By: Zack Linly
Article Reprint
Another day, another violent arrest of a Black person that began with an alleged nonviolent offense.
On Tuesday in Forney, Texas, a Black teen and her mother were both arrested after police responded to a call about a disturbance involving the teen allegedly jumping in and out of traffic. The teen’s family members dispute the allegation, saying she was just walking home and that it’s a residential street with no heavy flow of traffic. But the real issue is why a white male police officer felt the need to lie down with the bulk of his weight bearing down on the stomach and chest of a Black teenager while she says the words that, at this point, should be the title of the book on how cops handle Black suspects—“I can’t breathe.”