Do black lives really matter in the eyes of the justice system, particularly when those lives have been taken by law enforcement? If the following cases are any indication, the answer is a resounding no.
In May of this year, a Dallas-area deputy was indicted on animal cruelty charges after he shot a dog while responding to a robbery. Ex-deputy Jerrod Dooley, who was fired for the incident, apparently shot the dog after it jumped out of a truck and charged him, though its owner claimed the shooting was unjustified.
Dooley isn't the only police officer who has been indicted for shooting a dog in the past two years. Denver-area officer, Robert Price, faced felony animal cruelty charges after shooting a roaming dog he believed posed a public safety risk. While he was eventually acquitted, the case went to trial, where a jury considered whether his deadly decision constituted a crime in the line of duty.
These two dogs received more justice than Mike Brown.
There are no words.
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David Harris-Gershon is author of the memoir What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?, recently published by Oneworld Publications.