Windsor police constable says officers need to declare stance against racism, police brutality
Windsor police constable Arjei Franklin admits he can't bring himself to watch the bystander video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of 46-year-old George Floyd, killing the unarmed black man in the process.
"I didn't want to see it. I heard the details. I've seen the images. My heart broke and I felt sick to my stomach," said Franklin.
Franklin — a former CFL player who joined the force in 2018 — posted his thoughts about the incident on Facebook, amassing more than 1,100 reactions and more than 400 shares.
"It's sometimes hard being a black police officer. I feel as though I may be viewed as a 'sell out' in the black community especially if I don't publicly speak out against the injustice," the post read.
"George Floyd was murdered, and it makes me so angry as both a black man and a police officer."
Speaking with CBC News, Franklin said he felt a responsibility as a police officer to share his opinion on a public platform. That's because he always wanted to know what police officers thought about incidents like this, before he became an officer himself.
"I think it's exactly what we need. As a member of the black community, I know any time this has happened in the past, we've always looked to the police to hear their thoughts on what happened." said Franklin, adding he "couldn't be silent" on the incident.
"It is very encouraging for myself as a very junior police officer, for the black community and for people in general to know that what happened was wrong and the police organization does not stand for it."
Franklin said it was important for him to present the incident for what it was — an example that "racism still exists in this world." He added that it was very encouraging to see people of all races come together in peaceful demonstrations to stand against "hatred of any type."
"You can't be a good police officer and be OK with what happened to George Floyd. Seeing the police officers and the protesters walking side-by-side declaring that that they are together in this are the images that I will remember for a very long time," he said.
"I think it's important for us as police officers to declare that we don't stand for racism. We don't stand for police brutality. We want to do our jobs in a professional, caring, loving way, still enforcing the law still with justice — but to do it professionally.
Abiola Afolabi, co-founder of Black Canadians for Cultural, Educational and Economic Progress, said black people have been repeatedly discriminated against in the U.S. for far too long, but Floyd's death was "the final drop."
"I would say that the experience of the black people in the hands of the police is totally different from the other races — especially, the white people — in the hands of the police," Afolabi said.
She added it's important that people have a safe space where people can talk about their experiences.
"People need to be free to say, 'This happened to me. It upset me. I don't like it,'" said Afolabi. "I think we'd be making a mistake by addressing police brutality, or relationships with the police force, and forget the systemic racism. The systemic racism is there."
"I'm hoping that we can have a forum where members of the community can say, 'That was a day where this happened to me and I know if I had not been a black person, it would not have happened."
