We remember Emanuel Oates, Anton Black, Leonard Shand, Korryn Gaines, Manuel Espina, William Green, Tyrone West, Christopher Brown, Gary Hopkins Jr., Robert White, Finan Berhe, Freddie Gray, and too many more. These are the names of just a few of the Black Marylanders killed by police.
One victim of police killings, William Green, is the cousin of Nikki Owens, who is a strong advocate against police violence and for reimagining policing.
“This has to stop happening,” Owens said. “There are people left behind when you kill someone. These police officers don’t understand this.”
It is a terrible shame that over many years, and many killings, the General Assembly has yet to pass a reform to policing that has actually saved Black lives. Legislators owe it to the victims of police violence and their families to move their Black Lives Matter tweets and posts into action in the next legislative session.
This OpEd was originally published in the The Washington Reformer on December 16, 2020.
Read the full OpEd Here
