VIBE Race Project: The Unsung Black Women Of Police Brutality
Zora Neale Hurston said black women are the mules of the world and some eighty years later, her words unfortunately still ring true.
In one of America's bloodiest years in recent times, the names of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Ezell Ford and 12-year-old Tamir Rice have been etched into our minds as the latest victims of police brutality. Their only crime was their black skin. But those men aren't the only ones who suffer at the hands of militarized police and systemic racism.
Black women often endure the same fate as black men and go unsung as their names are conveniently missing from the headlines. VIBE takes a look at a few women who were either physically assaulted or killed by law enforcement.
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Aiyana Stanley Jones
Age: 7
Location: East Detroit
In May 2010, while sleeping on her couch in her Detroit home with her "Hannah Montana" blanket, Aiyana Stanley Jones was shot and killed. Officer Joseph Weekly, 38, led the Detroit Police Department's Special Response Team that conducted a raid looking for Aiyana's uncle who was the main suspect in a murder. He was tried twice in the death of little Aiyana with both trials ended in a hung jury.
Photo Credit: NewsOne
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Marlene Pinnock
Age: 51
Location: California
Video footage captured in July 2014 showed California Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Andrew beating Marlene Pinnock while on the side of the road. The disturbing video shows Andrew straddling and pummeling Pinnock. Once the footage was made public, Andrew, who joined the CHP in 2012, was placed on paid administrative leave before voluntarily resigning. Pinnock later won a $1.5 million civil rights settlement.
Photo Credit: CBS News
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Rekia Boyd
Age: 22
Location: Chicago
Off-duty detective Dante Servin said he feared for his life after allegedly seeing a man point a guy at him, which made him shoot into a crowd on Chicago's West Side March 21, 2012. As a result, Rekia Boyd was shot in the back of the head and later died. Servin was charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless discharge of a firearm and reckless conduct. The Boyd family was later awarded $4.5 in a wrongful death lawsuit by the city.
Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune
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Pearlie Golden
Age: 93
Location: Texas
On May 7, 2014, Pearlie Golden became upset her nephew, Roy Jones, confiscated her car keys after the 93 year old failed the test to renew her license. Upset, Golden grabbed her revolver and Jones then dialed 911. Officer Stephen Stem responded to the tense situation. Golden, still angry, fired two shots into the ground and Stern responded by shooting the 93 year old four times, one bullet hitting her in the head and killing her.
Photo Credit: NY Daily News
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Alesia Thomas
Age: 35
Location: Los Angeles
Officer Mary O' Callaghan, an 18 year veteran of the LAPD, was charged with felony assault under color of authority for allegedly handcuffing Thomas and kicking her several times in the genitals, the abdomen, and thigh. Video tape footage of the ordeal was not released, however, a report indicates Thomas' eyes can be seen rolling in the back of her head and her body roll towards the driver's seat before she loses consciousness and died while in police custody.
Photo Credit: NewsOne
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Dornella Conner
Age: 24
Location: St.Louis, Mo.
Dornella Conner and her boyfriend De'Angelas Lee drove to a gas station in Ferguson, Missouri days after the grand jury decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the death of Mike Brown. Connor maintains she and her boyfriend weren't protesting and attempted to maneuver around St. Louis police at the gas station, while police allege the two were driving towards them. Connor's father said Dornella was shot with a bean bag round and surgeons removed almost 20 pellets from her face, resulting in the mother of two, who was also pregnant at the time of the incident, to lose an eye.
Photo Credit: NBC News
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Ersula Ore
Location: Arizona
The Arizona State University Assistant Professor was stopped by a campus police officer for allegedly jaywalking. The officer asked Ore to show her ID, when Ore refused inquiring why the officer stopped her at all, a fight ensued with the officer slamming the professor to the pavement. Ore was later sentenced to nine month probation for resisting arrest and the officer in question was placed on paid administrative leave.
Photo Credit: ESSENCE
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Rosan Miller
Age: 27
Location: New York
Days after Eric Garner was placed in an illegal choke hold by officer Daniel Pantaleo and killed, Rosan Miller, who was almost eight months pregnant at the time, was also placed in a choke hold for illegally grilling on the side walk near her East New York Home. Photos released by an advocacy group show an officer with his arm around Miller's neck in an attempt to subdue Miller.
Photo Credit: NY Daily News
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Yvette Smith
Age: 47
Location: Texas
In February 2014. Deputy Daniel Willis, 28, responded to a disturbance at Smith's Texas home. Once Willis arrived two men who were fighting separated and one went inside Smith's house. Willis claims Smith was armed, which was why he fired at Smith. According to a medical examiner, Smith, pictured above with her son, was shot twice, once in the abdomen and once in the buttocks. The gunshot to the abdomen was what killed her.
Photo Credit: KXAN TV
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Tarika Wilson
Age: 26
Location: Ohio
On Jan. 4, 2008, a SWAT team entered Tarika's home on Ohio's south side to arrest her boyfriend Anthony Terry on suspicion of drug dealing. Officers knocked the door down with their guns drawn. Moments later, officers killed Tarika and wounding her 14 month old son she was carrying. Fortunately, the infant didn't die.
Photo Credit: NY Times
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