On November 11th another tragedy took place in the African-American community as 26-year-old security guard Jemel Roberson was shot dead by police after stopping a bar shootout. The Chicago native was trying to subdue gunfire at the local bar where he was on shift. According to Dorian Myrickes who was wounded in the mist of the fire, and also working security that night, the police on call came in the bar and tried to tell Jemel to drop the weapon he was holding.Within seconds of warning him, shot Roberson and killed him. Multiple witnesses on the scene said that they tried to tell the officer that he had a hat that said “SECURITY” plastered on the front of the hat.
Of course, Illinois State Police released a countering statement saying that Jemel was clad “wearing plain black clothing with no markings readily identifying him as a security guard.” Which in my eyes is completely absurd due to the fact that I have never seen any security guard anywhere without any type of writing on their clothing indicating they are security. Especially a security guard that is armed. Myreckes reported from his hospital bed that Jemel not only was wearing a hat that said security but also having security on the back shoulder of the sweatshirt he was wearing.
I forgot to mention the officer that murdered Jemel was a Caucasian male and Jemel was African-American. This incident is shocking, however the outcome not so much. This has been happening for longer than I have been living on this earth. However, the fact that an innocent man was gunned down by the police trying to do their work for them, is the thing that makes me, a 19-year-old African-American teen, infuriated and in the same breath petrified. Seeing as though it doesn’t matter if we (African-Americans) are doing something good or nothing at all, we are still at risk of losing our lives. Digressing to the present stage of this case, police say they are still investing… I am appalled by this news. I see no gray area in this situation. It should be very black and white. A man killed another man. The man who killed the person should go to jail point blank, period. I personally don’t know if I will understand the ways of this government especially with you know who still in office. Nonetheless, if the roles had been reversed, the police would’ve slapped handcuffs on the murderer and threw them in the back of that cop car so fast they wouldn’t even have time to read him his rights.