another teenager beaten by cops — when will it end?

Last week, another Black teenager was brutalized by police. Caught on tape by onlookers, video footage showed two cops slamming 15-year-old Lucca’s head into the ground while pepper spraying him during an arrest. Initially, Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies had responded to a disturbance call outside of a local McDonald’s, where students regularly congregated, allegedly to see a planned fight. But the videos posted online this past weekend showed no students fighting. Instead, we see Black boys being beaten to the ground and handcuffed by police. The first of which, Officer Christopher Krickovich, has been placed on a restrictive administrative assignment until the conclusion of the investigation, can be seen pushing Lucca’s head into the ground.

#BREAKING: Cellphone video footage captured several rough arrests involving teens outside of a McDonald’s in Tamarac near JP Taravella High School.

STORY: https://t.co/UWoGhMrRGL pic.twitter.com/iOU0zE5fNQ

— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) April 18, 2019

“The behavior of these Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies was outrageous and unacceptable,” Broward Mayor Mark Bogen said in a statement. “The officer who jumped on the student, punched the student and banged his head to the ground should be fired immediately.”

The behavior of these BSO deputies is outrageous & unacceptable The officer who jumped the student, punched & banged his head should be fired. I have a problem with the deputy who threw him to the ground after he pepper sprayed him He could’ve easily arrested him after the spray. https://t.co/NaZKeDaymi

— Mayor Mark Bogen (@mark_bogen) April 19, 2019

The question is, how many Black people need to be terrorized before we can put an end to this? How many Black people need to be thrown on the floor, humiliated and beaten until we’re able to send a crystal clear message to police that we’re not taking it anymore?

Here’s the thing: the police are in the wrong. Again. Fuck shouting out the “good” cops. Fuck walking on eggshells when we talk about police brutality. Fuck making white people comfortable. Fuck showing respect for people who show us zero humanity. That’s over with. As a Black woman, if I have to see another Black person getting brutalized by the police I am going to lose my goddamn mind. Let us pray that this outburst will not be a violent one, but if it was, could you blame me?

The police endanger innocent, unarmed Black people constantly.

What Lucca experienced should never be the norm when it comes to police interaction. There’s nothing acceptable about being beaten by the people who are supposed to protect us. And, as a community, we have to remain vigilant when it comes to documenting the truth.

Police departments around the country are staffed with KKK members, violent racists and white supremacist. Those are facts. And we love and support us some Black Lives Matter, but what else we got now?