
- Being by yourself in a playground
- In a store that sells the toy gun in your hand, while talking calmly on the phone
4. Driving away, whether or not the officer or anyone is in danger
5. Slowly jogging away, whether or not the officer or anyone is in danger
6. Taking out your wallet
7. Sitting in your car, talking to friends on the eve of your wedding day
8. Taking out your driver's license, even if you were asked to do so by the officer (you may survive the ensuing shooting)
9. Throwing a football around (It may hit a police vehicle)
10. Refusing to participate in purchasing marijuana
11. Taking out your key and entering your own home
12. Entering the stairway of a public housing building
13. Resisting arrest/talking back, even if you're being hurt in the process, or have questions as to why you're being detained
"Considering the refusal to sincerely acknowledge the role race truly plays in this country, the complexity of police work and the purposeful steps needed to address it, perhaps this list can help instead," Williams wrote.
Williams' piece comes after Baton Rouge police shot 37-year-old Alton Sterling several times in the chest and a Falcon Heights officer fatally shot 32-year-old Philando Castile during a traffic stop.
Sterling's shooting was caught on cellphone video, while Castile's girlfriend posted live video on Facebook the aftermath of the shooting.