By Sikivu Hutchinson
She
was a young, Black female professional and daughter with a vibrant life and blossoming
career, cut down in four seconds in an act of domestic terrorism that has devastated
a multi-generational family. This past Saturday morning, twenty eight year-old
Atatiana Jefferson was murdered
in cold blood in her home by a white Fort Worth, Texas police officer responding
to a neighbor’s request for a “welfare check”.
The police officer yelled for Jefferson to put her hand up through a
window, then fired his weapon four seconds later. Jefferson was playing video
games with her eight year-old nephew. The murder of Jefferson comes on the
heels of the conviction and puffball sentencing of white female police officer
Amber Guyger for the senseless killing of Botham Jean in his Dallas home. Guyger
received ten years for murdering Jean, then was the recipient of a stomach turning
gesture of courtroom
forgiveness from Jean’s brother and the Black female presiding judge. Like
scores of innocent African American victims before them, Jefferson and Jean
were slain in spaces that were ostensibly safe. In Jefferson’s case, the
neighbor believed that they were contacting a “non-emergency” number which
wouldn’t require law enforcement. Time and again, Black folks who reach out for
“help” and “assistance” from the police either wind up dead themselves or inadvertently
cause another Black person to be killed. The blind hope that law enforcement
will protect or honor Black life and the sanctity of Black home space has proven
lethal for Black folks. From Eulia
Love (murdered by LAPD, 1979) to Eleanor
Bumpurs (murdered by NYPD, 1984) to Amadou Diallo
(murdered by NYPD, 1999) to Jean, Jefferson, and many others, domestic police
terrorism has continued to be a toxic mental, emotional, and physical public health threat for communities of color.
Jefferson
is the fifth
person to have been murdered by Fort Worth police this year. A GoFundMe campaign has been established
for her family with the following message:
"Before
law enforcement goes about their pattern of villainizing this beautiful
peaceful woman, turning her into a suspect, a silhouette, or threat, let me
tell you about 28 y/o #AtatianaJefferson “Tay”. She was a Pre-med graduate of
Xavier University. She was very close to her family. She was the auntie that
stayed up on Friday night playing video games with her 8 year-old nephew. She
worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales. Her mom had recently gotten very
sick, so she was home taking care of the house and loving her life. There was
no reason for her to be murdered. None. We must have justice."
Folks
who give to the GoFundMe should also push the Ft. Worth police commission, Mayor Betsy Price and Texas
Governor Greg Abbott to fire and prosecute the officer who murdered Jefferson. After generations and centuries of state-sanctioned murder,
bloodshed, and multi-billion dollar police state looting, there can be no more
compelling evidence of the need to abolish
the police.
