Amani Fellow on Police Assasination of Bade Ali Jabir
The Amani Fellowship works towards the realization of a new America, grounded in peace as opposed to the military industrial complex. We work to engage young people–we have to make our voices heard. We envision a redistribution of resources to ensure access to basic social services. Central in this battle are the hyper-militarized police forces around the country, that are trained to kill with impunity. These killings have resulted in the unnecessary loss of life in black and brown communities, that are historically the targets of a system rooted in white supremacy.
The killing of Mr. Jabir is another chilling reminder of how easy it is for a black man to die because of interactions with law enforcement for non violent and/or minor potential criminal/civil inquiries. Transparency is always lacking as law enforcement constantly covers up wrongdoings with a host of misinformation before, after, and during such incidents. When our team got to the scene of this particular killing, from the onset we were bombarded with questionable information provided by the police. They wrongly indicated to us that Mr. Jabir was armed and had hostages. Going back to that fateful killing on September 7 we were disheartened by the indifference of officers who were there to kill despite having us and members of the community on the scene. We told police over and over that we could diffuse the situation and bring him out safely if just given the chance to do so. It became clear Mr. Jabir had no gun and no hostages. The translator provided by law enforcement on the scene was not an effective communicator with Mr. Jabir who hails from a small tribe with a very specific language and dialect of Arabic that differs from the Arabic spoken in other parts of the world. Members of the apartment complex and community, long aware of Mr. Jabir and very aware of his soft nature, were very willing to accompany our team and safely escort Mr. Jabir outside. This was Mr. Jabir’s only request. He feared being killed by the SWAT team, outside, that was armed to the teeth.
One aspect which is very chilling and fits a pattern of other police assassinations of our people is the intentional murder of people in instances where the victims pose no immediate threat to officers. Mr. Jabir was scared, not armed with any firearm, yet when SWAT refused our offers to enter and safely bring him out, they seem to have initially shot him in the back. How could he have posed an immediate threat in that situation? Our team on the scene, after hearing the initial 7 or 8 shots, then heard a slight pause and then the presumably fatal kill shot which we suspect was the head shot of an unarmed, injured man on the floor. He had already sustained multiple shots in his back. This was murder.
Veii Kauaria
