Officer Dante Servin, who shot and killed Rekia Boyd
Crumbs don't make a cake, but across the country some measure of progress is being felt in the fight against police brutality and racial injustice in law enforcement. Brutal and corrupt cops are finally being fired for their actions.
This is just a start but it's a departure from the norm, in which officers have almost universally been able to keep their jobs—regardless of their actions. Make no mistake about it: In cities like New York, where the officers who killed Eric Garner, Akai Gurley, and others still have their jobs, progress is slow. But elsewhere, it's being felt.
First off, it needs to be said that losing your job is a ridiculously small price to pay for what many of these officers have done. Many of them should be in jail. Others were forced into retirement and received all of their benefits when they should've been unceremoniously fired, but they were removed from their jobs nonetheless. Ultimately, so much of what police do is done because they can get away with it without consequence. As we begin to see some consequences creep up, our fingers are crossed that it may, just perhaps, have some downstream preventative effect.
Small victories shouldn't be ignored. They build momentum to bigger ones. Here are a few of those small victories.
Years after he shot and killed Rekia Boyd, an unarmed Chicago woman who was committing no crime whatsoever, a Chicago board has finally recommended that Officer Dante Servin be fired. He should be in jail right now, but it was beginning to look like he was going to be able to completely escape all consequences for his awful actions.
The Seattle Police Department finally fired Officer Cynthia Whitlatch for her abusive arrest of an African-American senior citizen, who she falsely claimed swung a golf club at her. He was peacefully using it as a cane.
Keep reading for details on a dozen other small victories.
Two other Seattle area officers were recently fired when a camera proved that they filed a false report against an African-American bus driver.
An Independence, Missouri police officer just pled guilty to violating the civil rights of a non-violent teenager after a wrongful arrest and tasering.
A North Carolina police chief was forced into early retirement after writing an inflammatory post calling Black Lives Matter a terrorist organization.
After an Oregon police chief called African Americans monkeys, he too was forced into an early retirement.
In a rare move, Officer Michael Slager, who horrifically shot and killed a fleeing Walter Scott in Charleston, South Carolina, was denied bond and must remain in jail until his trial. I don't know if this has ever happened to an officer before for killing an African American on duty.
This Hartford officer was just fired for making racist comments.
This Charleston officer was fired for posting a racist picture of himself online.
This Louisiana officer was fired after pictures surfaced of him at a KKK rally.
This Massachusetts officer was just fired when it was discovered that he completely fabricated being shot at.
The officer who fatally shot Christian Taylor in Texas was fired almost immediately after the incident.
This South Carolina officer was just fired after body camera footage verified excessive force complaints against him.