Trevor Noah is calling out the problems with policing in America.
The host of The Daily Show spoke out on Monday about the “bad apple” rationale that many use to excuse when police officers become trigger happy and shoot unarmed Black Americans.
“We’re told time and time again that these incidents that Black Americans are experiencing are because of bad apples, right?” said the host. ”‘There are bad apples in these police departments who are doing these things. They use chokeholds that are not allowed. They use excessive force. They’re violent in their words and in their actions to the people they’re meant to be protecting and serving.”
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“My question, though, is where are the good apples?” he continued. “If we’re meant to believe that the police system in America, the system of policing itself is not fundamentally broken, then we would need to see good apples … Where are the cops who are stopping the cop from putting their knee on George Floyd’s neck? Because there’s not one cop at that scene.”
It appears in America “good officers” are often punished. Noah mentions the case of Cariol Horne, a Black Buffalo, New York police officer who was fired for intervening when a white officer attempted to put a man who was handcuffed in a chokehold back in 2006. A court ruled she will now receive her pension and back pay.
Back in 2020, Chicago police Sgt. Isaac Lambert spoke to NPR about the consequences he faced when he spoke out against “bad apple” officers.
“I’ve always spoke up against things I thought was wrong within the department. But like you said, this culture right now, a lot of officers don’t feel as though they can speak up because there’s no real, true mechanism that protects us from retaliation from our superiors,” he said.
Lambert made it known that speaking out against police misconduct could have serious consequences for officers and many of them choose to stay mum.
He added: “Unfortunately, right now, I’m a perfect example of that. I’m living proof that you know, if you speak out and it’s not what the department wants you to conform to, you’ll be punished. Or they’ll take action against you, and you really have no recourse. Unless you’re strong enough to stand out there on the ledge. And a lot of people won’t back you. They’ll leave you out there for yourself, so that’s – it’s different.”
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Police brutality has yet again become a trending topic as the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin is underway in the death of George Floyd.
Another young Black man Daunte Wright also died recently after he was shot by a police officer in Minnesota. The officer who shot the 20-year-old, Kim Potter, claimed it was an accident and she was going for her Taser but mistakenly pulled the trigger on her loaded gun.
In an exclusive interview with theGrio, Vice President Kamala Harris says she is not convinced.
“There is a big difference between the two,” said Harris to theGrio. “Among the issues is the issue of training and having law enforcement who carry both be very clear about the difference between the two, because as we have seen the consequence can be the loss of life and an unjustifiable loss of life.”
In reference to Wright, she added “he should still be alive today” and “that little baby boy of his is without a father … he has a family that loves him.”
Wright had a young son who now has to grow up without a father due to a situation that could have been avoided.
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