BLACK LIVES SHOULD MATTER
Why Mississippi Police Killed a Black Man and Never Notified His Family
Police have no credibility in the black community because of cases like this
In a heartbreaking turn of events, Mississippi officials engaged in a cover-up after a police cruiser ran over and killed a 37-year-old Black man, Dexter Wade. While the Mayor of Jackson called his death a tragic accident and claimed the police had "no malicious intent" in hiding his death, the coroner revealed he had his I.D., which clearly stated his home address. There is no logical reason why authorities wouldn't follow protocol and contact his next of kin, but there was a potential motive to hide that information, protecting the police officer responsible for his death. Vehicular manslaughter is a crime, and if the person was intoxicated, they could face "between five and 25 years in prison — plus fines and fees." Refusing to notify the family was a choice, one that would ultimately represent a blue wall protecting the officer responsible for Dexter Wade’s death.
A PBS NewsHour-NPR Marist poll suggested two-thirds of Black Americans do not trust police, and cases like this make it painfully obvious why. When police violate Black Americans' civil rights, they are rarely held accountable for their actions in criminal or civil court. So, it’s only natural many doubt their role as legitimate public safety officers. After police killed Dexter Wade, city officials "buried" him "in a pauper's grave without his mother's knowledge." Imagine looking for your son or daughter, filing a missing person's report, and hoping for the best, only to discover months later that the police, who were responsible for his death, failed to notify you or the public of the circumstances surrounding his death. If this isn't an example of a cover-up, then nothing is.
This story is reminiscent of a New York Times report published in 2021 about a longstanding practice of police using sickle cell anemia as a smokescreen for Black fatalities in custody. For instance, Indiana police reported that Dean Smith died of a sickle cell episode, despite him being handcuffed and gasping for air at his time of death; Jason Pierce died in a Louisiana prison with drugs in his system, but authorities said his death was "natural," and caused by a sickle cell trait. Lamont Perry died while fleeing officials in North Carolina, and officials blamed his sickle cell disease for his death instead of the injuries he sustained in custody. According to Dr. Swee Lay Thein, "sickle cell trait cannot alone cause death." But that didn't stop police officers from claiming these Black people died of sickle cell trait. As I wrote in AfroSapiophile, "As long as these deaths were ruled accidental or natural, police had a smokescreen and license to kill."
When police officers say that a Black person's death in custody was an accident, it's only reasonable, given their track record, to question whether they're telling the truth. Far too often, police lie to the public about the circumstances surrounding someone’s death and spread lies about them to ensure that the public turns a blind eye to their death. As Ebele Okobi, the sister of 36-year-old police brutality victim Chinedu Okobi, said, “They kill the person twice. The police killed him, and then their statement kills his reputation.” Black Americans are nearly three times as likely to be killed by police when compared to White Americans. This racial disparity exists not because Black people are more likely to engage in criminal behavior but because of the racism and racial bias of police officers, their warrior-mentality training, and the legacy of racially discriminatory practices are inconsistent with genuine public safety.
Bettersten Wade reported her son, Dexter, missing on March 14th, nine days after the fatal accident, when a police cruiser hit him as he crossed the highway. Instead of police officers notifying the family of the so-called "accident," they buried him in a pauper's grave, a site owned by Hinds County. It wasn't until August 27th, more than five months later, that the family learned Dexter Wade died less than an hour after leaving the house.
It's hard to believe that police would have handled this case in the same way if the victim were White, that they would have blatantly ignored the identification on him at the time of his death and hidden any information about the case from his family and the public. This is doubly harmful given the negligent attitude projected toward Black missing persons. Research shows that young, Black, and female persons are more likely to go missing. Yet, they are significantly less likely to be featured in news stories to make the public aware of their prevalence. It's bad enough that law enforcement does a poor job of pursuing missing persons cases when the persons in question are Black, but to make matters worse, they covered up Dexter Wade's death when they were the ones responsible.
While the Mayor claimed police had "no malicious intent," Dexter Wade's family and much of the black community disagree with their assessment. What could be more malicious than police tasked with protecting the community covering up a murder? This maleficence is the result of police being tasked with policing themselves and blockading any effort at civilian oversight. Accidents happen, but given the track record of police regularly dismissing the civil and human rights of Black Americans, their credibility is underneath the floor. We should be able to trust that when a Black person goes missing, law enforcement will notify their family about the information they have, but Dexter Wade’s death shows why we need a healthy skepticism about the information they provide. Also, as long as the police are given carte blanche to police themselves, we cannot realistically hope for change.
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