JUSTICE FOR TRAYFORD PELLERINOn Aug 25, 2020, Trayford Pellerin was in a parking lot of a gas statio
JUSTICE FOR TRAYFORD PELLERINOn Aug 25, 2020, Trayford Pellerin was in a parking lot of a gas station when multiple police officers confronted him. They were reportedly following up on a report about a “disturbance involving a person armed with a knife.” Trayford did have a knife, but he didn’t use it to threaten the police officers. Instead, he simply turned and walked away. Officers followed him on foot for almost half a mile to another gas station to arrest him, and even tried to taser him, but he continued to ignore them. When Trayford tried to enter the convenience store of another gas station, a group of roughly 6 officers approached him and opened fire, firing at least 10 shots. Trayford died on the scene.This was an egregious and ridiculous use of force by the police. Not only did they shoot and kill a man who was simply walking away from them, they opened fire in front of a public store. Someone else could have gotten hurt because of their preemptive violence, as in the case of Melyda Corado. The police of Louisiana have also displayed a clear racial bias; the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that in 2016, black adults comprised only 30.6% of Louisiana’s adult population, but are 53.7% of adults who were arrested and 67.5% of adults in prison. Black adults are also 4.3 times as likely as white adults to be serving a felony prison sentence in Louisiana.It is hard to believe that Trayford Pellerin would have been killed so brutally if he were white. Just earlier this month on Aug 5, a white man named Donald Guidry was similarly in possession of a knife and led Lafayette law enforcement on a chase for over an hour in a stolen car. A SWAT team was called when Donald barricaded himself in the car, but they were able to get him to take him into custody without injuring him. Meanwhile, Trayford was shot egregiously in public in flagrant disregard of the sanctity of life and public safety. This is unacceptable and unconscionable, and the offending officers must be named and charged.Learn more about this casePlease join us in demanding justice for Trayford and other victims of police violence!SEND EMAILS FOR TRAYFORD ✊SIGN PETITIONS FOR TRAYFORD:https://www.change.org/p/black-lives-matter-justice-for-trayford-pellerinhttps://www.change.org/p/lafayette-city-council-justice-for-trayford-pellerin -- source link
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