Conversation
The sub headline points to the conclusion this article wants you to draw. That w/o surveillance footage from this camera, we would not know what really happened to #TyreNichols.
Except Black people and POC folks did not need footage to confirm what our experience has taught us.
GIF
1
6
16
Then unsurprisingly these reporters use the voices of community members themselves to celebrate and legitimize a tool that further militarizes the very institution that killed #TyreNichols.
2
4
12
You see Copaganda is an effective media tool because it hides and distracts from the failures of a racist institution. Lets not forget just a few years ago Memphis PD was sued for surveilling #BlackLivesMatter activists.
1
4
14
In this piece written by for the , local organizers and activists viewed SkyCop cameras very differently. theintercept.com/2020/01/20/pol
Replying to
But of course this context and history didn't make it into The NY Times article. Instead they highlighted the voice of a retired cop who installed the cameras. Peppering his perspective throughout and giving him the majority of airtime in this article, over 150 words.
1
4
7
On paper this article follows the standard of objective journalism, the old "he said" "she said" approach of providing both sides to a story. This approach is a disadvantage when dissenting voices are paired next to official sources like a cop.
1
2
7
The New York Times failed to tell a more meaningful story about police and state violence against Black people. In fact it's a failure that has repeated itself for over a hundred years when this paper of record has covered the lynchings of Black people in the US.
1
2
7
Therein is the rub, when these tragedies occur and we look for answers news outlets gear up to protect and print propaganda on the very institutions they should be interrogating further.
Like how is it cities like Memphis afford to spend millions of dollars buying military grade tech while schools, housing and other essential needs go underfunded? Part of the answer lies in federal grants that have expanded police budgets.
1
5
7
What are the practical solutions behind the demand to #DefundthePolice? Here's a good resource from answering this question.
Quote Tweet
Our guide "#DefundThePolice—Invest in Community Care" is a pragmatic resource for communities looking to implement non-police mental health crisis responses. It goes over models and key considerations for meaningful shifts away from cops: bit.ly/NonPoliceRespo #CareNotCops
read image description
ALT
1
5
9
The point is these cameras were only successful in affirming what those of us who grew up around racist cops already knew. Cameras don't keep us safe. Police kill because it is a feature of this institution, not a bug. Waiting for that story to be told.
1
5
8