Dear Editor,

The grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri, this week has been deeply disenchanting and saddening. There are just too many white-on-black police-on-civilian brutalities and violent acts to dismiss them as being accidental. There is evidently an endemic problem of “shoot first, ask questions later”, and it cannot continue.

There was a travesty of justice Monday night. It’s hurtful to think that someone can be killed and their killer will walk away free. The recent killing of a 12-year-old black boy confirms there’s an epidemic of police violence in the black communities in the United States, and maybe worldwide, where the police seem to function as judge, jury and executioner. Brian Becker, director of the Answer Coalition in the US, was quoted as saying: “Every 28 hours the police kill a black person, usually a black male in the United States.”

The security forces must be held accountable as well. They are our public servants, and when they uphold the law and act nobly we will and should respect them. However, when they think they are above the law, or are the embodiment of it, and act with impunity, they do not deserve our sympathy, nor should they be allowed to continue with this mentality.

This latest verdict does not bode well for the civil safety of people anywhere in America. It is an even darker omen and trend worldwide for black folk and the African diaspora.

Ferguson affects all of us as peoples of African descent. The fires will burn in Ferguson for the pain of injustice for many days to come.

Yannick Pessoa

yannickpessoa@yahoo.com