We’re living in a time where the light that has been cast on law enforcement is like no other. Attention is being brought not only to the disparate treatment of black people by law enforcement but also the stories of what might otherwise be nameless, faceless individuals, and the effects of police terror on families and communities. It ain’t just black folks that suffer from this current “crisis” in policing. More importantly, this “crisis” consists of not only how police respond to individuals and situations; it is also the over-reliance on policing by communities as a solution to societal problems. Case in point: Tobi and Michael Ferguson of Denver. Last week Toni called the police on her 21-year-old son Michael because he had taken a truck from her place of employment. She stated that she “knew he had open warrants” and that she was “trying to do the right thing” by calling the police on him:
"My son was in trouble a little bit, I'm not defending my son in any way. We were trying to help him and bring him in safely," said Ferguson.
Police responded to a home in the 2600 block of West Bates looking for her son. Ferguson knew he was heading to her best friend's house in a stolen truck. She said he took the truck from her work and had until 5:00 p.m. that day to return it.
When officers arrived at the house, Michael jumped out of a back window and tried to run away. According to police, there was an altercation in the middle of the road. During the incident, police said the suspect reached for one of the responding officer's guns, leading police to shoot the man after a brief struggle.
"I let them know that he was unarmed, I let them know that he was scared, I let them know that he would try to run," said Ferguson.
Ferguson may have let the police know all of these things, but in the end it did not matter. Scores of individuals have ended up dead because their well-meaning families called 911 in the hopes of getting their loved ones some kind of help; the majority of those individuals have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness, and calls to 911 were typically made because the individual was having a mental health crisis or episode. But law enforcement is not an escort service; they ain’t mental health counselors either.
From what media has told us thus far about Michael Ferguson, he did not have a diagnosed mental illness. Ferguson’s mother called the police to have a vehicle returned. Now before you go there, stop: while it’s true that the words “auto theft” may be accurate, is there no type of alternative that we can envision for this scenario? This is not to condemn the Ferguson family or pile onto the loss they are now feeling. It’s simply asking the question because dialogue is the second step to creating a different future; envisioning that future is the first step.
Ferguson said she knew where her son was going and that he was unarmed. How could this situation have been handled differently? Probably, more than likely, several ways. Next question: why weren’t those “ways” given a chance first? Answer: because regular, everyday people like Tobi Ferguson have been programmed to believe that police are the answer. They are not. As documented on this very platform, in many instances they are the problem.
Media coverage of this incident says that Michael Ferguson attempted to take an officer’s gun. One new source stated that a gun “was discharged” during the struggle. Guns only discharge when fingers are on triggers, but no one can say who pulled the trigger; it’s as if we are to believe the gun just went off on its own with no person responsible for what happened. But media tells us exactly who is responsible for shooting Michael Ferguson: an 11-year veteran, once a gun “was discharged,” the veteran cop took aim and shot Michael, killing him.
It is unfortunate that the Fergusons are neither the first nor the last family to call on law enforcement in an effort to help their loved one. What is more unfortunate however, is the idea that it was going to be helpful in the first place.