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A Cop Killed A White Teen And The #AllLivesMatter Crowd Said Nothing
Posted: 08/04/2015 07:19 PM EDT | Edited: 1 hour ago
A Cop Killed A White Teen And The #AllLivesMatter Crowd Said Nothing
On the evening of July 26, Zachary Hammond pulled into the parking lot of a Hardee's in Seneca, South Carolina. Seated next to him was a young woman who had arranged to meet someone there to sell a bag of weed. It's unclear what Hammond knew about the transaction, but neither the 19-year-old nor his passenger had any idea that the buyer was actually an undercover police officer. Moments later, another officer fatally shot Hammond.
What we know about how Hammond ended up dead in a minor marijuana sting depends on whom you believe.
Police say a uniformed officer, on hand to support the undercover cop, was approaching Hammond's vehicle. There's disagreement about what happened next. Seneca Police Chief John Covington says Hammond drove the car at the officer, who, fearing for his life, fired twice into the vehicle, shooting a fatal round into Hammond's upper torso. Eric Bland, a lawyer for Hammond's family, says that the officer shot Hammond twice from behind and that an autopsy supports this claim. More than a week after the shooting, Oconee County coroner Karl Addis -- one of the few people who should know for sure -- has still not said publicly which direction the bullets came from.
Wherever the bullets struck Hammond, police say they were fired from near point-blank range through the open driver's side window. This detail has raised particular concern amid a string of police killings in which the official law enforcement narrative has not always held up.
As in those previous incidents, Hammond's family is left with painful questions: Was the car headed directly at the officer, or, as Hammond's father has suggested, did the officer shoot because his son was beginning to flee? Was the officer truly in danger? Or does the fact that he was so close to the vehicle when he fired indicate otherwise? Will the dashcam video, reportedly turned over to state investigators and requested by local news outlets, offer any answers?
These questions sound familiar because they've been asked before. Many of us have gotten used to asking them. We've gotten used to the confusion and disbelief around a life taken so abruptly, used to the frustration of hearing an officer's claim that the only choice was to shoot. Police have released minimal information about Hammond's killing, but with familiar questions have so far come familiar answers.
While aspects of Hammond's case evoke memories of other police shootings over the past year, one element does not: Hammond was white, as is the still-unidentified officer who shot him.
Zachary Hammond was shot to death by a police officer during a minor drug bust.
When so much national focus has recently been on the police killings of black Americans, Hammond's race is one reason -- though not the only reason -- you may not have heard his story until now.
Hammond's whiteness has certainly factored into the response to his death. No public outcry has questioned the media's use of family photos that appear to show a younger boy, still wearing braces. No wave of Internet denizens has scoured the victim's social media profiles in search of ways to somehow blame him for his own death. Nobody appears to have called for a discussion of white-on-white crime. No stories have been written about whether Hammond's parents had criminal records or asked if he was ever in trouble at school. At least not yet.
These points are no consolation to a dead 19-year-old. But they differ from the reality of what black people routinely face in similar situations.
Hammond's death also highlights a truth many white Americans seem reluctant to face: that police violence can affect anyone -- their white friends, cousins, brothers, sisters, even themselves. Though bad policing may take a disproportionate toll on communities of color, the calls for reform now being voiced loudest by people of color would benefit all of us.
Many people in the Black Lives Matter movement have been saying this since the beginning, which is why, in the absence of much mainstream media coverage, black Twitter has taken the most active role in making sure Hammond's name and story are heard.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zachary-hammond-police-killing_55c0e240e4b0c9fdc75dfda3
A Cop Killed A White Teen And The #AllLivesMatter Crowd Said Nothing
On the evening of July 26, Zachary Hammond pulled into the parking lot of a Hardee's in Seneca, South Carolina. Seated next to him was a young woman who had arranged to meet someone there to sell a bag of weed. It's unclear what Hammond knew about the transaction, but neither the 19-year-old nor his passenger had any idea that the buyer was actually an undercover police officer. Moments later, another officer fatally shot Hammond.
What we know about how Hammond ended up dead in a minor marijuana sting depends on whom you believe.
Police say a uniformed officer, on hand to support the undercover cop, was approaching Hammond's vehicle. There's disagreement about what happened next. Seneca Police Chief John Covington says Hammond drove the car at the officer, who, fearing for his life, fired twice into the vehicle, shooting a fatal round into Hammond's upper torso. Eric Bland, a lawyer for Hammond's family, says that the officer shot Hammond twice from behind and that an autopsy supports this claim. More than a week after the shooting, Oconee County coroner Karl Addis -- one of the few people who should know for sure -- has still not said publicly which direction the bullets came from.
Wherever the bullets struck Hammond, police say they were fired from near point-blank range through the open driver's side window. This detail has raised particular concern amid a string of police killings in which the official law enforcement narrative has not always held up.
As in those previous incidents, Hammond's family is left with painful questions: Was the car headed directly at the officer, or, as Hammond's father has suggested, did the officer shoot because his son was beginning to flee? Was the officer truly in danger? Or does the fact that he was so close to the vehicle when he fired indicate otherwise? Will the dashcam video, reportedly turned over to state investigators and requested by local news outlets, offer any answers?
These questions sound familiar because they've been asked before. Many of us have gotten used to asking them. We've gotten used to the confusion and disbelief around a life taken so abruptly, used to the frustration of hearing an officer's claim that the only choice was to shoot. Police have released minimal information about Hammond's killing, but with familiar questions have so far come familiar answers.
While aspects of Hammond's case evoke memories of other police shootings over the past year, one element does not: Hammond was white, as is the still-unidentified officer who shot him.
Zachary Hammond was shot to death by a police officer during a minor drug bust.
When so much national focus has recently been on the police killings of black Americans, Hammond's race is one reason -- though not the only reason -- you may not have heard his story until now.
Hammond's whiteness has certainly factored into the response to his death. No public outcry has questioned the media's use of family photos that appear to show a younger boy, still wearing braces. No wave of Internet denizens has scoured the victim's social media profiles in search of ways to somehow blame him for his own death. Nobody appears to have called for a discussion of white-on-white crime. No stories have been written about whether Hammond's parents had criminal records or asked if he was ever in trouble at school. At least not yet.
These points are no consolation to a dead 19-year-old. But they differ from the reality of what black people routinely face in similar situations.
Hammond's death also highlights a truth many white Americans seem reluctant to face: that police violence can affect anyone -- their white friends, cousins, brothers, sisters, even themselves. Though bad policing may take a disproportionate toll on communities of color, the calls for reform now being voiced loudest by people of color would benefit all of us.
Many people in the Black Lives Matter movement have been saying this since the beginning, which is why, in the absence of much mainstream media coverage, black Twitter has taken the most active role in making sure Hammond's name and story are heard.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zachary-hammond-police-killing_55c0e240e4b0c9fdc75dfda3
Bless your heart, precious.
Poor Brice.
Oh good. Thank goodness he wasn't a black man. Can you imagine the blow back? Oh, wait. There wouldn't be any. I did notice they managed to get the "Black Lives Matter" group in there. I also noticed they left out something common in every single one of these cops killing civilians cases.
The cop is white - it's in the article.
Wow, that's kind of a long one regarding a white kid. I wonder if the cop was white? If he was, how can we inject race into the equation?
Seriously, buying weed and getting caught does not equal a death sentence. Fleeing from a cop is not a death sentence.
By no means am I protecting the cop with this statement but, if this kid did not break the law, he wouldn't have encountered this cop. As well, why is the dumb kid running on a weed charge?
Seriously, buying weed and getting caught does not equal a death sentence. Fleeing from a cop is not a death sentence.
By no means am I protecting the cop with this statement but, if this kid did not break the law, he wouldn't have encountered this cop. As well, why is the dumb kid running on a weed charge?
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