Charleena Lyles, Mother of 3, Killed In Front Of Her Kids By Police After Calling Them
Here we go again. Another Black person has been killed police in an incident where deadly force seemed unwarranted. This time, it happened in Seattle and the victim was 30-year-old Charleena Lyles.
Just after 10 AM, two White officers responded to a call by Lyles, who was reporting an attempted burglary at her apartment. According to police, she yielded a knife and that’s why they drew down on her and fired. Her three children were also present in the apartment. She had two boys and a girl, ages 11, 4 and 1. Lyles was also several months pregnant.
The Seattle Police Department has been under fire recently for excessive force. According to the Seattle Times:
The Seattle Police Department has been under a federal consent decree since 2012 after a Department of Justice investigation found its officers routinely engaged in excessive use of force, most often against people with mental or substance abuse problems. Federal investigators also found evidence of biased policing.
Family members arrived on the scene and were very distraught. They said Lyles was “tiny” and that she is only dead because she was Black. Lyles’ sister, Monika Williams, said, “Why couldn’t they have Tased her? They could have taken her down. I could have taken her down.”
We’ll keep you posted on developments, but given how other cases have gone, these cops will probably walk like all the others. Just remember, “Black Lives Matter.”
Read here about the Baltimore mother killed for calling the cops recently.
