If we don't realize the killing of Bernardo Palacios was wrong, we will never overcome police brutality. Being loyal to our police is good. Remembering that they put their lives on the line every time they put on a badge is good. But we cannot rationalize any longer that killings such as that of Bernardo Palacios are justified. He was a criminal, we say. If he had gotten loose, he might have killed someone. If you run from the cops, you deserve to be killed.
No, Bernardo Palacios should not have been killed. He had his back to the police. He was running in defense. He was scared. He was stumbling and falling and getting up again, only to stumble and fall again. He was slow and lumbering as he fled. He was not brandishing his gun. He was not threatening the cops with it. Why would we shoot and kill such a person?
If we as a nation are to end police injustice, we must come to recognize it when we see it. We somehow must reach a point where understand this is wrong. We must set aside our previous belief that it is okay, and acknowledge that it is not.
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