For those who might wonder why a Black honor student would carry a gun, Carlos Ball eloquently explained the dual realities that exist for many black men and women in this country while speaking with the local CBS affiliate in St. Louis, Mo.: “The way St. Louis streets work, we’re afraid out here. We’re afraid of the police. We’re afraid of other youth who may want to pull a gun and fire on you. So, sometimes people have guns just to protect themselves, [but] not with the intentions to do a criminal act with it.”
Tragically, now Ball has a more personal anecdote to this rationale: His brother, 25-year-old Cary Ball Jr., was shot and killed by police on April 24th near the Edward Jones Dome. Despite Ball Jr. placing his gun on the ground, police shot him 25 times.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson says the three officers involved in the shooting are suspended pending an investigation:
“We’ve invited the family and the witnesses to provide statements to us,” Dotson said, “Some of them have. Some of them haven’t. I encourage anybody who has information, we’re certainly looking into the matter.”
Police report that Ball had crashed his car after a high-speed chase, ran away on foot, and then pointed a gun at officers and ignored them when they ordered him to drop his weapon.
Dotson says they have found no surveillance video from the area that shows what happened. The officers were put on administrative leave pending further investigation.
Wednesday marked the second protest at police headquarters.
Read more at News One.
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