This Video of a Young Girl in Charlotte Speaking Out Against Police Shootings May Break Your Heart

‘It’s a Shame That Our Fathers and Mothers Are Killed and We Can’t See Them Anymore’

One young courageous girl Monday night stood before the Charlotte City Council and the mayor to tell them how she feels about police killings of Black people. It was the council’s first meeting since police officer Brentley Vinson shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott. 

“It’s a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed and we can’t see them anymore,” Zianna Oliphant, tears streaming down her cheeks, told her elected officials.

“It’s a shame that we have to go to their graveyard and bury them. And we have tears. And we shouldn’t have tears. We need our fathers and mothers to be by our side,” Oliphant, standing on a step stool, continued. “We are Black people and we shouldn’t have to feel like this.”

Keith Scott was 43, a father of seven, and Black. His wife as police flooded the scene around his car told them he had just taken medication for a traumatic brain injury he suffered a year ago. “He’s not going to hurt you,” she pleaded before he was shot dead.

Officers insist he had a gun, and later, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney told reporters he was in possession of marijuana. The family has insisted he did not have a gun. Scott’s wife released a video she had taken of the shooting, and Chief Putney released a dash cam and body cam video after major protests, but he is holding others back.

Residents at Monday night’s meeting called for Mayor Jennifer Roberts and Chief Putney to resign over the city’s handling of the killing. 

Watch Zianna Oliphant:

 

Hat tip: NY Daily News, CNN