Oftentimes, when these police shootings happen, the “superhuman Black man” is usually blamed for his own death. Though he was willing to fight grown men in a celebrity boxing match, George Zimmerman claimed to be pummeled by teenager Trayvon Martin who was just too much for him to handle. In the deaths of Eric Garner and Mike Brown, their size is brought up often, as officers claimed to be in danger when the hulking Black got allegedly got unruly and had to be put down. Two of the recent police killings stick out in particular. Those would be the deaths of Victor White III in Louisiana and Charles Smith in Savannah, GA. They both died similarly in handcuffs while in police custody. These two men were amazing because they both manipulated their handcuffs and got their hands on guns.
Police allege that Victor White III shot himself in the back while handcuffed in the back of Louisiana State Police cruiser. Charles Smith allegedly was able to get his hands to his front while handcuffed to reach a gun in front of him when police killed him. Unless Black men are natural Whodinis, there seems to be a problem. If you’ve ever been handcuffed, you know how difficult it is to move your hands at all. Maybe police need to think of another way to restrain suspects so they can’t move. The police involved definitely didn’t do their jobs, unless, again, Black men are magicians who make guns just appear. How were these two men able to get their hands on guns while in police custody? Smith’s story is especially curious. The officers must not have searched h thoroughly if he had a gun on him to grab while handcuffed in the police car.
At the end of the day, we all know Black men are humans just like everybody else. Coroners proved Victor White wasn’t superhuman after all because police reported that he shot himself in the back, but autopsy reports show he was shot in the front. We still have to see what comes of Smith’s case. Either way, this whole amazing, superhuman Black man image that the media tries to create is more dangerous than anything. Police and vigilantes obviously can’t handle it on their own.
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