Posted by Ben McBride on Thursday, November 17, 2016
A trio of Richmond, California, officers came face to face with a Black pedestrian who was wiling to put his life on the line to protect a Black woman.
In video captured Nov. 17, Ben McBride stands in front of a Black woman as officers try to serve a parking violation. The 4-minute video starts with McBride berating the officers for harassing the woman. He says she doesn’t have the proper tags and registration for her vehicle but insists that the officers still had no right to inconvenience her.
“You should be ashamed,” he says as the lights from a tow truck flicker in the background. “You didn’t find anything in the car. You chose not to use discretion. … And that, sir, is the reason Black people do not have trust for white police officers in their communities. … You can laugh, you can smile and look away, but tonight, sir, you have demonstrated yourself without humanity.”
McBride continues the tongue lashing, revealing near the mid-point of the video that the woman he is vehemently defending has a medical condition.
As the officers become more silent, he grows louder, stating that the three should be ashamed for terrorizing Black communities and they bring disrespect to the badge and the city of Richmond.
Lastly, he tells the three that they can leave if they do not want to be critiqued by those who pay their salaries.
“If you don’t want to hear the critique and if you don’t want to be the kind of law enforcement [needed], you should leave this community,” McBride says.
