How is it possible that an off-duty police officer, who never pulls out a badge, but who shot his gun at a 13-yr-old Latino boy, hasn't been charged in the incident? The Internet had an answer for me; look at what happened in Whittier, a Latino gang member killed a police officer.
On Monday, February 20th, Officer Keith Boyer, a 27-year veteran of the Whittier Police Department, was shot and killed by a suspected gang member of Latino descent. By all accounts Officer Boyer was a great, stand-up police officer. He honored the badge he held. His killing was senseless.
Kevin Ferguson, the off-duty LAPD officer who shot his gun while dragging a 13-year-old Latino kid by his sweatshirt collar, showed no respect for the badge he holds. There were several other Latino and Black teenagers around the officer when he shot his gun. Kevin Ferguson endangered the life of a child. Ferguson confronted the group of teenagers for walking on his lawn. The incident escalated when the officer dragged the 13-year-old kid from the sidewalk onto his property before shooting his gun. When Anaheim police officers arrived at the scene, they arrested two teenagers, but Kevin Ferguson remains a free man, with no charges filed against him. Kevin Ferguson is back on the job, collecting a paycheck funded with our tax dollars.
Growing up, I was taught to view police officers as authority figures. I was taught to respect them, and to trust that they would protect me in troubling situations. Watching the video of a 13 year-old Mexican American kid being dragged by a cop left me at a loss. I was left feeling like I could not teach my children the same concepts my parents taught me. If an adult were holding my child the same way Ferguson was holding this kid, I would tell my child to run, to protect himself, to call the cops. My parents taught me to find safety in the police, but who do we call when the offender is himself a cop?
If we want relations between Black and Latino communities and the police to improve, we must hold accountable officers that do not honor their badge. Good, stand-up cops need to speak out against the brutality and abuse that is more and more prevalent in police departments across America. We must hold police officers accountable for their actions. The Orange County District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas, should file charges against Kevin Ferguson.
Good police officers have lost their lives at the hands of violence, but to use their sacrifice to excuse incompetent, racists cops is despicable.