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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsUtah officer who pulled gun on black child will keep working
WOODS CROSS, Utah (AP) A Utah police chief defended an officer who pulled his gun on a 10-year-old black boy, saying the officer believed the child might be an armed suspect and will keep working during an independent review, police said Monday.
The officers actions drew criticism after Jerri Hrubes said the white police officer pulled his gun on her son, DJ, who is black, while he was playing on his grandmothers front lawn Thursday in a state where African Americans make up just 1.4% of the population, according to U.S. Census figures.
Police in the small town of Woods Cross north of Salt Lake City have asked the Davis County Attorneys office to review the officers actions and how the agency responded, Chief Chad Soffe said. The unidentified officer mistook the boy for a potential suspect, but used good judgment overall, he said.
<snip>
Hrubes has said her son didnt have any toys or objects in his hands. The officer told DJ to put his hands in the air and get on the ground and told him not to ask questions. After Jerri Hrubes confronted the officer, he got in his car and left, she said.
Soffe said the officer was part of a group chasing suspects after authorities received reports of a shooting and were told the suspects were black, Hispanic or Polynesian, he said.
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UncleTomsEvilBrother
(943 posts)...to Black disenfranchisement all over the country. The "system" was never going to get justice for that little Black boy. With a population of 1.4% in that community, Black people have little political power, and their calls for justice will be unheard.
This is analogous to the voter suppression happening in the country. Black voters often find themselves overwhelmed by the lack of empathy in cases like these.
White DEMS/LIBS/Progressives, we could sure use a hand with this. We're on the same side.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)MagickMuffin
(15,892 posts)ya gotta watch out for those 10 year old's who might be black, Hispanic, or Polynesian. I mean they all look alike, right???
Aristus
(66,096 posts)The ones who do this sort of shit, and the ones who wouldn't, but don't call out the ones who do.
What a racket...
irisblue
(32,829 posts)Source--https://fox13now.com/2019/06/11/davis-county-attorney-to-review-woods-cross-officer-incident/
More at article
Snip-"WOODS CROSS, Utah The Davis County Attorney will review a criminal case against the Woods Cross Police officer accused of pointing a gun at a black child with disabilities.
It comes as critics accuse the police department of changing the account of what happened Thursday afternoon."
Snip--Eyewitness statement, verbatim:
About 12:55 PM on June 6, 2019, I was riding in the front passenger seat of a car with three friends. We had shortly before finished work and were driving to get drinks at a convenience store. We were at the intersection of 400 N. and 800 W. in West Bountiful when a number of police cars, speeding and with sirens going, passed by. Once all the police cars passed, my friend asked to be taken home, so we turned and headed west on 400 North. While we were heading west on 400 North in West Bountiful, a police officer, with sirens on, came behind us. We pulled over to the side of the road to allow the police car to pass. Once the car passed, we continued heading west very slowly for a few yards when I looked back to my left and saw a young black boy walking in his front yard. He appeared to be walking toward his front door. He was calm, was not running, and nothing looked out of the ordinary. At that moment, I saw an officer quickly get out of a police car parked in front of the yard where the boy was walking. I told my friend driving to stop. He stopped and we were about 20 yards away from the parked police car. Upon exiting the car, the officer immediately called out to the boy who immediately turned toward the officer and put his hands in the air. The officer had his gun drawn and pointed at the boy. The gun was at the officers chest level. The boys hands were shaking. His body was shaking. He appeared very, very nervous. There was nothing in his hands. After standing with his hands in the air, trembling, for a moment, he immediately went to the ground. It was as if he threw himself to the ground, face down. The officer walked toward the face-down boy, gun drawn and pointed at the boy. As he approached the boy, a lady came out of the house and began saying something to the officer. She herself seemed very nervous and panicked. The officer stopped. He did not continue toward the boy. He then lowered the gun and appeared to move toward his car. At that point, we drove away.
irisblue
(32,829 posts)Catherine Vincent
(34,485 posts)Sigh!
Response to Dennis Donovan (Original post)
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