Rapper Killer Mike is 'mad as hell' over Rayshard Brooks death, calls for change in law to end police brutality
Rapper Killer Mike, better known as one half of the phenomenally talented rap group Run The Jewels, posted a lengthy Instagram post on Saturday, June 14, where he condemned the recent killing of Rayshard Brooks, an unarmed black man. In the wake of the volatile Black Lives Matter protests that have enveloped the United States after George Floyd's death, the fatal shooting of the 27-year-old Brooks by Atlanta police at a Wendy's restaurant threatened to tip racial tensions to an extreme boiling point this week.
Brooks was drunk and fell asleep at the Wendy's drive-in on the night of June 12, prompting Atlanta PD to give him a sobriety test, which he failed. After he resisted arrest, he grabbed a Taser and fled on foot. He then turned back and pointed the Taser at a police officer, at which point he was shot dead. Soon after, a huge public outcry ensued, with some people terming it murder, and angry protestors even setting fire to the restaurant. Following this, the officer who shot Brooks was fired and police chief Erika Shields resigned.
Speaking about the tragic killing, Mike posted an emotional and heartfelt Instagram post that began, "Rayshard Brooks should be alive this morning. He should be waking up (hungover or drunk in the tank depending on whether he was apprehended) and not dead."
He then declared, "If I’m the Wendy’s worker who called the police, I feel like s*** this morning because a call for a man sleeping in a car should not have ended with his killing. If I'm the people with the child in the car, I feel helpless and hurt. If I’m that child, I’m scared shitless of anyone with a uniform and a gun. If I’m the angry white or black guy who was filming and saying, 'I watched y'all for twenty minutes', I'm wondering what else I could have done? I am mad as hell and I am saddened beyond consolation."
Mike then emphatically called for changes in the law: "At a minimum, we need a law that prevents shooting a person while they’re fleeing. If there is no weapon, fleeing from an officer should be a foot chase and radio race. If a person gets away, they get away. As I have said before, I will continue to look to and support grassroots organizations who are doing the work, day in and day out. If there are groups who you know are organizing to end police killings, @them so we can follow and support. Let us Continue to #PlotPlanStrategizeOrganizeMobilize!"
He also left a few links for people to get started with, before requesting others to add their own groups who were contributing to positive change and ending police brutality. You can read Killer Mike's entire Instagram post here.
