This is from
15 Black Women Were Killed During Police Encounters. Their Lives Matter, Too (huffingtonpost.com)
This is from this article:
Some
activists, like writer Dream Hampton, intentionally amplify the
experiences of other black women. She told HuffPost she was encouraged
the country was finally talking about police militarization after years
of raising concerns in a “pro-policing culture,” but conversations need
to be more inclusive.
“The reason why it’s important to center girls and
women in this conversation is because the other narrative, and it’s not a
competing narrative, but it’s just not a complete narrative, is that
this only happens to black boys and men,” Hampton said. "We have always
only framed this as a black male problem, and it is time to tell the
entire truth about who police violence and terrorism happens to.”
The more complete narrative includes a small child
shot while she was sleeping, as well as women killed while in violation
of the law. While an important part of the latters' stories, it doesn’t
somehow erase their deaths or mean the actions of police involved
shouldn’t receive scrutiny.
This is the list of the 15 black women and girls killed (during police encounters over the last 15 years) from the article:
Tanisha Anderson: Died Nov. 13, 2014, age 37, Cleveland
Yvette Smith: Died Feb. 16, 2014, age 47, Bastrop, Texas
Miriam Carey: Died Oct. 3, 2013, age 34, Washington, D.C.
Shelly Frey: Died Dec. 6, 2012, age 27, Houston
Darnisha Harris: Died Dec. 2, 2012, age 16, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
Malissa Williams: Died Nov. 29, 2012, age 30, Cleveland
Alesia Thomas: Died July 22, 2012, age 35, Los Angeles
Shantel Davis: Died June 14, 2012, age 23, New York City
Rekia Boyd: Died March 22, 2012, age 22, Chicago
Shereese Francis: Died March 15, 2012, age 29, New York City
Aiyana Stanley-Jones: Died May 16, 2010, age 7, Detroit
Tarika Wilson: Died Jan. 4, 2008, age 26, Lima, Ohio
Kathryn Johnston: Died Nov. 21, 2006, age 92, Atlanta
Alberta Spruill: Died May 16, 2003, age 57, New York City
Kendra James: Died May 5, 2003, age 21, Portland
This is from the article too:
Four of the above women were killed during police raids.
Three women had young children with them when they were killed.
Two were children when they were killed.
Two women with mental illnesses were killed after their family members called authorities for help.
Seven of the incidents resulted in charges. Only one woman’s death has led to conviction. Several cases are still open.
There are many more women of color who have died in
incidents involving police -- including all-too-frequent encounters with
the mentally ill, like Michelle Cusseaux, Aura Rosser, or Margaret
Mitchell. These women were armed and considered dangerous according to
police, but their deaths point to failings in how police work with with
mentally ill individuals.
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